You've got my sympathies Sal. At least some of the festivals are starting to cotton on and do 'Hiring Fairs' to give some of the less well known acts a chance of being seen.

It's a vicious circle though. One of my very good friends spent years travelling round doing floor spots in the hope of being booked. The result - the club organisers didn't book him but 'hoped he would return and do us more songs another night'. He was a really excellent all round performer too.