Just noticed that it was Memorial Day in the US of A, as well as Bank Holiday in the UK; you could tell it was a Bank Holiday over here, the heavens opened and the temprature dropped by 10 degrees Celsius ( do you Yanks need that in Fahrenheit ? )
So what did y'all do, then ?
I only had our regular Sunday afternoon session, principally entertained this week by me mussing up "The Mist-Covered Mountains" on the english concertina, but that's my own fault for not practicing....
Worked. I had to report speeches for a university commencement, and then there were transcripts, transcripts, and more transcripts. I'm a court reporter.
I am so fed up with not fiddling anywhere that I am seriously considering rejoining a fiddle club. Bleeeah.
Played my fiddle for 2 hours in AM, planted some red white and blue petunias on the Civil War soldiers buried in the cemetary next to my property, one of whom was the son of the original builder, and put 6 cd's on the changer and cleaned out the pantry which needed to be cleaned real bad. Changed the set of cds once. Played a little more of my fiddle and then made some strawberry shortcake to go along with the rest of the feast. I plan to plant some tomatoes tonight.
A pretty productive day.
Played our guts out at The Tree in Stratton on Friday, with depleted yet valiant forces to do our bit for the fledgling Bude and Stratton Folk Festival (tho' Mudcat hasn't noticed us apparently...). Then a gig at The Trewarmett near Tintagel on Saturday, my first time at that hallowed hostelry and very nice it was too. I'm getting too old for two gigs in a row though and I don't even take drugs.
Well the rest of the weekend was fairly normal, but then today I went to get my bow rehaired and looked at fiddle upgrades, then went to a barbecue/CRAB FEAST (first of the season over here, and in my part of the US life basicaly revolves around crabs). So stuffed my face with them. Then came home and practiced.
Sorry... no one has been able to answer that question for me yet... but they keep saying it.
~~~
But as for this holiday weekend, I played for an Irish/Indian wedding that was a treat. It was a pagentry of beautiful women in saris and men with long coats and high collars. It was a very stossy affair. My favorite memory of the night happened while we were eating this gorgeous Indian food and a beautiful Indian lady approached us who was wearing a lovely black and gold sari and her head was laden with gold jewelry. She complimented us on our music and then turned to me and asked what that instrument was that I was playing with my feet. (I play a shruti with my feet to make the sound of a bagpipe drone... sort of) I told her it was a shruti-box and that I suspected it might be blasphemous to play it with my feet. (she nodded) I explained that it was given to me by a mad Dutchman in 1975 and I rigged it to be played with my feet so that my hands were free to play concertina or flute. I explained that I didn't know anything about it when I first got it and only found out after the fact that it might be bad form to play it with my feet. In a soothing voice with a rich Indian accent that I could have listened to all night she smiled sweetly and said, "That is ok, you didn't know, your heart was in the right place. You are forgiven; God is very flexible."
Friday evening. Went to the excellent (as usual) Friday session at the Plume of Feathers in Bristol. Unfortunately, it was the final session at the Plume because the pub is being taken over on 29 May by a company that has already bought up hundreds of pubs in England in April alone. The supportive landlady is sadly having to"explore other options", as they say. So we're looking for another pub to alternate on Fridays with the Barley Mow.
Saturday to the Chippenham Folk Festival. My wife went to an Irish set dancing workshop held in the Town Hall by Geoff Holland (the band was Pendragon), while I watched the Morris dance displays in the High Street and visited Tim Phillips' traveling fiddle shop in the riverside park nearby, where I met some friends from our sessions.
Sunday was a torrential wash-out throughout most of England, so that was a useful opportunity to stay home and practice.
PB, remove the letters that stay the same and look at the letters that have been changed to "toss". If that still doesn't explain it, google or find out somehow about coarse language in British English.
Sang in the parish choir on Sunday; family cookout (with me as the Meistergriller); Memorial Day (US) spent playing Taps in our cemetery at vet's graves; evening session in Boston; now getting ready for school tomorrow.
Played at the Seattle Folklife festival, which is as big and obnoxious as any gigantic hippie extravaganza you could name. (Or as well-attended, widely varied, and highly creative... if you like.) The whole thing takes place under the Space Needle.
