When I was first interested in folk music in about 1980, there were several busy clubs in and around Nottingham - and very many dance sides too. But I couldn't help noticing there was a huge overlap of membership. Some people were at a different club or out with a different side several nights a week.

Lose one of those people and (s)he counts as several - one fewer at each club or side that they would normally attend.

Darwinian selection then cuts in: the remaining people gravitate towards the best adapted clubs - those that are accessible, in decent pubs, with good beer. The less well adapted clubs become marginalised and fade. And anyone trying a folk club for the first time who turns up at a fading club has all his or her worst preconceptions confirmed: a half-hearted meeting of a few drab people in a drab pub. Is a first time visitor likely to try a different club, or give up on the idea? I suspect many do the latter.

I had several years when I was not involved in folk clubs at all, then I started to visit a few. Most of the ones I visited were poor shadows of the ones I remembered. I would have given up on the idea if a friend had not encouraged me to go to Grand Union Folk. That one club seldom has fewer than 25 people present, most of whom can sing or play pretty well. They have guest nights with 50 or more in the audience, and I have seen the "Folk Club Full" sign up at least once.

Too many clubs was the problem. It was great while the in crowd was young enough and fit enough (and rich enough) to sustain them all, but I am sure the sheer number of clubs contributed to the decline of the scene as weaker clubs were a poor advertisement to new people wanting to try folk music for themselves.

The hardest thing is to see ourselves as others really see us.