Great to see such enthusiasm for whistle playing in sessions. My wife plays one and is quite often drowned out by boxes, guitars, fiddles, etc., and it's a real shame. The tunes get swallowed up in the general mash and all the ornaments and flourishes that make whistles so nice, never get out. Occasionally she lets rip on a Susato that has plenty of volume but it shouldn't be necessary. Who wants to belt our Tom Andersen tunes for example?

The issue of cliques is a good one too. When everyone has played together for a long time, they learn each other's sets and that makes it seem quite exclusive to newcomers. It might not be though. There isn't really any excuse for Bernard getting hassled for playing his own stuff. Surely anyone going to a session is interested in hearing tunes whether they already know them or not? And if they do turn out to be old chestnuts, that's no reason to knock them. Pass on some new tunes to the newcomers - do a swap, show a bit of common... I'm sure everyone here agrees with sentiments like these but it's often illuminating to hear what it's like for newcomers trying to get their feet under the table. We all take for granted our repertoires, the mates we play with, the sets, etc. Perhaps we all need to bear it more in mind at sessions generally.