My granny wouldn't give any money to carollers if they didn't sing in tune, or didn't know the words. Sometimes we have carollers turn up, sing a couple of lines, then stand staring at you. we used to sing a whole set ... and we'd rehearse, and sing in different parts, tenor, alto, mezzo, soprano (never could find a baritone). Nowadays when anyone turns up singing just a few notes I ask them to come back when they know some actual songs to sing.

Once my grand aunt was annoyed by the secular nature of the hymns some young carollers picked. She knew the lads because they went to the local school, and assumed the songs were secular because the lads were protestant. Anyway, one of the boys, to please her, sang "veni creator spiritus" in Latin, and she gave him five punts. (quite a bit in those days.) She told me he had the most beautiful soprano voice she'd ever heard. "That boy could sing."

Well, I would hope so. His name was Paul Hewson... he grew up to be Bono.