Had a mad session last Saturday night in a mate's barn up in the hills above Castlewellan. As we were rattling out the tunes I noticed that the chickens were all sitting in a row on a shelf at the back of the barn listening intently to the tunes. [No we didn't play Jenny's Chickens!]
Cute topic, breandan! I alway thought my cat would love the harp, but she shows no interest one way or other. But when I play the fiddle she sometimes perks up--and if I hit a high note, she often immediately gets up and waddles quickly out of the room! (She's very fat, and hardly ever moves quickly at all)
However, when I was away for 2 weeks this summer, my husband told me that she sat by my harp every day--usually underneath it, even--something she has never done before--I guess she missed me...
When I am playing guitar, neither my cats nor my dogs show any respect to the artism, therefore I assumed they must be deaf. However, when I took up the 96-button accordion and started playing it loud in the room my cats slept in, they showed an amazing agility in running for their life and dogs accompanied me throughout the practice with howls. Therefore I assume they are not deaf.
The cats have loved the flute and they sit on my lap when I play banjo. They were raised on those two instruments. But to my surprise they also like my wife's accordion. Just shows that they are superior creatures. The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree.
I have four parakeets that will tweet back for every high G roll (they love the Chattering Magpie) and squack at every low A.
When I go over to my friend Steve's for band rehearsal, his dog, Rosie won't let us play until she is lying in the middle of the circle. His cat Irving prefers laps. He has jumped through my left arm (between my arm and my fiddle, while I was playing) to get to mine.
a friends cat once slept on mt accordion when i put it down to out the room, im not sure what that means. also my dog barks when i play polkas. im not sure if this is because he likes them or not. well anyway..........
I generally like to credit many animal species with more intelligence then is usually recognised. Not that I'm an archetypal "animal lover". Just because they can't speak, or understand much of the ideas embedded in our speech, doesn't mean they can't feel and experience the world through their senses, have emotions or even engage in some limited rational thought - often more than can be said for a fair few of the human specimens I've observed in the shopping precincts of Catford, Peckham, Harlesden, Attercliffe, Govan or Drumchapel.
I've noticed also "animals" are much less species-apartheid than we are. On farms, or bird sanctuaries and other places where many species are gathered together, they all seem to hang out together as a big morass of living creatures, only plumping specially for those whom they will mate with. Also animals generally don't kill members of their own species - certainly never en masse - except in mitigating circumstances, eg hunger, etc., but never for nationalistic or ideological reasons.
End of quasi-hijack. The reason for which was, in my book, yeah sure, they will listen to yet another set of wierd but nice noises that the big two-legged ones make, but they might not quite be able to divine the difference between a jig or a reel, never mind recognise Lucy Campbell from Eileen Curran or Julia Delaney, but, Hey! an audience is an audience, yeah?
Our cats are MOST attentive while we're practising, Pete and I, but that *might* be because we tend to sit down for a tune or two right before bedtime, and they're waiting more or less patiently knowing that when we're done they get fed.
I've written about my last cat, Dexter, the great big furface, getting all upset when I got out the recorders, back in my more medieval days. He'd start a few paces away, meowing piercingly as soon as I started in, then moving in closer and getting more and more insistent. If I kept it up, eventually he'd be standing on his hind paws, trying to hook the thing out of my mouth with a paw, at which point he would have his way, because that's about when I'd start laughing...
Here are a couple of things. Several years ago CBC TV featured a story about a dog who daily "sang" along with the music used to introduce the news. Suddenly CBC changed the music to something new. The dog was distraught. "It put 'er right off 'er feed" the owner declared. After recieving a complaint CBC sent the owner a tape of the old news music. The show featured the dog singing along with the music. The dog had a lot more enthusiasm than singing ability but was pretty clearly delighted to have it's music back again.
