I've had all these arguments with you before, David, and the sad thing is that you simply trot out the same stuff from your own writings time after time - feeding, in fact, on your self-penned inanities.

Here's a snapshot of English culture - 2009-style - from my 65th birthday bash in my local last night:

We had 12 musicians, including myself: (1) fiddle/flute/guitar/vocal (2) hammered dulcimer/vocal (3) small pipes/whistles/serpent (3) anglo concertinas (4) cajon (5) guitar/mandolin/vocal (6) vocal (7) keyboard (8) recorder (9) mandolin/fiddle (10) electric bass (11) keyboard (12) guitar/tenor guitar/mandolin/vocal.

The music ranged from French mazurkas, various English/Irish/Scottish jigs, reels, hornpipes, blues, 1920s & 30s songs, jazz, one Paul Simon song, polkas, Hank Williams, the Scissor Sisters and much besides. The pub was packed, with several of the guests dancing their socks off at the back of the pub and joining in the choruses of what they knew. A great time was had by all, and the atmosphere was electric.

That's English culture - with every item being performed with love and affection by those whose turn it was - and everyone got at least 3 bites of the cherry - and everyone joining in where appropriate and where possible. Why should any of this change because of the opinion of a mouldy fig who knows bugger all about any of it and can only see entertainment as a stratum of ideology - rather than just bloody good FUN?