It's not just the police - I was in York, part of a group enjoying the playing of a band from the Andes when the woman owner of a nearby gift shop came out and demanded they move because they were taking custom from her. She was the sort of Brit who gives us a bad name, uptight, upper-class emulation, narrow of voice and attitude. She was also the sort who expects no opposition, and none of us said a word. None of us went into her shop, either, and most of us followed the musicians. They were good players.

I would also recommend to those visitors to London who like classical busking that they go to the Kensington area, near South Kensington Tube station, or the tunnel to the Science Museum, where the students from the schools of music perform.