I met someone last night at Sidmouth who told me that Jon Boden sings Tom Padgett, from the singing of Louis Killen and collected by my dad, Brian Blanchard. Brian died in November 2012. From memory I believe he collected it in County Clare (not Cork), where my mother came from. We went to several festivals in Clare when visiting family as well as Lenas Bar in Feakle, which is in the next town to where my mother came from and where Brian would sing and play whilst we stayed at my grandmothers. The original singer could well be from Cork though. I was quite young but can remember my father learning/practising it. I also heard Louis Killen perform several times.

I always thought Brian taught it to Louis on a journey from Crawley, where we lived, to Brighton Folk club. But that is not very far so I could be wrong. If it was from Sidmouth back to Sussex then it would have been in our camper van and our whole family (mum and 4 children) would all have been in the van too. We usually had a van full of friends and family and anyone else who needed a lift somewhere. Brian did still tell that story in recent years but as he had brain damage after a stroke in 1990 could have been misremembering slightly. Or he just said a journey and I assumed it was from our home to Brighton. I have his song collection at home so should have the original words as he wrote them dowon so will check when I get home and see what note he has on them.

I have heard Spiers and Boden lots of times but not performing that song.