Once, when I lived in Shetland, I failed to meet singer/songwriter Elvis Costello. Most Saturday afternoons I used to go out for a couple of beers with my roommate Louis. But one Saturday afternoon there was an old film on Channel 4 that I'd always wanted to see. So I gave the Thule Bar a miss. Louis was away a long long time, way longer than our usual Saturday afternoon sesh. When he did come home it turned out he'd spent the afternoon drinking with Elvis Costello. Costello and his wife at the time had been on a North Atlantic cruise ship which had stopped off in Lerwick Harbour to let the passengers stretch their legs on land. Louis said Costello was a really nice guy and had promised the people drinking in the Thule that he would try to return to Shetland to play at the local folk festival. Not only did he keep that promise but he also did indeed prove to be a decent bloke. His acoustic set was no longer than anyone else's playing at the festival; no special treatment. And if he hadn't already been a star you would have known from his performance that he was going to be one.