June 1970, I’m bouncing around in the back of Tom’s parents’ blue Landrover, feeling jittery and overdressed. Everyone else is wearing Levis and tee shirts. Nobody speaks. At my feet is my battered brown charity shop Gladstone bag in which three harmonicas, Hohner Echo Supervampers in the keys of A, F and G are rattling around. I don’t feel good. The last rehearsal was shambolic. It’s the first time we’ve played to a large audience. I’ve only been playing for just over a year; what the fuck am I doing here?

Tom steers the buggy into a suitable space, Pete’s out first with his Watkins Rapier in it’s soft case, then Glen manhandles his Fender Stratocaster in it’s hard case. My knees are knocking. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine Jon” says Tom cheerily. I’m not convinced.

We’re using the PA and backline from our mate Steve’s band who are headlining. Their roadie Geoff – supercool with chest length hair, shades, stack heel boots and green leather jacket- sets us up. I would love to be anywhere but here. I cannot imagine how it could go well. The guitars are plugged in and twanged, tuned; Geoff ‘one, twos’ into the mike, I blow a few notes on my A harp, sounds okay...and, blimey. we’re ready! The curtain rises and I’m looking down, through the semi-darkness, to a large crowded hall. Hesitantly I grab the mike stand and with my knees once again knocking say: ‘This is called blues in E’...

November 2022, I’m comfortably seated in our small black Smartcar FourTwo following the North Star home. In the boot is my aluminium harp case containing 13 Lee Oskar and 7 Hohner harps, with a Shure 545 microphone. We’ve just played in public for the first time in 10 months. My cancer operation seems to have been a success and I’m almost back to being my pre-op self.

And the gig?... Oh yeah, it was tremendous!