I've been a member of EFDSS for years, but for much of that time I was paying my subscription in spite of, rather than because of, the activities the society seemed to regard as important. It was always worth it, for me, if only to support and to make use of the Vaughan Williams Library.

More recently it's been clear that changes were afoot and that things were actually happening, notably the steady improvement in EDS and - especially - the various publications. On my last visit to the House, to give a lecture in Sam Lee's 'What the Folk' series, I arrived to find Sam leading an excellent singing workshop, Paul Hutchinson teaching a class in the main hall, a number of young people milling around, and exactly the kind of buzz about the place that Ian Anderson described.

And can I also put in a word for Sharp's Folk Club, where I've had several good nights.