I only met Stan once. I was on a world tour in 1991 and dropped in to Paimpol Chanty and Wooden Boat Festival. in Brittany. Imagine my surprise when on the first afternoon I saw this 83 year old ponytailed gent knocking out shanties with the best of them at a bar on the waterfront. I soon realised it was Stan Hugill, a man whose books and recordings I had been familiar with for years.

I later asked Stan if I could interview him for a Folk radio program back in Sydney, Australia. He was quite happy to do so and told me of his adventures in Australia nearly sixty years before. He told me of jumping ship in Adelaide and working his way up the Murray and Darling Rivers. He mentioned quite a few towns he worked in and he mentioned them in order as they are going upstream. The clarity of his memory was amazing. When I asked if he planned to write a book of the racier versions of some of shanties he replied that he was too old for that now. He then dropped into a few of the songs. One chorus line that comes to mind is "there's plenty of grass to wipe your arse on the banks of the Sacramento". I bought him a drink and thanked him for his time. Through the rest of the weekend, whenever I 'd see him again he'd give me a smile and call me by my name as though I was an old friend. Stan's friendly nature and keen memory left a lasting impression on me. A few months later a friend sent me a photo of Stan and me sitting, talking and having a drink; it's one of my favourite photos.