Not more media appearances?

'Fraid so.

Went on the Roy Noble programmes on BBC Radio Wales this afternoon. Just over an hour in here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sj46l

Cath Martin was producing. It was nice to see her again. She's been off having a baby.

They were talking about songs to do with the sea and had wrongly said that Sailing By was the theme of the TV series Owen MD. I pointed out that it was Sleepy Shores by the Johnny Pearson Orchestra.

We chatted about the parable of the talents project and then about busking in general and I sand snatches of some famous busking songs: Blowin' in the Wind and Streets of London.

Near the end, I accidentally upset the whole of Merthyr by saying I was too frightened to busk there. And that from a Valleys Boy, too !

Roy Noble gave me £20 live on air, so the project is coming along nicely from a financial point of view.

I was quite nervous - nowhere near as nervous as for my piano exam but enough, all the same. As I told Roy, Catherine can sing whereas I can remember the words to all the songs but can hardly sing at all.

It's about time, isn't it?

Yes, so Meic Stevens, finally.

Meic's autobiography says that in the sixties he wrote a song in English about his uncle Walter who went off to war on the submarine Tarpon (appears as Tarpan in the song). It was sunk in the Baltic campaign in 1940 and Walter never came back to Solva.

When Meic began to wonder about singing in Welsh, he just knew a few folk songs but they went down very well on the radio and TV so he thought about writing his own material. He took Walter's song to a teacher he knew and they put together "Can (circumflex over the a) Walter."

There's a nice version with a female harmony vocal by Heather Jones and organ and guitar accompaniment but Meic's own solo version with guitar is probably better. Less is more, as they say.

Meic is bringing out another English record later this year and this is going to be on it. The title is, "Bound for the Baltic Sea".

Of course, my fear is that if I learn this Welsh song, Welsh people will say, "Oh, for goodness sake, not "Can Walter" again !" A bit like English people think about "Streets of London"

Having said that, though, try looking for the lyrics in Welsh on the internet. You'll look for a long time and still not turn up very much so perhaps it isn't done to death just yet.

Today?

Not just yet.

Every Monday morning I go in to Raglan Primary School and do an assembly.

We normally do lively songs. There's one I like at the moment with the action of a submarine submerging. Don't ask.

This morning, I decided to have a dry run for Wednesday afternoon when I have to sing live on the Roy Noble show on BBC Radio Wales.

So, I asked if they knew what busking was - they did. I asked who the greatest living songwriter is but they didn't know. Fortunately, one of the staff did, so I sang Blowin in the Wind and Streets of London. The, I made some point about war, homelessness and people's indifference to the problems of others.

I got the staff to pretend to be passers-by and they did a good job, making encouraging remarks, not paying any attention and sometimes pretending to throw money.

Anyway, I glanced into my guitar case - great: full of money! Twenty pence pieces and fifty pences mainly.

Then, when I came to put my guitar away, what a let down . . . PLASTIC MONEY.

Well, that's primary schools for you.

Surely not another interruption?

Yes, I'm afraid so.

Yesterday, Cath Martin of the Roy Noble show phoned up from BBC Radio Wales.

Could I come down next Wednesday at three and be on the programme?

I was already booked in to do the Wednesday Word - a kind of Thought for the Day - the following week and I must admit I was hoping to get away with mentioning the busking trip but this is better. Perhaps they'll let me mention it next Wednesday, too.

So, they want me to sing some typical busking songs. Asked Steve Ashley and he said "Ballad of a Thin Man" and "Like a Rolling Stone" but I think I've already mentioned that they have too many words.

I need to cut to the chase, so "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Streets of Cardiff (London)" it is.

Charlie also suggested writing a song about the busking trip so here it is:

"Busking for Raglan Baptist Church, doo dah, doo dah,
Wherever I can find a perch, oh doo dah day.
Going to sing all night
Going to sing all day
Unless you get your money out
I won't go away."

Oh, the report should be at www.mon-tv.com today