Well, all this has been a bit blown out of the water by other goings on.

However I've just had a letter back from my MP, Bill Rammell, following on the letter I sent him via Fax your MP. An acknowledgement, but an encouraging one, since Bill actually appears to understand the issues involved.

"I have written to the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions about this matter...I will be in touch again when I receive a reply.

"In the meantime, if I can be of further assistance, with this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact me."

With a PS "Before I was an MP I was a University Manager and held various licenses including PELs. I agree the procedure is overly complex and restrictive. I will look at the minister's response with interest"

And in his letter to the department, with which he sent him a copy of the letter I sent him, Bill says:

"Mr McGrath raises a concern about the law which he says discriminates against people who wish to meet and make music or sing in public places such as cafes or public houses, need a Public Entertainment Licence.

"I would welcome your thoughts on this matter and look forward to receiving a reply in a format I can forward to my constituent."

And he sent this to Dr Alan Whitehead, The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department Transport, Local Government and the Regions, Eland House, Bressendon Place, London SW1E 5DU.

And here was the fax I sent him:

Thursday 6 September 2001

Dear Mr Bill Rammell,
I am writing to ask you to do what you can to end the situation in which the law discriminates against people who wish to meet and make music or sing in public places, such as cafes or public houses, by requiring that Public Entertainment Licences should be obtained.

Traditionally this kind of social activity has always happened, folk musicians meeting for sessions, Trad jazz played in the bar, singing round the piano. This has rightly been recognised in practice as a form of social activity, no different in principle from people playing darts matches or talking about football when they meet together.

However many councils appear to be interpreting their obligations under the 1982 Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act as requiring that they treat people taking part in such activities as taking part in a public entertainment performance. This means a PEL must be obtained.

In the case of public houses there is an exemption, if there are only two performers. This means that if a third person joins in singing the chorus, for example, the exemption ceases to apply. In the case of anybody singing or playing in any other public place, such as a cafe, there is no exemption even for a single 'performer'.

This is clearly absurd, and is also in clear breach of Section 10 of the Human Rights Act, which guarantees our right to expression.

Like many absurd laws its impact is mitigated by the fact that sensible local authorities apply them with discretion. However this does not always apply, and there have been a number of recent cases where the law has been applied in a way that has been oppressive.

I enjoy taking part in a number of such folk music sessions in pubs within the surrounding area. One of them was a monthly session in the Welsh Harp in Waltham Abbey, next to the Abbey Church. It was, rather unusually, devoted primarily to English tunes (rather than Irish or Scots or American etc - though in practice all kinds of music would end up being played). We played the music, quite a few of the regulars tended to sit over by the TV and watch the match. We were there primarily to entertain each other, not to entertain an audience, and we were not paid.

However this session ceased a few month ago, because the local council insisted that it could not continue without a Public Entertainment Licence being obtained. In common with 95% of pubs in this country, the Welsh Harp did not have such a licence. Reasonably enough the landlord did not see it worth while to go to the trouble and not insignificant expense involved in obtaining one, just for out benefit.

This is just an example which happens to have happened locally. Elsewhere in the country there have been cases where a publican was fined for allowing people to join in singing happy birthday when the two exempted performers struck up the tune. In Weymouth when a pub obtained a PEL it prohibited it from allowing Morris Dancers to perform there except on one day.

For far more information about this than I can give you here, I suggest that you have a look through this web site about 'Session Harassment' -
http://www.freenetpages.co.uk/hp/trg/SCoFF/session.htm#july2001 or this one by the Campaign for Live Music, http://www.tradmusic.net/calm.html

There are many other injustices in the world which are more pressing. But it does represent a real injustice, and is stops people enjoying themselves in a harmless and beneficial activity.

Moreover, since the issue is now fairly actively discussed, especially among people who value folk music and traditional music and dance, both in this country and abroad, and it is also starting to affect tourism, and I anticipate that this could rapidly mushroom.

Through the Internet I know that Americans who enjoy folk music are starting to cross England off their list for holidays. After all, this kind of restriction doesn't exist in many other countries, and would not be tolerated. And people have said that going to a country where this kind of restriction is in existence is distasteful in itself.

Moreover this whole thing is damaging to our dignity as a nation, and to our ability to preserve and regenerate our popular traditions. It is cultural vandalism. And it seems that nobody in politics cares about it.

Yours sincerely,
Kevin McGrath