Well, I don't know about the state of folk clubs in general, but I thought I'd sample the monthly singaround at Charlwood (near Crawley) in Surrey yesterday evening. I went up with the intention of meeting up with an old friend - Wounded John Scott Cree - who I hadn't seen for over 25 years. John was there - just the same as ever - wonderfully funny and apparently unchanged.

However, I also took the opportunity to see what an evening at a strange session was like. And what a great evening it was. No charge on the door. Everyone sat round some tables placed end-to-end, with the overflow standing around us. The master of ceremonies conducted the evening with humour and gravitas - going around the company for a spot. There were songs from Sussex, songs from the locality "...collected by Rafe Vaughan Williams from Mrs. X's mother..." as one old boy said before singing it. Some lovely concertina playing by 'Catter Alan Day (thanks for telling me about the evening, Alan), and a wonderful comic rendition of "Hamlet" by a Scots lady with a broad Glaswegian accent! And, at the end, we finished off with ome carols and a spirited chorus of the Everley Brother's "Walk Right Back". The general standard of singing and performance was excellent.

If that's the state of folk gatherings at the moment, then it can't be all doom and gloom. I'll be back for another helping next month.