We've had all sorts of scratchy, clicky, bangy things arrive at sessions and they can be a real nuisance. Over Christmas we had a family arrive with little Sebastian (name changed to protect the guilty) in tow who had a new bodhran for Christmas. "Will there be musicians playing tonight because Sebastian want to play his drum?!!". When he did, he was loud, out of time and apparently deaf.

The intervention of a kindly folky who could play and who gave the lad a few pointers seemed to bring things to a head - child gets huffy, parents get annoyed, parents and child leave, music continues.

On the matter of eggs, we passed one around the pub until it vanished but that was exceptional when the owner was being deliberately bloody-minded and trying to irritate.

We try to encourage people to play but also to recognise the effort required to learn how to. Percussion seems to be regarded as the easy and cheap way to get into a session but the effect can be awful with insensitive players. We've had a bunch of desert spoons trying to accompany a slow air on a fiddle (I kid you not!) and also someone on bones trying to join in with unaccompanied singing. Eventually you have to resort to something blunt, preferably verbal. Something like "How about you take it in turns with the rest of us, i.e. you play, then you don't!" At least they get the message.

Other alternatives include bringing a bugle - play only when the shakers get going but site next to them...