The gentle sounds of a classical concert or jazz jam floating into your garden from over the hedge is one thing, but a heavily amplified Ronan Keating warbling away in that uniquely mediocre way of his, that's another thing entirely. Frankly, I can see why the people of Hampstead, North London kicked up a fuss when their local stately home, Kenwood House, stepped up its programme of summer gigs.
Responding to that fuss, local authority Camden Council has cut back the number of events the stately home's owners, English Heritage, are allowed to stage each year, and also the number of tickets they can sell for each event. As a result organisers have said they will not stage any events this year, because it's just not commercially viable that way.
But Simon Thurley of English Heritage said he hoped they could work out a way of relaunching the concert programme next year, adding: "The concerts which have been running for 55 years have given huge pleasure to hundreds of thousands of people. This is a very sad day for Kenwood as well as for all the people who enjoy coming to a beautiful setting to enjoy music on a summer's evening".