Every other week it seems that a bitter and accusatory thread starts wingeing about manners at singarounds/playarounds. I get worried that the musical community is its own worst enemy in setting up rules of behaviour that the rest of the world have to guess at.

Our sessions ought to be welcoming and inclusive - one of the advantages in pub singing/playing is that it carries the tradition back to the public - great.

There is a place for concerts and closed clubs to preach to the converted; playing in public areas, whether pubs or street corners, is guaranteed to suffer from noise and movement that would not happen in a private environment.

Why does this surprise anyone? I feel that the hush that comes over a pub with a particularly good performance is worth the hazard of pub work.