We played in a smallish tent shelter off in a corner of the grounds--without any PA gear at all! Amazingly, considering the cacophony of buskers and heavily amplified acts just around the corner of a large building, it worked out surprisingly well. We played our allotted 30 minutes, got rounds of enthusiastic applause, had a great time.
Very much the opposite of a cozy session in a small, dark pub--but who could compain about sunshine and an appreciative audience for your tunes? Not me.
I played a wedding on Saturday night, on the lawn of a private residence. The cat in residence (Beeeyoootiful grey kitty) decided it liked flute music and perched on my lap in the middle of a set. The guests thought it was nice and took lots of pictures.
Then, during the actual ceremony, the cat crawled on my lap again, but starting sliding through my legs to the ground. It tried to hang on. This cat had not been de-clawed. It was very painful.
Then, on the way home from the wedding, I was basking in the glow of a nice sunset enjoying life when I ran over the blown-out tire of an 18-wheeler. It took me two and a half hours to get towed home, and $400 to repair the damage :( that'll teach to enjoy life too much.
Today was a very fun birthday party/house session.
I went to an electronic music festival of all things yesterday (don't worry, no "Irish" techno was played!!!). Today I attended a backyard party, where I and ten others feasted on summery foods and had some tunes. A fine weekend.
Our long weekend is still to come at the end of the week. I've got a list of tunes I have been working on and hope that this weekend I'll finally get to learn them all to a passable level. Then there are a few bottles of wine that are sitting there waiting to be drunk - someone has to do it!
The Sunday music session won't be the same without Stuart who's off headed to Scotland and Ireland for an obscene 10 weeks holiday - hope you're reading this Stuart!!!
Oh and I'm going to get an external hard drive to back up all my mp3's.
I went to Chippenham Festival - like lazyhound, I landed up at Tim's stall playing through his new fiddles, discussing an alteration to my bridge - and I always take him some cakes.
We then landed up playing in the Gladtsone for several hours before falling into an exceptionally good chinese restaurant with some friends!!
Worked on the chords to go with Jump at the Sun. Stacked logs for next winter. Went to see my mum. Read a little about Eric Hobsbawm and the invention of tradition. Didn't go to the big ITM meeting at somebody's house.
Had a great time at the session, even though there were only two of us, we were having fun, and the drinking crowd was very appreciative. Honored the war dead last week on Armed Forces Day by participating in a mass "echo taps" at the state Veteran's Cemetary.
Happy Bank Holiday, a bit tardy but none-the-less as sincere!
Friday I played a short afternoon gig up by our Summer cottage and then spent Friday evening atop the mountain sitting on the porch listening to the last songs of the day as the evening's orchestra warmed up for their bit.
Saturday our community came together to clean our meeting hall after the long, and this year slightly damaging, Winter. We had a blast both young and old as we prepared the hall for this, our 136th season of faith and fellowship. Then Saturday evening there were a few porch gatherings scattered around our little patch. The craic was brilliant, no music was played, save that of Mother Nature's orchestra, just old friends catching up after the Winter hiatus.
Sunday afternoon we had a community BBQ the flowed over to more gatherings on the porches that lasted to the wee hours and yesterday we held a brilliant memorial service that included the raising of the Stars and Stripes as well as some song, readings, and comments. I gave a bit of the history of Memorial Day and offered some verse from “The Minstrel Boy” including a verse that I am fairly certain I read was an American addition that hails from the Civil War. It was:
The Minstrel Boy will return we pray
when we hear the news we all will cheer it.
The Minstrel Boy will return one day
torn perhaps in body not in spirit.
Then may he play on his harp in peace
in a world such as Heaven has intended.
When all the bitterness of man must cease
and every battle must be ended.
We stopped at the dairy farm on the way home yesterday afternoon for some great home made ice cream. Over all a brilliant long Holiday weekend!
I too was at the Chippenham FF, 'enjoying' our wettest night ever under canvas. Loads of tents gave up and went home early; we left late Monday night instead of (as planned) early Tuesday morning. We are now surveying all our wet camping gear.
I nevertheless had a wonderful time, playing in the Rose & Crown sessions and other pubs, going to an Issy Emeney workshop, a ceilidh every night, and my first ever Aqueilidh (the ceilidh in the swimming pool -- with caller and live band! Band not in swimming pool you understand).
