My parents were very keen that I should have an education, and some security in life.
I was far too dim and lacking in application to get the qualifications necessary for university entrance. Not clued
up enough to know about polytechnics. So I entered Teacher Training College.
I don't know if I was actually the worst teacher in history, but I can't recall any class of children paying any attention
to me.
Anyway whilst I was at college I fell deeply in love with a girl called Trish Spencer. Trish
wanted nothing to do with me as a boyfriend, but kept me as a close adoring friend She was ( I thought) quite dazzlingly
beautiful, and had loads of blokes chasing after her. Must have been quite an ego trip for her. Years later I exorcised
her ghost by writing this song.
From the rueful looks that I get and smiles of recognition when I perform this song - I think there were probably quite
a few ladies with the same parlour trick.
When I was a kid at Leighton Park School in Reading, my posh middle class friends had nearly all visited
Les Cousins folk club in Greek Street, Soho - they had seen guys like Donovan, Paul Simon and Bert Jansch
By the time I got to college, I was aching to go there.When I started visiting Cousins as a college student - the star
turns were ragtime guitarists - people like Ralph McTell and Stefan Grossman. Usually with a couple of trusty friends we would
hitch up to London down the A1 on a Friday night - about 100 miles. We'd catch the 7-11.30 show. Then walk round
London all night and all the next day, until Cousins opened its doors again at 7pm. From midnight there was
an all night session til 6am.
We slept in National Porttrait Gallery, or went endlessly round the circle line on the tube, trying to sleep a little.
Nearly everybody assumed we were there to get out of our heads on drugs. I don't say we weren't quite stupid enough to
do that - if we'd ever been offered drugs there. However - the intoxication was more to do with being near something
important happening. Personally I hoped by some kind of osmosis, I would become an artist like the fabulous musicians
that I saw there - people like Wizz Jones, Davy Graham, Ralph McTell, Stefan Grossman, Al Stewart, Spider John Koerner and
Derek Brimstone.
After three years of the staff at the Kesteven College of Education begging me every day to reconsider my choice of career,
they made one last bid to safeguard the children of England by failing me on my final teaching practice. A lifetime of rejection
by the English folkscene has been relatively easy to handle after such an education.
