Yes, but accents vary according to whether the speaker is male or female - I can do Sarf Lun'non male, but not female - I don't hear it often enough. Don't want to do the same with my native speech.

I'm doin what comes natrully when I sing, whatever it is, and it is quite loud.

The other thing I thought, reading the thread, was what is happening in schools. The one I taught in is using a music scheme which does not include much singing, they don't have anyone to do a choir, they don't do much hymn singing in assembly, and Christmas concerts tend to go down the Jingle Bells road. And Slade.

I went to the funeral of an ex-pupil the other year, and boys from his school turned up en masse. I expected something like the massed BB singing I heard as a child, but no. Singing out was not happening.

So no church singing - and what there is is not so stretching as of old, more worship songs than hymns, musically less demanding, less school singing. Watching DVDs in the car instead of belting out ten green bottles etc. Less singing in the playground. The children don't even know that Batman smells and Robin's gone away. Or that teacher hit me with the ruler and father hit me with the walking stick.

There were some children who found the way I sing rather odd. And embarrassing. Until Pavarotti and Nessun Dorma. They aren't used to belting, so no surprise if they grow up and don't belt themselves.

Penny