I survived the wetest, coldest Chippenham Folk Festival that I've been to in 30 years, but the ITM sessions were good. I must have played for around 40 hours over 4 days.Tom Napper and Chris Parkinson were at some of the sessions. I even took a picture of Parky playing a shaky egg!
Ric
On the Saturday I set out, as it was warm and sunny, to do some sketching up in Weardale, County Durham (UK), my favourite place to do this; it's an upland valley issuing from the North Pennines, surrounded by moorland and quite high fells, and I've stayed or visited there all my life.
I set off by bus from Durham to Crook, and got down there to wait for the bus to Weardale. One turned up, but with the message that there was no service to Weardale that day. A van had blown up in the middle of Wolsingham, a small town at the entrance of the dale, blocking the main road. I went home.
A welder's cargo of gas had blown up, killing him; there was no foul play involved. Windows had been blown in all round and there was damage to house contents, possibly some structure, but the tragedy could have been worse: the accident happened at 7 a.m. with no-one else close by.
So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Just noticed that it was Memorial Day in the US of A, as well as Bank Holiday in the UK; you could tell it was a Bank Holiday over here, the heavens opened and the temprature dropped by 10 degrees Celsius ( do you Yanks need that in Fahrenheit ? )
So what did y'all do, then ?
I only had our regular Sunday afternoon session, principally entertained this week by me mussing up "The Mist-Covered Mountains" on the english concertina, but that's my own fault for not practicing....
# Posted on May 28th 2007 by Guernsey Pete
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Greetings:
Worked. I had to report speeches for a university commencement, and then there were transcripts, transcripts, and more transcripts. I'm a court reporter.
I am so fed up with not fiddling anywhere that I am seriously considering rejoining a fiddle club. Bleeeah.
# Posted on May 28th 2007 by cathrynb
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
...Remembered, honored, prayed for the men and women who have protected and defended our freedoms in the US for the past 231 years...
# Posted on May 28th 2007 by Ceolagusrince
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Played my fiddle for 2 hours in AM, planted some red white and blue petunias on the Civil War soldiers buried in the cemetary next to my property, one of whom was the son of the original builder, and put 6 cd's on the changer and cleaned out the pantry which needed to be cleaned real bad. Changed the set of cds once. Played a little more of my fiddle and then made some strawberry shortcake to go along with the rest of the feast. I plan to plant some tomatoes tonight.
A pretty productive day.
# Posted on May 28th 2007 by crfiddler
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Played our guts out at The Tree in Stratton on Friday, with depleted yet valiant forces to do our bit for the fledgling Bude and Stratton Folk Festival (tho' Mudcat hasn't noticed us apparently...). Then a gig at The Trewarmett near Tintagel on Saturday, my first time at that hallowed hostelry and very nice it was too. I'm getting too old for two gigs in a row though and I don't even take drugs.
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Steve Shaw
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
We *didn't* have a bank holiday in Scotland, and I *didn't* go to Orkney FF
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Bren
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Well the rest of the weekend was fairly normal, but then today I went to get my bow rehaired and looked at fiddle upgrades, then went to a barbecue/CRAB FEAST (first of the season over here, and in my part of the US life basicaly revolves around crabs). So stuffed my face with them. Then came home and practiced.
A very good day.
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by possumawesome
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
took my kids to a nature park, stopped to get milkshakes, and then to a BBQ. Now it's time to practice.
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Kheelch
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
"Remembered, honored, prayed for the men and women who have protected and defended our freedoms in the US for the past 231 years..."
How are they "defending our freedom" in Iraq?
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Phantom Button
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Why don't we just stick to talking about music?
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by irishfiddler32
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Sorry... no one has been able to answer that question for me yet... but they keep saying it.
