I used to sing from my own homemade paper songbook. Now I sing from a digital version on my laptop.

I do it because I have always loved many more songs than I can fully remember. Got tired of not being able to remember the first line or leaving out a key verse.

I normally sing with people that I've been singing with for years. They accepted my notebook and then my laptop with good grace.

Even in groups of people who do not know me, the response has consistently been friendly. I've never had anybody refuse to share the screen with me.

Although the laptop was greeted with some sceptical bemusement, the idea has caught on in some of the musical circles I frequent. If you think the Red Lion session in Market Drayton looks like a library, imagine what a roomful of folkies with laptops looks like.