Folk club: pay at the door, tell the MC if you want to sing, wait till called and then stand out front and do a song or two, depending what everyone else is doing. There may also be a guest, who you will probably have heard of, doing a full set. At some point there will be a raffle, and people will look extravagantly delighted to win a bottle of wine.

Singaround: find the right room, sit down, join in choruses, and wait till the turn-taking has worked its way round to you - or (if you're late and the MC's feeling scrupulous) until it's gone all the way round the people who came on time. The MC will then ask if you've got a song, and you can do one, usually sitting where you are. Later there will be a break - but no raffle - and afterwards the turn-taking will go back round the room, possibly in the other direction.

Session: find the right room, sit down, join in choruses. If you've got a song (and why wouldn't you), wait for a pause and leap in, sitting where you are. No raffle, no MC.

Singarounds and sessions happen in pub back rooms. Some FCs use bigger rooms with a stage and rows of chairs, but mostly they use pub back rooms as well. You won't see a guest at a singaround or session - and only very rarely see anyone doing more than one song in a row - but some FCs work on the same principle, with singers' nights week in, week out. There are only three firm distinctions: at a folk club, you pay on the door; the MC calls and introduces all singers; and there's a definite divide between the act and the audience, who are expected to sit and watch with rapt attention.

Oh, and you're much more likely to hear a traditional song at a singaround or session than in anywhere calling itself a Folk Club.