~~~
But as for this holiday weekend, I played for an Irish/Indian wedding that was a treat. It was a pagentry of beautiful women in saris and men with long coats and high collars. It was a very stossy affair. My favorite memory of the night happened while we were eating this gorgeous Indian food and a beautiful Indian lady approached us who was wearing a lovely black and gold sari and her head was laden with gold jewelry. She complimented us on our music and then turned to me and asked what that instrument was that I was playing with my feet. (I play a shruti with my feet to make the sound of a bagpipe drone... sort of) I told her it was a shruti-box and that I suspected it might be blasphemous to play it with my feet. (she nodded) I explained that it was given to me by a mad Dutchman in 1975 and I rigged it to be played with my feet so that my hands were free to play concertina or flute. I explained that I didn't know anything about it when I first got it and only found out after the fact that it might be bad form to play it with my feet. In a soothing voice with a rich Indian accent that I could have listened to all night she smiled sweetly and said, "That is ok, you didn't know, your heart was in the right place. You are forgiven; God is very flexible."
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Phantom Button
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Stossy = stossy I have no idea how I wrote "stossy" when I was intending to write "stossy."
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Phantom Button
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Friday evening. Went to the excellent (as usual) Friday session at the Plume of Feathers in Bristol. Unfortunately, it was the final session at the Plume because the pub is being taken over on 29 May by a company that has already bought up hundreds of pubs in England in April alone. The supportive landlady is sadly having to"explore other options", as they say. So we're looking for another pub to alternate on Fridays with the Barley Mow.
Saturday to the Chippenham Folk Festival. My wife went to an Irish set dancing workshop held in the Town Hall by Geoff Holland (the band was Pendragon), while I watched the Morris dance displays in the High Street and visited Tim Phillips' traveling fiddle shop in the riverside park nearby, where I met some friends from our sessions.
Sunday was a torrential wash-out throughout most of England, so that was a useful opportunity to stay home and practice.
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by lazyhound
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Wow... is there something wrong with the word s w a n k y ? Evertime I try to write it the word "stossy" shows up in its place.
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Phantom Button
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
PB, remove the letters that stay the same and look at the letters that have been changed to "toss". If that still doesn't explain it, google or find out somehow about coarse language in British English.
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Lingpupa
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Sang in the parish choir on Sunday; family cookout (with me as the Meistergriller); Memorial Day (US) spent playing Taps in our cemetery at vet's graves; evening session in Boston; now getting ready for school tomorrow.
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Greg the Piano Tuner
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Played at the Seattle Folklife festival, which is as big and obnoxious as any gigantic hippie extravaganza you could name. (Or as well-attended, widely varied, and highly creative... if you like.) The whole thing takes place under the Space Needle.
We played in a smallish tent shelter off in a corner of the grounds--without any PA gear at all! Amazingly, considering the cacophony of buskers and heavily amplified acts just around the corner of a large building, it worked out surprisingly well. We played our allotted 30 minutes, got rounds of enthusiastic applause, had a great time.
Very much the opposite of a cozy session in a small, dark pub--but who could compain about sunshine and an appreciative audience for your tunes? Not me.
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by mickray
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Thanks for explaining that, Bellman... I see it now. I didn't realize Jeremy had banished the word "w a n k e r."
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Phantom Button
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
I played a wedding on Saturday night, on the lawn of a private residence. The cat in residence (Beeeyoootiful grey kitty) decided it liked flute music and perched on my lap in the middle of a set. The guests thought it was nice and took lots of pictures.
Then, during the actual ceremony, the cat crawled on my lap again, but starting sliding through my legs to the ground. It tried to hang on. This cat had not been de-clawed. It was very painful.
Then, on the way home from the wedding, I was basking in the glow of a nice sunset enjoying life when I ran over the blown-out tire of an 18-wheeler. It took me two and a half hours to get towed home, and $400 to repair the damage :( that'll teach to enjoy life too much.
Today was a very fun birthday party/house session.
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by wormdiet
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
I went to an electronic music festival of all things yesterday (don't worry, no "Irish" techno was played!!!). Today I attended a backyard party, where I and ten others feasted on summery foods and had some tunes. A fine weekend.
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by alison kale
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Our long weekend is still to come at the end of the week. I've got a list of tunes I have been working on and hope that this weekend I'll finally get to learn them all to a passable level. Then there are a few bottles of wine that are sitting there waiting to be drunk - someone has to do it!
The Sunday music session won't be the same without Stuart who's off headed to Scotland and Ireland for an obscene 10 weeks holiday - hope you're reading this Stuart!!!
Oh and I'm going to get an external hard drive to back up all my mp3's.
