Jim -- I, for one, would be sorry if you left this thread, which has been of great interest to me since December.
Today Gordeanna McCulloch and I held the second of three ballad workshops in Glasgow, with the intention of supporting less experienced singers who want to think about singing ballads. There were 27 in attendance (some fairly experienced, in fact) and all very enthusiastic.
And the bottom line is that they want this to continue as a monthly session, because there are so few opportunities for singing ballads in a sympathetic community. But I imagine this will be different from singing in a folk club, and much more like a singaround, which seems a more appropriate place for novices than a venue with a paying audience .
As you can see, I'm with you on the folk club/standards issue, and would much prefer it if Snail would start his own thread if he thinks this is an important matter.