Pubs are the heartland of folk music. The trouble with sessions that are held in community halls etc although they can be great events, is that they are not reaching and converting the casual/accidental passing trade and potential audience and it is these people that will make the genre survive and grow. A lot of folk musicians themselves are also to blame for the pubs discontinuing folk sessions. They must remember that Pubs are businesses and have to pay wages, power, enormous rates etc and are now struggling to survive. Some people that I know walk into a pub session and ask for a glass of tap water, others will sit with a half pint or two for the whole duration, and on occasions I have seen people bring their own booze hidden in a bag. and then there's the ones that order a cup of tea/coffee. I'm not saying that we should all be rolling drunks, but let's make an effort to get the landlord's till rattling. One of my good friends falls into the cup of tea category - but he is always accompanied by two or three drinking pals, who he goes out of his way to give a lift to and from the pub session. If every single person at the folk club makes an effort to invite their friends along too, then we can only grow and prosper, as well as putting a smile on many a landlod's face up and down the country!