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Donough
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
I went to Chippenham Festival - like lazyhound, I landed up at Tim's stall playing through his new fiddles, discussing an alteration to my bridge - and I always take him some cakes.
We then landed up playing in the Gladtsone for several hours before falling into an exceptionally good chinese restaurant with some friends!!
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Tarrantella
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Worked on the chords to go with Jump at the Sun. Stacked logs for next winter. Went to see my mum. Read a little about Eric Hobsbawm and the invention of tradition. Didn't go to the big ITM meeting at somebody's house.
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by kuec
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/13790
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Alf Tupper
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Had a great time at the session, even though there were only two of us, we were having fun, and the drinking crowd was very appreciative. Honored the war dead last week on Armed Forces Day by participating in a mass "echo taps" at the state Veteran's Cemetary.
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by AlBrown
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Hey Pete,
Happy Bank Holiday, a bit tardy but none-the-less as sincere!
Friday I played a short afternoon gig up by our Summer cottage and then spent Friday evening atop the mountain sitting on the porch listening to the last songs of the day as the evening's orchestra warmed up for their bit.
Saturday our community came together to clean our meeting hall after the long, and this year slightly damaging, Winter. We had a blast both young and old as we prepared the hall for this, our 136th season of faith and fellowship. Then Saturday evening there were a few porch gatherings scattered around our little patch. The craic was brilliant, no music was played, save that of Mother Nature's orchestra, just old friends catching up after the Winter hiatus.
Sunday afternoon we had a community BBQ the flowed over to more gatherings on the porches that lasted to the wee hours and yesterday we held a brilliant memorial service that included the raising of the Stars and Stripes as well as some song, readings, and comments. I gave a bit of the history of Memorial Day and offered some verse from “The Minstrel Boy” including a verse that I am fairly certain I read was an American addition that hails from the Civil War. It was:
The Minstrel Boy will return we pray
when we hear the news we all will cheer it.
The Minstrel Boy will return one day
torn perhaps in body not in spirit.
Then may he play on his harp in peace
in a world such as Heaven has intended.
When all the bitterness of man must cease
and every battle must be ended.
We stopped at the dairy farm on the way home yesterday afternoon for some great home made ice cream. Over all a brilliant long Holiday weekend!
Peace,
Ed
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by ejsant
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
Thought of my Dad, a WWII vet and all the sacrifices he made for us while in th military and by just being the BEST dad EVER.
Also removed the wall paper from a 15 x 20 room with 10 f oot ceilings. Found the location of the origianl fireplace mantel.....cool!
Mary
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Antikhntr
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
I too was at the Chippenham FF, 'enjoying' our wettest night ever under canvas. Loads of tents gave up and went home early; we left late Monday night instead of (as planned) early Tuesday morning. We are now surveying all our wet camping gear.
I nevertheless had a wonderful time, playing in the Rose & Crown sessions and other pubs, going to an Issy Emeney workshop, a ceilidh every night, and my first ever Aqueilidh (the ceilidh in the swimming pool -- with caller and live band! Band not in swimming pool you understand).
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by BohemianCoast
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
I survived the wetest, coldest Chippenham Folk Festival that I've been to in 30 years, but the ITM sessions were good. I must have played for around 40 hours over 4 days.Tom Napper and Chris Parkinson were at some of the sessions. I even took a picture of Parky playing a shaky egg!
Ric
# Posted on May 31st 2007 by ricthewhistle
Re: So what did you all do this holiday weekend ?
On the Saturday I set out, as it was warm and sunny, to do some sketching up in Weardale, County Durham (UK), my favourite place to do this; it's an upland valley issuing from the North Pennines, surrounded by moorland and quite high fells, and I've stayed or visited there all my life.
I set off by bus from Durham to Crook, and got down there to wait for the bus to Weardale. One turned up, but with the message that there was no service to Weardale that day. A van had blown up in the middle of Wolsingham, a small town at the entrance of the dale, blocking the main road. I went home.
A welder's cargo of gas had blown up, killing him; there was no foul play involved. Windows had been blown in all round and there was damage to house contents, possibly some structure, but the tragedy could have been worse: the accident happened at 7 a.m. with no-one else close by.
# Posted on May 31st 2007 by nicholas