[quote]

What I find surprising, and disappointing, is the number who say they are put off folk clubs because they find them cliquey and unfriendly. That never used to be my experience, although as a singer and musician perhaps I found it easier to gain acceptance.
[/quote]

Leave the instrument cases in the car and see the difference. Some are very welcoming, most have long established audiences that form very closed groups, not actively unfriendly but just leaves a stranger feeling uncomfortable. I did encounter one where somebody (I never discovered if it was an organiser just an unpleasant regular) who was positively agressive to strangers daring to enter the club.