I've only just seen the responses to my last comment on this thread (it must've disappeared off the bottom of the list before I saw it).

I was surprised that "Henny Penny" felt moved to call me "stupid", just because she disagreed with my views. I won't respond in kind as I hope my words and HP's will speak for themselves on that point. Thanks, Tootler for speaking up in my defence.

Perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough. I didn't even say it's "rude" to sing with your eyes closed (that was your word, HP, not mine). I was trying (obviously not entirely successfully) to say that some people might perceive it as ill-mannered or that it simply detracts from the performance, other things being equal. In other words, making the effort to sing with your eyes open and (as others have put it) engage the audience, might pay off in making the performance even better from the audience's point of view.

And no, of course I don't think I sing better because I have my eyes open, than anybody who sings with their eyes closed. I never said that, HP, and I don't think you can have read what I said properly if you think I did say it. I'm the first to admit that there are many, many better singers than me, plenty of whom do sing with their eyes closed, but I think they could be still better performers - not better singers - if they opened their eyes.

HP, please do people the courtesy of reading their posts properly before jumping in with personal remarks - one of these days you're going to upset somebody if you continue like that. As for me - water off a duck's back.