We cross posted there Oggie.

I couldn't agree more about funding. Anyone who turns his nose up at ANY initiative beneficial to folk arts has undoubtedly lost the plot, and needs to be ignored.

On the subject of the "three men in a pub", after 47 years of successfully running such venues, and I might immodestly add, bringing many new performers both old and young to the level of quality that has enabled them to perform on at least a semi professional basis, I confess that I have never seen a venue that fits that description even nearly.

The mere expression of such comment, however, reinforces the myth, prevalent in the non-folkie world, that this is what folk Clubs are like. It is therefore something which should not appear in our forum in relation to serious discussion.

There are a number of performers in the professional arena (many more than you might expect), who will come and do a small folk club gig for half of what they normally earn for a performance, simply because they acknowledge the part that the clubs played in their progress to professional success.

In my area some twenty years ago, I contacted the organisers of the main clubs with the idea that, if we all got together to offer top performers one week or ten day tours involving say five to eight gigs over a 60 mile radius, that we could field artists who would normally be beyond our budgets. I suggested that we do this maybe twice or three times a year.

Of the two who bothered to reply, one said I should mind my business and leave him to mind his. The other said simply "Piss off".

Unless we can achieve a better degree of support and co-operation than that, we might as well all join rock bands. So can we have some suggestions as to how we can present a strong enough front to frighten politicians?

Don T.