The trouble is that there are those who seem to think that the only alternative to excellence is the sort of thing that Nigel summed up earlier as "the half-arsed, the lazy or the can't be bothered." and talk as if the whole folk club circuit is infested by them.

He also said "In my humble opinion, only your very best - whatever that may be - is good enough for folk. Is this fair enough?" Sounds good to me but it can't be avoided that there are quite a few people who have a deep love and dedication for the music and practice for hours in the privacy of their own garden shed but, well, they might be ill advised to try and make a living out of it. Equally, there are those who wouldn't dream of trying to make a living out of it but can easily upstage the booked guest. All of these are, to my mind, the backbone of the folk scene. The professionals are a bonus and the "half-arsed"....? How many really fit that description?