Another factor which completely remedied my anxieties, was getting out and meeting and singing with people on the ground floor in Essex, Kent and Suffolk. I now know that I could walk into any folk club in the country and be welcomed and have a pretty enjoyable evening.

Amen to that. As for glueman's 'barmy dress code', it's true that you will occasionally meet a few eccentrics who believe that being a folkie at a folk event requires they dress in a certain way. But so what? If it doesn't stop you or me dressing how we want to and still being accepted, then let them have their fun.