Becoming a Southerner

Well things have been a bit hectic recently what with one thing and another.

Move down south has been accomplished and I am now installed in new room although I still haven't had any time to actually sort out any of my stuff so it's still all sat in a big heap (currently known as Mount Stuff!) and I occasionally rifle through it in search of important items. Thus has lead to least one impressive case of subsidence and I reckon I'm going to have to take a couple of days off to get it sorted since I appear to have no free weekends ever again.

Speaking of which, I spent my 1st weekend down here in Witney (well, I commuted just for the novelty value) at the Hands On Fiddle weekend. Due to the move, the sheet music didn't catch up with me until the night before which meant I ended up winging it in the 'Developing Irish Fiddle Class' with Matt Cranitch. Although this was aimed at Basic and Intermediate, those of us at the bottom end agreed that he might have missed the 'Basic' part. We'd be (in my case attempting) playing the tunes at some silly speed and then he'd say, quite seriously, 'well, now that we've run through it slowly...'. Still, picked up some tips which I can take away to work on and I still enjoyed it. The concert on Saturday evening was lovely and I've decided I really like Peter Cooper (even aside from the fact that he really reminds me of Eric Morcombe). Sunday's workshop was a bit easier. It was 'Developing Shetland style' with Catriona MacDonald and we were all learning the tunes by ear so I wasn't quite as put off by lack of practice. Lots of things to practice from this one and I really enjoyed it. (Even though I spent the next 2 days with my left hand cramped in fiddle playing position. May need to increase my practice time... ) Still need to find a teacher down here as well. Must look into that.

Work has been great. Working with some lovely people in a job that I can do (and I'm finding a use for my medical knowledge. My German may be rusty but most of the medical stuff is roughly the same so I can translate about 70% of written German without having to resort to Google) Am actually happy to go to work and everything seems so much lighter. Didn't realise just how much stress the lack of any real job in Edinburgh was causing. Think I was right to get out and should have done it so much sooner.
Walking to work at the moment (mostly because the keys to my bicycle lock are somewhere at the base of Mount Stuff and I've yet to locate them). It's about a 40 minute walk (when I don't stop to help little old ladies who fall over in the street. Well, I didn't get much choice after she practically fell on me) so not too bad and the buses here actually give change which is another huge novelty. Plus the local library is set in gorgeous old building in a lovely park (sadly, it's also one of the ones under threat of closure. Fingers crossed it makes it.) and I walk past a shark in someone's roof every day (this has yet to stop being hilarious). Have even managed to practice the melodeon and fiddle with no complaints from my flatmates who seem very nice if a bit bemused (that said, I did pick up a heavy duty mute for the fiddle at Witney, just to be nice.)

It's still a bit surreal being down here. It's quite different to living in the North but, for the life of me, I couldn't tell you why. On top of all this, have bought a new mobile phone which has all sorts of features such as access to Twitter which I'm actually finding a great deal of fun. (not least when listening to the folk awards, while drinking gin and twittering with friends. Very funny indeed.) Even better, it can do google maps so I don't have to panic about getting lost. Slightly worried about the amount of times the instructions mention that it might explode....Given my track record that does not bode well. Still, lets hope it makes it to the end of the year...

Don't Panic, Don't Panic!

Rapper workshop went very well. We had 5 and a half sets who all seemed to have fun and then we carted them all off to Bennets where we had a pretty good dance (and a very strange discussion about the shipping forecast and the possibilities of a monopoly type game based on it) and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We seem to have gained 2 dancers and a fiddler (who, last night, turned out to be a pretty good dancer too) so things are looking hopeful on the Mons Meg front.

I've had the flat confirmed, which is a huge relief but have yet to start packing (mostly cause I'm in panic mode where I run around like a mad thing, picking stuff up and putting it back down and getting precisely nowhere.) Meanwhile, hating the post and whoever put the lock on the main door of the stair since I've been having to run back and forth to the depot (which isn't close!) on the say-so of cards that are themselves 10 days late to collect normal letters. So looking forward to having a main door address.

The pipe workshop at Celtic Connections was great fun. I even managed to get a tune (using the broadist definition of the word) out of them by the end of the day. Would actually consider adding them to my current instrument collection if I could afford them but I can't which is probably a good thing. Should try and achieve a playable level with the melodeon and the fiddle before I attempt anything else (so that could be a good long while).
The concert on the Sunday was also good fun. Not sure about the Cairngorm piece they opened with. all very good musicians but the tune would barely have stretched to 4 minutes, never mind the half hour it lasted! (Plus one of the fiddlers looked like he was ducking bullets the whole time he was playing). Interestingly (for me at least) the lead fiddler was the younger sister of one of my university dancy friends. Saltfishforty and Spiers and Boden were both excellent (although Saltfishforty are slightly weaker on their songs) and together they were absolutely brilliant. Sounded like there was far more than 4 of them.

Had my last proper rapper practice with Mons Meg last night. It was a good fun night with trying to put three beginners through the dance (and a dog I got to make friends with!). Plus Trina produced a cake for me (topped with a set of bellows with a face...wonder what that could possibly represent) and I got a framed collage of rapper photos and a T-shirt with the picture of us on the steps at Holmfirth on it (plus the contract that apparently hands me over to Mabel Gubbins which I find mildly suspect...). Am very, very sad to be leaving Mons Meg but glad I still get to dance with them at things like DERT and Holmfirth. (And we're booked for Holmfirth again this year. Looks like there's a good number of us going and we're all camping. Huzzah, Mons Meg encampment!)

Have notified all who need to be notified that I'm leaving; twice in the case of British Gas who, I forgot, did both my gas and electricity. Liked the poor lad on the end of the phone who clicked to it long before I did and pointed out that I may have just spoken to him...

Have booked for the fiddle workshop at Witney, the weekend next so am just waiting to hear back about that, then it's stewarding at the Cheltenham Folk Festival the weekend after that, back up to Edinburgh for a Mons Meg DERT practice the weekend after that, IFVDF, the weekend after that and then DERT and it's not looking like it'll ease up through the summer. Huzzah!