One thing that does annoy me is the 10% of club organisers who never answer the phone, return calls, or answer emails. They plainly screen out people they don't already know - but we poor artists have to go on and on trying, because there are now so few clubs around that we need to bottom out every potential gig if we're to create viable trips. With many clubs closing, or stopping booking guests, or no longer meeting weekly, gigs on consecutive nights an acceptable distance apart are getting harder and harder to find.

Even when you ask politley about a particualr date, these people remain silent - but you can't move on to the next (less well-placed) gig until you know for sure. They may just be on holiday. I'm like a terrier me, and, usually, eventually I'll get through, get the gig and the audience love me (well, I can hope!) - but just think how many good artists must be just giving up, and how many new members these might have brought to the club, and how much fun everyone could have had.

Not answering is not only rude and unfair on artists (it pushes the average hunting time per gig up from about one hour to over two) but it's also an abuse of what is effectively a little monopoly, an incumbency of a town/club. People who treat a club like their own private property, and don't look to the future of folk music and the survival or the tradition are really being dogs in a manger, because no-one else can set up in competition else both clubs will fail.

How long does it take to say 'thanks but no thanks?'