I've just looked at the local diary in the Leicester area - for tonight there are six clubs we could possibly go to -that is within a drive of about 40 minutes or less. There are also other clubs which run on ,say for example the second Monday of the month. they are a good mixture of the three types quoted. I think all of those clubs would be packed if everyone who ever came went on the same week.

Five of these are clubs we've visited and would definitely like to support but we can't do them all, and would like to investigate no 6 somewhen. With the occasional Monday when other things crop up, it means that we can probably only get to each one every six weeks. Sundays is a simlar crowded schedule.

In the Midlands it would seem that we're a bit thinly spread, but it doesn't mean that there aren't a lot of people who go to clubs.

There's also the question of "non-folk" people in venues -we've got a range of bits and pieces we do that branch over into country and pop, so that we can adapt (our duo name is "On the Fence"!) although folk song is probably our favourite genre. We were playing in a pub singaround once when the punters became really enthusiastic about the music being played which was mainly folkish - Julia commented afterwards:-

"You don't expect normal people to like folk music do you?"

I suppose she was right in the sense that you do start to feel a bit conscious that you might be "inflicting" your tastes on other people.

Interesting experience at Bedworth this weekend. There was a new landlord in the White Swan who had agreed to host parts of the festival. On Saturday night the singaround went over time, and the canned music was unceremoniously switched on (in the middle of someone's song) -obviously the landlord, who was quite new, didn't want to lose his normal Saturday night trade for the sake of one week. We obviously feared bad vibes!

On Sunday, the singaround/session was supposed to finish at 4.30 but we decided to carry on to see what would happen, quite prepared for the fact we might be booted out. By about 5.30 the landlord was leaning on the bar, listening and laughing out loud at some of the "craic" going on, really getting "on board" with it all, and at the end, saying he was definitely going to be involved in the festival next year "if I'm still here!"

It's a symbiotic relationship between performers, punters , organisers, audience and landlords which has to gel to work. We can't exist in a bubble!

Perhaps "can normal people like folk music could be a thread title!"