I echo GUEST Squiggle's remarks above, and John Adams'. As for EFDSS being Londoncentric, that has never been a bad place to start a national awareness of something in media/marketing terms. Given restricted budgets and finite energies, it's possibly better placed to coalesce things and move them onwards and outwards from there than in places with smaller populations and less national media focus.

Also, although I don't come from London, I do raise eyebrows at the incredible knee-jerk snobbery and antagonism always levelled (not just in Folk) at anything done there, from people in other parts of the country. People who in the meantime - Ryburn, EA, Folkworks etc OBVIOUSLY excepted - are happy to sit on their arses and carp.

I left EFDSS in the late 1980s but have been increasingly thinking of rejoining lately, especially after the blinding St George's gig which I went up to CSH for. Maybe that and this thread has persuaded me it's time.