In September I went to a small concert in the hayloft of a barn. It was a nice venue. There were bales of hay on either side of a clear center space. Many of the concert goers sat on bales of hay on one side. One of the farm cats sauntered in and perched on a bale of hay and stayed there through much of the first half of the concert. Although it spent some time grooming it seemed alert and attentive. After a while it decided to visit with select members of the audience. "Select" means it included me, of course. Cats know who their friends are.
I've got a photo of our cocker spaniel sitting in a "His Master's Voice" pose, apparently listening intently as I was playing the fiddle to him. Normally the old dog completely ignores music of any sort, except on this one occasion, when my wife happened to come into the room just at the right moment with the camera in her hand.
Trevor
Danny, a propos your last comment, I've come across a few humans who can't tell the difference between reels and jigs when they hear them, and one or two of those persons are relatively experienced set dancers, who should know better!
Trevor
My parents used to have a dog Welsh Corgi named Charlie - it loved chocolate. It did'dnt love the sound of a fiddle. If I started playing it, it would start running around my feet whining and make attempts to jump up at me. It would show great appreciation when the music ended. Its reaction was very much the same as if I went out in a rowing boat with the dog ashore; it would run around being worried until I returned. I guess the high pitch of a fiddle and possibly other instruments (pipes?) makes some animals feel that "Trouble" is in the air.
My dog thinks that i tap my foot for his benefit. Every time i practice he lies across my feet hoping i will will tap my foot. I can only think he enjoy's it when i play, pitty i can't say the same about my wife but that's another story...
My canary churps and sings happily when I'm teaching or practicing hammered dulcimer. . .except for one song (Missouri) where she starts squawking and complaining. The dog used to love the whistle but has grown hard of hearing.
I've just been at a friend's house in Wales over the weekend. We were playing a few tunes together on mandolin and whistle, whilst his dog, Teifi, was asleep beside us on the floor. Whenever we played, his feet would make little twitching movements. This was clearly a sign of deep appreciation.
My cat, on the other hand, sees music more as something to be tolerated than to be appreciated. The first time she heard me play the mandolin, she was extremely wary. On hearing me play the whistle, she fled (that wouldn't be the first time my whistle playing has had that effect). I think she has now realised that, until it is in my hands, the mandolin is an entirely passive creature, and even when active, does nothing more than make noises. She will quite happily sit and ignore it now. When I play the whistle, she will sit for a time, depending on how often and how far I go into the second octave, until her patience rus out, when she will get up and seek another place to sleep. I think cats are rather logical creatures - a noise is a noise. If it is the sound of another cat, it is to be confronted. If it happens to be accompannied by fluttering or scuttling, it is to be pursued. If it is loud and piercing, it is to be avoided. Otherwise, it can be ignored.
Perhaps surprisingly, wasps seem to have a geat appreciation for music. This summer, at the Feakle festival, a frind and I were camping in a trailer just out of the village. Over the time we were there, we were visited by large numbers of wasps. The initial attraction was, no doubt, the accumulation of food scraps. But what they enjoyed most was buzzing around us as we were playing music.
I had several wasps crawl into the soundhole of my mandolin, spend a minute or so inside, enjoying the vibrations, then re-emerge with an air of satisfaction. Some also attempted to crawl in through the window of my whistle, or into my mouth, as I was playing, which I could not allow. It was, of course, for their own good, as I would have been unable to carry on playing in either event.
When there are that many wasps, there's not much point in trying to fight them off, as you'd be spending all your time waving your arms around like a lunatic - and you'd be sure to get stung. As it was, neither of us got stung once.
Since we are all animals (in our case, primates, great apes...if you don't believe that, go thump your bible elsewhere, please.), and babies are non-speaking members of our species, what's the take on them?...or is this new thread stuff?
