In his essay on the ideal pub (1946), George Orwell says:

In "The Moon under Water" it is always quiet enough to talk. The house possesses neither a radio nor a piano, and even on Christmas Eve and such occasions the singing that happens is of a decorous kind.

I would be delighted to go to a pub where singing *happens*. Evidently such places were common in 1946. During my year in Britain (1958-1959) I did not happen on one.