Been away awhile, only just caught up with this thread. Right, no washing dirty linen, OK, instead set the record straight, hear the plain facts from the reporting of X-File investigator Spooky – for the truth IS out there !

1.        Dave's always put the music first; he's never set out with the express aim of running a folk club. He came forward in response to club Organiser Geoff Wood's pleas for help around three years ago, and proved the only person on the local scene that Geoff could trust to keep the club going and build it back up from the doldrums. Geoff's gone on record saying that he has greatly valued Dave's reliability and expertise. Dave had been prepared to take on more of the workload from Geoff at a time when no other help was forthcoming.
2.        Note that the "friends of the Grove Folk Club" had not supported Geoff or his folk club over the past few years, preferring instead to do other things on Friday nights or else sing and play to their hearts' content in the Grove's session rooms. That Guest List Dave had built up ("the envy of all the other club organisers") caused the "friends" to reappear out of the woodwork and stage a comeback just in time to take the credit for Dave's hard work.
3.        As for "Tyke" 's assertion that Dave took advantage of "an 84-year-old pensioner to bank roll out of trouble", well Geoff always assumed sole responsibility for contracts himself, and was perfectly happy with (and insisted on) personally guaranteeing (if necessary) guests getting paid.
4.        I know no other folk club where a licensee has ultimate say-so regarding the actual running of the club. At the Grove, Dave was presented with a non-negotiable situation. The Landlady dictated that he must only MC on the first Friday of each month. This would have been unacceptable to any right-minded human being, let alone a volunteer. The Landlady's apparent antipathy towards Dave as Club Frontperson/MC is a mystery. As far as I know she's had no disagreement with Dave.
5.        Dave's given plenty of exposure to quality local singers when supporting the guests. He's always treated both these local singers/musicians and the main guests "fairly and with the respect they deserve". As for "Brown Nosing", well guests can sniff that out a mile off, and believe me, Dave wouldn't have the good reputation he does with the professionals if he were a brown noser.
6.        "Tyke" 's rambling posting says next to nothing. Nowhere is stated what is supposedly "wrong" (or undesirable) about Dave or his way of co-running the folk club.

Spooky forms the inevitable conclusion that the takeover was motivated solely by resentment, jealousy and envy rather than any real concern for the music or the club's future.

So Dave, if you ever get to reading this out there (hey, it's time you too were a Mudcatter!), take comfort, and I'll pass on this message from Mike Silver – KEEP THE FAITH !

M.