We've a wee guy, Fergus, of one year and 2 weeks vintage, who has for his 1st word "candle" - for which he says "canga". When I play the whistle he squeaks in a high pitched wail. He can bash a bodhran with a tipper. When I play flute he makes a noise like lo-lo-lo, in some pitch quite close to the key being played. Often when I play he cries, not because he doesn't like it, but because someone else is playing with 'his toys', as he considers any of my instruments to be his toys. He is nearly walking and is always reaching up to stand up at the piano and press any key that makes a noise. As well as ensuring he can walk, talk, and think and so on, I am very keen to see any tendency toward musicality being fostered.
We spend our summers at a campground with a large pond in front of us. Whenever I would play my whistle out on the deck the geese would stand at attention and the heron "froze" til I quit. A young lad that used to fish nearby said the fish would always bite better when I was whistling. Pity he was killed in an auto accident soon after. I played at his funeral. Billy, I hope the fish are biting up there!
My friends I play with for barn dances have a couple cats. Every time I go round for a practice, one of the cats (always the same one) gets into my fiddle case, curls up and goes to sleep. As soon as I start playing the cat appears and will meow at me if the case is shut. I should maybe have a tune called, the cat in the case, or something.
"I am very keen to see any tendency toward musicality being fostered" - good. Foster away lad!
My own belief, which is borne out by experience and observation, is that on the whole kids will tend to do what they see their parents do - but won't take any bull. I have always encouraged my kids to play, but never made them do it, and also I play what I will when I will, regardless of what they are up to.
I don't know if that makes sense. What I mean is that in our house, the music has always been part of everyday life, and always done "because we want to" rather than "because we should". I took them to sessions if they wanted to come, but never forced them to go. My firstborn, Emma, is away doing a degree in music and theology at London Bible College now - she plays piano, clarinet, whistle, fiddle, guitar, mandolin and anything else you leave in view. My little boy, Steven, is eighteen in a few weeks time and he plays melodeon, whistle and piano. I suspect that if I had merely "sent them to lessons", or "made them learn" they would very likely have gone right off the idea of playing any sort of music.
The sleeping wears off after a while, and when you've got to be awake cos the child is, but he is happy playing on his own, what better than a bit of a tune.
We have a chipmunk who lives under our front porch. Last summer I would take him some peanuts and sit playing the whistle till he showed. Eventually he was trained to come look for peanuts whenever I played.
I've heard of musicians who played for peanuts, but this may have been the first audience who worked for peanuts.
When I was at the Scoil Eigse in Clonmel in August we were staying on a farm a few miles outside the town and late one fine afternoon I took myself and fiddle out onto the lawn for a play. A herd of cows in the adjoining field wandered over and stood in a line on the other side of the ha-ha watching and (presumably) listening to me for the next ten minutes. Best audience I've ever had
Trevor
My two cats used to run away and hide in the bedroom when I got out the evil instrument of torture (the fiddle), but I've been practicing more and, I think, getting better, and now they'll even stay in the same room and sleep while I'm playing.
A previous cat would get up and leave when I played the fiddle, but he didn't mind if I played the guitar, and my guitar playing is much worse than my fiddling. I came to the conclusion he disliked high pitches, as he didn't mind the viola, which I also don't play nearly as well as the fiddle.
I visited my sister and her husband not too long ago, arriving when they were at work. When they came home, I told them, "Your kitties ran away when I brought in the evil instrument of torture." My brother-in-law said, "What, you brought a vacuum cleaner?" I said, "No, the OTHER evil instrument of torture."
When we were in New Zealand a few years ago I had a fine time one evening playing to a flock of geese in the field adjacent to the campground. They could follow the reels pretty well but had trouble with the jig step.
Then there was Patrick Furlong's pub in Enniscorthy. A man of great hospitality who went into business some 60 years ago. Unfortunately he wasn't sure which. So in his pub [NO draught beer or stout] one could buy first edition books from the 19th century, nappies, biscuits, tea and coffee [he had his own coffee grinder], sandwiches [not for sale - but provided to musicianers and songsters], beer and whiskey amongst other things.
