Interesting thread... It might be worth putting my first post from yesterday which stood without me receiving insults or threats of me being banned from the froots roots. Perhaps I am mistaken but I do not believe I was towing the "party line" (which as far as I can make out is, according to Mr Bridge, what Diane says).

"PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:49 pm"

Dainne Eeasby wrote: So nobody's arguing for the GEFFs. We all agree that lack of professionalism in public performance is a no-no.

No. I don't believe perormance in a public place must be "professional".

As far as folk clubs that are concerned, I believe there is room for pure amateur get togethers with no booked artists right up to concert style events which perhaps have no floor singers or are careful about vetting their singers as they feel a need to offer "value for money" for their more expensive door charges.

I know nothing about leaning on artists in the small clubs. I've never been responsible for paying and also, I've never been one for bartering - either I can afford what someone asks or I can' t and my own approach if all guests were beyond my finances would simply be to have no paid acts - they are a smaller part in my own folk outlook than having environments where anyone can participate . Perhaps if artists are made to feel guilty about the fees they charge by some clubs, something is wrong but otherwise, I'm most likely see it as supply and demand.

Overall, I believe in folk music at all levels and something that makes it special to me is that it is accessible to most people as participants if they wish. Remove that and folk might as well just become just a name for another form of entertainment.

I might not enjoy the concerts style venues, you perhaps might not enjoy a "dire singers night" - that's fine. But my slight concern above aside, I think the most damming thing for folk is to slam other venues, their aims and policies for not agreeing with our own.