To be fair to Al, there are few things I dislike more than turning up at a club and not getting to sing - and turning up with family in tow, paying to get in and then not getting to sing would piss me off in a big way. So I can certainly sympathise.

That said, my nightmare folk club is one where lots of people do their own material, lots of other people do Harvey Andrews/Jez Lowe/John Conolly numbers and a few daring souls do pop songs - and anyone doing an unaccompanied traditional song is made to feel like an archaelogy lecturer who's interrupted a rave (and good luck if you're expecting anyone to join in on the choruses).

And it sounds as if Al's nightmare club is one where everyone does unaccompanied traditional songs (probably with choruses), and anyone who gets a guitar out is made to feel like a raver who's interrupted an archaeology lecture.

I think we've got a Difference of Opinion here.