Hi Joe, good to hear that you get out & about & go to music gatherings to boot, ah, it's a grand life. Joe could you tell me what Faith's Friday night sessions are like. The last time I was there (a week visit seeing in-laws & friends) was eleven yrs ago, before that 17 yrs ago. They used to start off in the parlor then as the night wore on they'd be acappella/chorus singing from the kitchen, other stuff came in from the halls, people practicing in the upstairs rooms & down in the cellar an old-timey/irish session would be on the go. This has to be one of the oldest music parties in the country 40 + years at the very least. I've heard, as of the past few years, that it's been run over by & run by & according to Rise Up Singing. Joe say it ain't so. Did you get a chance to get to the bi-monthy, or is it monthly, (I think, correct me ) shanty session at the Hyde Street Pier & if you know, how & what's that like now? It used to start in the early evenings so that young scouts & kids especially, would get exposure to & a chance to participate in what normally would be, for kids, difficult to find. As the night moved on more would start to drift in untill the hold of the schooner would be bursting with song (is it still held below decks?). Aside from the sessions & parties & get aways, these two spots were my favorites. Thanks for any up dates, Joe, & next time you're out this way (& the same goes for you, Liam's Brother) give some advance notice so you can get a wider musical scope to pick from. Hopefully my wife, at some point, will find a good enough reason to visit her 2 sisters in San Francisco. Stuck on the "Other Coast", Barry