LesB, that comment about your friend in a session really shocked me with the tone of it, but I have to say in the long run I'm not really very surprised & totally agree about sessions & egos. I avoid them like the plague as I consider a lot of them have people going along who have far bigger egos than many of those acts which are booked, but far less talent.

I pick & chose where I go, very often because there are acts which I don't necessarily know & want to listen to without being commited to sitting through a long evening & paying comparatively far more.

I also love learning new things at workshops, seeing friends old & new & watching the displays.

I also love having a good laugh with newbies in the ceilidhs at the beginning of the evening, encouraging them to keep dancing & by the end of the evening, whadyaknow they've almost cracked it & they've found out just why I love folk music & dancing.