He also had a cage with a beautiful budgie in it and every time we played any tune in A maj the budgie would join in - in perfect tune!
Watch out for the chickens
Watch out for the chickens
Had a mad session last Saturday night in a mate's barn up in the hills above Castlewellan. As we were rattling out the tunes I noticed that the chickens were all sitting in a row on a shelf at the back of the barn listening intently to the tunes. [No we didn't play Jenny's Chickens!]
Anybody else out there have animal music lovers??
# Posted on October 24th 2003 by breandan
Re: Watch out for the chickens
Cute topic, breandan! I alway thought my cat would love the harp, but she shows no interest one way or other. But when I play the fiddle she sometimes perks up--and if I hit a high note, she often immediately gets up and waddles quickly out of the room! (She's very fat, and hardly ever moves quickly at all)
However, when I was away for 2 weeks this summer, my husband told me that she sat by my harp every day--usually underneath it, even--something she has never done before--I guess she missed me...
# Posted on October 24th 2003 by Andee
Re: Watch out for the chickens
When I am playing guitar, neither my cats nor my dogs show any respect to the artism, therefore I assumed they must be deaf. However, when I took up the 96-button accordion and started playing it loud in the room my cats slept in, they showed an amazing agility in running for their life and dogs accompanied me throughout the practice with howls. Therefore I assume they are not deaf.
# Posted on October 24th 2003 by EastPole
Re: Watch out for the chickens
When I play the pipes my cat goes as far as possible, but she comes to me when I play high notes on the whistle.
# Posted on October 24th 2003 by gian marco
Re: Watch out for the chickens
The cats have loved the flute and they sit on my lap when I play banjo. They were raised on those two instruments. But to my surprise they also like my wife's accordion. Just shows that they are superior creatures. The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree.
# Posted on October 25th 2003 by jerball
Re: Watch out for the chickens
I have four parakeets that will tweet back for every high G roll (they love the Chattering Magpie) and squack at every low A.
When I go over to my friend Steve's for band rehearsal, his dog, Rosie won't let us play until she is lying in the middle of the circle. His cat Irving prefers laps. He has jumped through my left arm (between my arm and my fiddle, while I was playing) to get to mine.
# Posted on October 25th 2003 by fiddleK
Re: Watch out for the chickens
a friends cat once slept on mt accordion when i put it down to out the room, im not sure what that means. also my dog barks when i play polkas. im not sure if this is because he likes them or not. well anyway..........
# Posted on October 25th 2003 by fiona : )
Re: Watch out for the chickens
kiss´em all*ggggg*
# Posted on October 25th 2003 by banjopluckinjan
Re: Watch out for the chickens
I generally like to credit many animal species with more intelligence then is usually recognised. Not that I'm an archetypal "animal lover". Just because they can't speak, or understand much of the ideas embedded in our speech, doesn't mean they can't feel and experience the world through their senses, have emotions or even engage in some limited rational thought - often more than can be said for a fair few of the human specimens I've observed in the shopping precincts of Catford, Peckham, Harlesden, Attercliffe, Govan or Drumchapel.
I've noticed also "animals" are much less species-apartheid than we are. On farms, or bird sanctuaries and other places where many species are gathered together, they all seem to hang out together as a big morass of living creatures, only plumping specially for those whom they will mate with. Also animals generally don't kill members of their own species - certainly never en masse - except in mitigating circumstances, eg hunger, etc., but never for nationalistic or ideological reasons.
End of quasi-hijack. The reason for which was, in my book, yeah sure, they will listen to yet another set of wierd but nice noises that the big two-legged ones make, but they might not quite be able to divine the difference between a jig or a reel, never mind recognise Lucy Campbell from Eileen Curran or Julia Delaney, but, Hey! an audience is an audience, yeah?
Danny.
# Posted on October 25th 2003 by Key Maniac Lad
Re: Watch out for the chickens
Our cats are MOST attentive while we're practising, Pete and I, but that *might* be because we tend to sit down for a tune or two right before bedtime, and they're waiting more or less patiently knowing that when we're done they get fed.
