What an intolerant lot some of you are.

You come out with pejorative terms such as "snigger snogwriter" and "practicing in public" to label all those who do not subscribe to your particular view. You pontificate about how perfect things were back in the old days and how dire they are now and how folk clubs are dying.

Does it not occur to you that perhaps most people who go to folk clubs are there to enjoy an evening out and a few beers with friends who share a common interest and they go because they enjoy taking part; singing a couple of songs and listening to others sing, hearing some new songs and some familiar one and in between having a natter and generally socialising.

We are not looking for professional standards from everyone, though we get it from some, we don't mind if someone fluffs their words - everybody does at some time, and some feel more confident if they have a crib sheet in front of them, well that's fine - after all, professionals forget their words sometime and need some kind of a prop when that happens, it's just done more discretely on the professional stage.

If you don't like that, well it's simple. Stay away, but stop knocking those of us who do.

Folk clubs are not dying. There will always be people who want to get together and share songs and the folk club - at least in its singaround form - is where that is happening and, where I live at least, there are plenty of them about.