DeG:
So - next question - how do I apply those standards?

David - I assume that, at your club, you have a mixture of guest nights and come-all-ye nights? You can use the come-all-ye as a proving ground to assess who can, and who can't perform reasonably. When you're putting together your running order for a guest night, then you can reasonably restrict the number of floor singers - and you make the choice as to who performs and who doesn't. You're the organiser - you run the club as you want to - it's your choice and you pick the most suitable fillers for the evening. If those that don't ever get picked, or rarely get picked, want to know why - then there's an opportunity to explain. Not easy, by the way, as Nick has demonstrated!

I'm popping up to Cheshire for a few days next week to see an old friend from long ago perform as the guest at a club. At his suggestion, I telephoned the organiser to see if there might be a chance of a floor spot that evening. The organiser's response was quite clear: it's a guest night - I can't promise - depends who turns up - bring your guitar - let's see what happens on the night. Perfectly straightforward as far as I'm concerned as he doesn't know me from Adam. We had a long and cordial chat for about 20 minutes on the trials and tribulations of running a club, etc., etc.

Don't you wish, sometimes, that some people who perform in clubs - or anywhere else, for that matter - were more self-critical? I made a huge gaffe some time ago at a Sussex club (the one where most of the performers pop their words and chords on a music stand). One performer played a very hesitant but promising version of the guitar instrumental "Buck Dancer's Dream". Full marks for trying, thought I. In the interval I was speaking to him and said something like, "Nice version of Buck Dancer's Dream - nearly there, eh?" That was a real 'I'll get me coat' moment, I can tell you! Turned out he thought it was perfectly played, and it also turned out that he ran another folk club elsewhere... The old boy wasn't best pleased, I can tell you - no self-critical faculty whatsoever. [Exit WF, stage left, pursued by a bear...]