I decided to challenge Mr Tiffney on such a fatuous statment.

Dear Mr Tiffney,

In the many debates about the PEL laws, the statement "There is no tradition of folk music in pubs in England and Wales" has been associated with you. Firstly I would like you confirm that this is your opinion and if so ask you for the basis of your belief.

During the 1950's the BBC embarked on a project to send collectors out to record some of the last of the older generation of traditional singers. With very few exceptions (usually caused by the feebleness of old age) singers were recorded in pubs where they were used to singing.

In the book "A Song For Every Season" (Heinlen), Bob Copper (a member of a family of singers going back over 200 years and one the BBC collectors) tells how the various songs would be sung in the pubs throughout the year.

Even in towns and cities, many pubs still have a piano which is (or was) used to lead the singing of songs, which although not strictly traditional, have become part of the folk singer's repertoire.

Finally can you think of any other venue that the following songs would have been suitable for ?

GOOD ALE THOU ART MY DARLING.
JOHN BARLEYCORN (There are many versions - the tune of "We Plough the Fields and Scatter" was borrowed from one).
DRINK OLD ENGLAND DRY.
FATHOM THE BOWL.
ALE, ALE, GLORIOUS ALE.
THE BARLEY MOW.
I HAVE DRUNK ONE AND I WILL DRINK TWO.
BRING US IN GOOD ALE.
THE OLD DUN COW.
DRINK, BOYS, DRINK.
JONES' ALE.
LITTLE BROWN JUG.
NOTTINGAM ALE.

These are merely a small tithe of traditional drinking songs, and of course many others exist which don't mention drinking in the title. Even AWAY WITH RUM was not meant to be taken seriously.

Dave Bryant