I've written about my last cat, Dexter, the great big furface, getting all upset when I got out the recorders, back in my more medieval days. He'd start a few paces away, meowing piercingly as soon as I started in, then moving in closer and getting more and more insistent. If I kept it up, eventually he'd be standing on his hind paws, trying to hook the thing out of my mouth with a paw, at which point he would have his way, because that's about when I'd start laughing...
# Posted on October 25th 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: Watch out for the chickens
Here are a couple of things. Several years ago CBC TV featured a story about a dog who daily "sang" along with the music used to introduce the news. Suddenly CBC changed the music to something new. The dog was distraught. "It put 'er right off 'er feed" the owner declared. After recieving a complaint CBC sent the owner a tape of the old news music. The show featured the dog singing along with the music. The dog had a lot more enthusiasm than singing ability but was pretty clearly delighted to have it's music back again.
In September I went to a small concert in the hayloft of a barn. It was a nice venue. There were bales of hay on either side of a clear center space. Many of the concert goers sat on bales of hay on one side. One of the farm cats sauntered in and perched on a bale of hay and stayed there through much of the first half of the concert. Although it spent some time grooming it seemed alert and attentive. After a while it decided to visit with select members of the audience. "Select" means it included me, of course. Cats know who their friends are.
Steve
# Posted on October 25th 2003 by SteveKendall
Re: Watch out for the chickens
I've got a photo of our cocker spaniel sitting in a "His Master's Voice" pose, apparently listening intently as I was playing the fiddle to him. Normally the old dog completely ignores music of any sort, except on this one occasion, when my wife happened to come into the room just at the right moment with the camera in her hand.
Trevor
# Posted on October 25th 2003 by lazyhound
Re: Watch out for the chickens
Danny, a propos your last comment, I've come across a few humans who can't tell the difference between reels and jigs when they hear them, and one or two of those persons are relatively experienced set dancers, who should know better!
Trevor
# Posted on October 25th 2003 by lazyhound
Re: Watch out for the chickens
My parents used to have a dog Welsh Corgi named Charlie - it loved chocolate. It did'dnt love the sound of a fiddle. If I started playing it, it would start running around my feet whining and make attempts to jump up at me. It would show great appreciation when the music ended. Its reaction was very much the same as if I went out in a rowing boat with the dog ashore; it would run around being worried until I returned. I guess the high pitch of a fiddle and possibly other instruments (pipes?) makes some animals feel that "Trouble" is in the air.
# Posted on October 25th 2003 by MrGanAinm
Re: Watch out for the chickens
My dog thinks that i tap my foot for his benefit. Every time i practice he lies across my feet hoping i will will tap my foot. I can only think he enjoy's it when i play, pitty i can't say the same about my wife but that's another story...
# Posted on October 26th 2003 by Celtic1234
Re: Watch out for the chickens
My canary churps and sings happily when I'm teaching or practicing hammered dulcimer. . .except for one song (Missouri) where she starts squawking and complaining. The dog used to love the whistle but has grown hard of hearing.
# Posted on October 26th 2003 by jrathbun
Re: Watch out for the chickens
One of my dogs sings (howls) when I play harmonica. The other doesn't. This proves something, but what?
Dave
# Posted on October 26th 2003 by showaddydadito
Re: Watch out for the chickens
I've just been at a friend's house in Wales over the weekend. We were playing a few tunes together on mandolin and whistle, whilst his dog, Teifi, was asleep beside us on the floor. Whenever we played, his feet would make little twitching movements. This was clearly a sign of deep appreciation.
