Hmm... just to say that although there is some substance to what Mingulay has said (for instance the club before the current one that I used to go to was in a rather run down pub with strange landlord, and a strange atmosphere) not all UK clubs are actually run on pub premises, so the attitude of the landlord in some cases makes diddley squat of a difference!

The club that I am involved in here in Guildford has been bedding in for the last 9 months in the Assembly Rooms of the Guildford Institute - housed in a nice Victorian building in the middle of the town. Unlike many clubs where people can just turn up on the night and expect to get in it focuses on a membership system (to a large extent - although this does NOT stop non-members from booking and turning up).Pre-booking is strongly encouraged as we are limited by safety regulations to a maximum of 50 bodies on the premises on club evenings.(Happily for all but 2 of the monthly meetings so far all 50 seats have sold out in advance).

The club meets on a monthly basis, has 2 resident singers, and depending on which of us is available, or both (if that's the case) we'll do two numbers each, one of us at the start of the first set of the guest, and the other at the start of the second set. The guest will then do something like a 40 minute set in each half (rounded off at the end with the obligatory encore, of course!) During the 15 minute break in between both halves, the organiser will usually read out the "parish notices", announcing forthcoming folk or similar events in the town or surround, or even further afield. To date we haven't been able to accommodate floorsingers due to a very tight turnaround time (we have to be off the premises by 11 pm, to allow the caretaker to go home!!)

Our club is completely acoustic, and flavour of the day is predominantly traditional material,with no singer's nights.

We are also "traditional" in that we have a raffle - did anybody mention anywhere in this thread that 2 stalwart components of British folk clubs are the raffle, and candles?? WE don't have candles anywhere at ours (normally found at clubs where there are tables present!) but we do cheerfully extort money from punters, the prize in our case being one of the guest performer's CD's (although I have been to other clubs where stuff like chocolates or bottles of drink are on offer).

From my experience of other clubs that I've been to, whether they're good or not (no matter what sort of club they are) depends very much on the organisers and helpers, and their attitude and friendliness towards members/customers. I can recall going to one while on holiday, where no attempt at all was made to welcome anyone new onto the premises - result, I walked away and didn't bother - felt VERY out of place. But others make the effort to involve anyone on their own, or new to the club, and have a very sociable atmosphere. What is very clear,however, is that each and every club has its own flavour and different way of operating, although the general overall framework is relatively the same. I reckon it can be confusing sometimes, though... for instance, the floorsinger system seems to vary a lot. Some clubs run a list on the door, and then either cherry pick, or take it in strict turn to get -everybody- who's asked to sing on; others run a first past the post system (eg first four to ask to sing get on); others do it by invitation only; others make sure that people who'eve come from a long distance get to sing in preference to homegrown talent... a veritable minefield, unlesss you know the policy of club that you're going to . Wouldn't change any of it!!!

I reckon most of us could write a full book on this - looks as though I already have.... SORRY... I'll slope off now!