Countess certainly has a point in that the general public don't always find the folk club format comfortable. We've all seen the non-folkies who leave after the first dud floor singer, the non-stereotypical kids who get the "here comes trouble" treatment, the people who just came to sit and listen but were intimidated by the well-meant invitation to contribute a song. Many people enjoy their live music in an atmosphere somewhere half way between hushed reverence and riotous assembly.

But the point about the songs that people like me sing is that they tell stories and work better if people listen. You'd get shushed for talking in a classical concert and - no doubt - in a Wood / Lupton Arts Centre event. Folk clubs at their best manage to maintain a balance between good order for listening and informality and (dare I say it) fun. They may only ever appeal to a minority but that doesn't mean they're redundant.