Well Liz, I do accept your point that demanding silence is not really practical, but to play the bodhran from the audience while anyone is on stage is completely unacceptable, particulaly as John Kirkpatrick could not be more associated with English music. I felt that he had every right to be abrupt as indeed I would have been in the same situation. Unfortunately we are dealing, not with reasonable people like you and me, but thick-skinned untalented people who think that their contribution is required. Because they are not musicians they just think that can come along and bang something and it will be alright. I think that if you have spent 25 years learning to play an instrument then you have every right to be rude to people who ruin what you are doing, it's not as if they are beginners and will get better in time (I always support beginners) they are always going to be no good (don't forget I am speaking about bodhran players not musicians).