I'd be surprised if there was any genuine cliquey-ness at the Cellar Upstairs for the reasons mentioned in my first post - unless matters have changed a lot, there simply weren't enough regular regulars to form any kind of a clique!
Survival training? No - but please try to persuade the very excellent Tom Paley to play guitar more, if you go and he's there.

And there are a lot of folk clubs who aren't very welcoming to newcomers, aren't there ... and a lot where the audience seems to be largely made up of people who might need care in the community and this is their social club! But if it's any consolation you could meet the same kind of syndrome in many special interest clubs, folk or not. I've recently had a crash course (via my father in law) in meeting people with a passion for model vehicles and public transport, and some of them make even the most stereotypical folkie look positively normal.
(running ducking for cover)

Anne