It was a slow process, but now you could probably plonk me – never mind my statue – naked on the fourth plinth and I’d sit there quite happily. It was a chance for me to show that I’m actually a very skilled parent. I agreed to take part in the series before Parys was born, but I wasn’t worried – I knew I’d be a good parent I know it sounds pretentious, but I just knew I wanted Parys so badly. And when you want a child that desperately, you are going to do your best.

I treat him as a human being – I think that’s very important We totally underestimate children. As you might expect, the sinking of that great ship was blamed on the laxity and corruption of the British company that made the Titanic. The first time he called to ask me to take part, I wasn’t well. It’s now five years since I met him and he did the statue of me. Of course, it would have to be a warm day.What is your opinion on Quinn the artist, and Quinn the person? Ed Furniss, BristolHe’s a lovely man. Jude Law’s all right, but I’d rather have John Travolta – even now He’s really grown into himself. But there are many out there that I like.You’re more confident about your body than most women in Britain (few of us would agree to pose naked for a statue).

But while that’s a familiar trick, they make light of it with their flawlessly fresh songwriting. From their 2002 album, Lost in Revelry, “Something Dark” sees McArdle sing of jealousy and revenge (“Something dark is racing in my head…”) in jaunty, singsong tones. “It’s one of the sweetest and most contemplative songs I’ve written,” he says, “but it isn’t finished yet When I die, it will be; until then, it’s a work in progress. I’ll keep changing the words and the melodies.”And what of “Ghosts”, with its lyric: “I meet them in the guise of friends/ And they all know my name”? Given that his friends included the late Nick Drake and Paul Kossoff, the brilliant young guitarist in Free, it’s hard not to freight that line with starry-eyed significance.

One of the most touching images is of Teresa, Martyn’s Irish girlfriend of six years, pushing him through the countryside in a wheelchair. Martyn has the couple’s Jack Russell, Gizmo, on a taut lead, and the creature is striding ahead. John Martyn’s four-decade career has certainly seen its share of alcohol- fuelled misadventure. He once awoke to find that Pentangle’s double-bassist, Danny Thompson, had nailed him under a carpet; his pancreas burst in 1996; and in July 2002 he was forced to don a neck brace after a head-on collision with a cow.