I am sorry about the bad news from Oxford. I have looked into the precedent cited by them in support of counting members of the public as performers. According to the leading authority on PEL law, Dr Colin Manchester, neither Clarke v Searle (1793) or later cases such as McDowell v Maguire (1954) are 'determinative of the question of who counts as a performer under section 182 of the Licensing Act 1964'.

In other words, in respect of informal folk 'sessions' there is 'no decided authority' in support of Oxford, or indeed any other local authority to prevent informal folk sessions in pubs using case law precedent.

Following Dr Manchester's comments I have written this up in an article to be published in Jazzwise at the beginning of May (it's available from most W H Smiths).

I have also written to Oxford City Council asking for comment on Dr Manchester's analysis which would appear to undermine their position. So far no reply.

If it's any consolation to you I am today going to talk to Anthony Lester QC about the issue of local authority PEL enforcement and musicians' freedom of expression. Anthony Lester is a leading human rights lawyer, prime mover of the Human Rights Act here in the UK. He wrote some sections of the European Convention.

The meeting has been set up by Rupert Redesdale, Development Consultant for EFDSS. I am fully aware of the reservations some of you have about EFDSS. I hope their involvement in this meeting signals a new determination to find ways to bring an early end to this absurd and pointless restriction on all kinds of live music performance.

I will let you know how the meeting goes.