Vic, your comment about the sheer size of some sessions is very true - victims of their own success. I attend an end-of month session which is very popular, and very different each month as attendees come and go - but it's usually packed. When, for whatever reason, it's less well-attended, the session is sometimes more satisfying. I wouldn't miss it for the world, but size does make a difference.

My own middle-of-the-month session, which has been going for around 5 months now, gets between 8 to 12 players - not all of whom play together all the time - and the feedback has been very positive. I guess it's a halfway house between a session and a singaround, but some of the shyer and not quite as experienced attendees have told me how much they like it because it's quieter and more intimate.