And with that, everyone decided that this was probably a good place to end and so they did to much applause from the audience who had quietly built up as the session had got under way!

My thanks to the Mudjimba Festival organisers and to Ron Edwards, Warren Fahey and Laurie Muller who so kindly came to Mudjimba at my request and who helped me start up this brand new program of yarn spinning on radio with this session titled “What is a Yarn?

I wonder if you are any clearer now as to what is a yarn? Perhaps you've read this and you are now fuming in anger or you're delighted that what you have always thought is a yarn, is confirmed by the panel. But whether or not you agree with what you have read, you can always send in your comments and suggestions and examples of yarns and jokes you enjoy (keep'em clean please) to me David Mulhallen, c/- Simply Australia.

I am sure this is going to be a continuing discussion. It wasn't the only discussion we had on the subject. Bill Scott joined in, Ron Edwards had more to say as did Jim Haynes and many others. In fact what started as a fairly risky business of creating a weekly radio show based around yarn spinning and story-telling turned into a fascinating and continuing life for me. I met a whole array of story-tellers from all walks of life, not just the folk scene, and I proved the old adage, “scratch the surface and you open up yet another Pandora's Box”. Actually there is no adage like that but there should be, especially in folk, because it's true, which is why I still love folk and everything to do with it - the tradition, the folk heritage, the art and the performance and I hope I can continue to contribute in some way or another.