Will, I hope you don't mind me dropping in here, but I remember Diz back in the early sixties when his gigs weren't so lucrative. He was playing banjo and guitar on the trad scene then and shared a flat with a friend and working colleague of mine. Our office was in the West End and their flat was in Cheyne Walk (Don't ask me how they managed to pay the rent there) but I had to loan Diz two shillings to get home from our office when he called in skint.
Never repaid of course. My first knowlege of Diz was from his great artwork on record covers and in jazz magazines and all those paintings of jazz musicians which adorned the walls of the second hand deparment of Doug Dobell's jazz record shop at 77 Charing Cross Road. Diz was a mate of Aj Cutler. This was before the days of the Wurzels when Aj was still a road manager for Acker Bilk's band. Sometimes on a Saturday evening if they were both free Aj and Diz with a drink or two inside them would drop in to the Ballads and Blues Folk Club. Diz would entertain us with various Monologues such as Albert and the Lion in a strong Yorkshire accent and Aj would sing his various Somerset flavoured material. They were a great comedy duo. Some good memories when characters like that were around and the jazz scene at the time had quite a number of them.

Hoot