The letter from Howells is really poor. "Excessively noisy" is such an ambiguous term that any storm trooper could do almost anything he wanted. Any good lawyer (American style, anyway) could knock it right back down. The catch, of course, is that the publican could be out of business by the time it all gets resolved.

As a folkie on this side of the pond, I find it difficult to believe that 'free' people cannot sing where they wish. I also find it difficult to believe that you have to be a union member to sing in public. (I am a union activist here.) Anyone who has seen older movies with pub scenes can recall seeing people singing together in all sorts of communal situations.

It has been said that people get the government they deserve. Tom Jefferson said that it is the right and duty of citizens to change the government every so often (not that we have been that successful doing that here).

I have real problems with the concept that a group of my friends and I cannot get together in a bar or pub or park and just start playing for our own and passersby's pleasure.

Am I crazy or is the world?