Jim - If someone rang you up enquiring about your club and said something along the lines of "I've never sung in public before but I've got a couple of songs I'd like to do because my mate said I should get down to a folk club as that's the sort of place where people listen to this stuff..." what would your response be bearing in mind the comments you've been posting regarding standards?

If it were me I would certainly give him an idea of how the club runs ie singaround or get up to the front to do your bit or even sorry we have guests with invited floor spots every week but please try the xxxxxxxx folk club down the road which would be better suited to you - here's the organiser's number. If he did decide that my club was the place for him I'd be mindful of the fact that he might be nervous and make allowances for that but I wouldn't ask him if he thought he was up to a certain standard. After he'd (or she) performed I might have a quiet word with him later to either give him some encouragement or give him a few pointers to improve on what he'd done that night. Hopefully advice would be taken in the manner it was given and we'd see an improvement over the coming weeks once he'd got some confidence.

Your comments would be welcome Jim.

Cheers
Mark