Hi Colin and Andrew,

Welcome to the party! I hope that you'll maintain the Tap& Spile's cheerful ambience, musical diversity, and excellent array of ales in the years ahead, and I look forward to calling in during Folk Week this coming August.

Meanwhile, would the gripers and whingers who go on (and on and on) about the alleged "elitism" and "cronyism" of the T&S's front bar singaround please take a few moments to consider the following observations.

Firstly: the front bar at the T&S is small. Common sense, and safety regulations, dictate that numbers inside must be limited. If there were a fire, or a bomb scare, and people got injured in the crush because the limit had been exceeded, the management could be sued for massive amounts – they might even go to jail. Only the most bone-headed could interpret their concern to keep the numbers inside at a safe level as some kind of Fascism.

Secondly: whenever I've been there, the method used to limit numbers has been simple and transparent. While the room is filling up, it's "come one, come all". When the room's full, it's "one out, one in". Can the critics explain what is undemocratic about that? Or is it just that they expect the safety rules to be waived for them, because of their celebrity status?

Thirdly: what about this alleged clique? Well, there are quite a few people who visit that room regularly, and some of them come back year after year. Naturally, like old friends who meet anywhere else, they tend to greet each other and exchange scraps of news. Nervous, suspicious or insecure people might conceivably feel threatened by this. But in my experience, the old-timers have always made a positive effort to welcome newcomers. They certainly welcomed me when I first arrived, knowing absolutely nobody there. At the start of the session, it's normally one of them who kicks off, before inviting others to contribute, but that's pretty standard in most clubs or sessions. And I've never noticed them doing more than their share of songs. Indeed, I've often seen one of them pass up his/her regular turn to make time for a latecomer to get one song in before closing time.

In fact, I've never seen anyone hogging the limelight in this session, it's always been "one singer, one song – then wait till your turn comes round again"   Everyone's eligible - indeed, even the people who've come along just to listen are encouraged to "have a go". But suppose there are thirty singers in the room, and the average song takes three minutes. Simple arithmetic ensures that you'll be asked for a song every hour and a half or so.

If this isn't enough for you, there are alternative venues in Whitby. Anarchic singing sessions, where wannabe folk superstars can try to dominate the room by shouting down the opposition, are easy enough to find. But a lot of people go to the T&S front bar precisely because it's not like that. And what's wrong with a bit of diversity?

Wassail!