The best way with daft laws is just to break them. That's where most of our public liberties have come from.

So far as sessions in pubs is concerned, one complicating factor is that the landlord has to worry about his licence (and probably about the company that owns the pub). The other is that nine times out of ten, nobody gives a bugger about the law in these cases, and there's a worry that raising it as a matter of principle might make someone give a bugger about. The nuisance is when you find your session is the one in ten that gets stomped - which is why the law has to be changed.

But when it comes to dancing on the highway, it's between the dancers and the local authority. I can't imagine the police being too eager to get involved in this kind of caper. Just imagine arresting a bunch of Morris Dancers.

"Free the Morris 8!"

It's just occurred to me, what with all this in the paper about Portillo and Co coming out for legalising dope as a token (these puns keep on coming inadvertently) gesture of Tory Libertarianism. I can envisage our music and dancing could be taken up in a similar way. Similar but less likely to offend the respectable people. (Little do they know...)