My cat, on the other hand, sees music more as something to be tolerated than to be appreciated. The first time she heard me play the mandolin, she was extremely wary. On hearing me play the whistle, she fled (that wouldn't be the first time my whistle playing has had that effect). I think she has now realised that, until it is in my hands, the mandolin is an entirely passive creature, and even when active, does nothing more than make noises. She will quite happily sit and ignore it now. When I play the whistle, she will sit for a time, depending on how often and how far I go into the second octave, until her patience rus out, when she will get up and seek another place to sleep. I think cats are rather logical creatures - a noise is a noise. If it is the sound of another cat, it is to be confronted. If it happens to be accompannied by fluttering or scuttling, it is to be pursued. If it is loud and piercing, it is to be avoided. Otherwise, it can be ignored.
# Posted on October 26th 2003 by ragaman
Re: Watch out for the chickens
Perhaps surprisingly, wasps seem to have a geat appreciation for music. This summer, at the Feakle festival, a frind and I were camping in a trailer just out of the village. Over the time we were there, we were visited by large numbers of wasps. The initial attraction was, no doubt, the accumulation of food scraps. But what they enjoyed most was buzzing around us as we were playing music.
I had several wasps crawl into the soundhole of my mandolin, spend a minute or so inside, enjoying the vibrations, then re-emerge with an air of satisfaction. Some also attempted to crawl in through the window of my whistle, or into my mouth, as I was playing, which I could not allow. It was, of course, for their own good, as I would have been unable to carry on playing in either event.
When there are that many wasps, there's not much point in trying to fight them off, as you'd be spending all your time waving your arms around like a lunatic - and you'd be sure to get stung. As it was, neither of us got stung once.
# Posted on October 26th 2003 by ragaman
Babies
Where do babies fit in?
Since we are all animals (in our case, primates, great apes...if you don't believe that, go thump your bible elsewhere, please.), and babies are non-speaking members of our species, what's the take on them?...or is this new thread stuff?
We've a wee guy, Fergus, of one year and 2 weeks vintage, who has for his 1st word "candle" - for which he says "canga". When I play the whistle he squeaks in a high pitched wail. He can bash a bodhran with a tipper. When I play flute he makes a noise like lo-lo-lo, in some pitch quite close to the key being played. Often when I play he cries, not because he doesn't like it, but because someone else is playing with 'his toys', as he considers any of my instruments to be his toys. He is nearly walking and is always reaching up to stand up at the piano and press any key that makes a noise. As well as ensuring he can walk, talk, and think and so on, I am very keen to see any tendency toward musicality being fostered.
Danny.
# Posted on October 26th 2003 by Key Maniac Lad
Re: Watch out for the chickens
We spend our summers at a campground with a large pond in front of us. Whenever I would play my whistle out on the deck the geese would stand at attention and the heron "froze" til I quit. A young lad that used to fish nearby said the fish would always bite better when I was whistling. Pity he was killed in an auto accident soon after. I played at his funeral. Billy, I hope the fish are biting up there!
# Posted on October 26th 2003 by Gault802
Re: Watch out for the chickens
My friends I play with for barn dances have a couple cats. Every time I go round for a practice, one of the cats (always the same one) gets into my fiddle case, curls up and goes to sleep. As soon as I start playing the cat appears and will meow at me if the case is shut. I should maybe have a tune called, the cat in the case, or something.
# Posted on October 26th 2003 by Daver
Re: Watch out for the chickens
Danny
"I am very keen to see any tendency toward musicality being fostered" - good. Foster away lad!
My own belief, which is borne out by experience and observation, is that on the whole kids will tend to do what they see their parents do - but won't take any bull. I have always encouraged my kids to play, but never made them do it, and also I play what I will when I will, regardless of what they are up to.
I don't know if that makes sense. What I mean is that in our house, the music has always been part of everyday life, and always done "because we want to" rather than "because we should". I took them to sessions if they wanted to come, but never forced them to go. My firstborn, Emma, is away doing a degree in music and theology at London Bible College now - she plays piano, clarinet, whistle, fiddle, guitar, mandolin and anything else you leave in view. My little boy, Steven, is eighteen in a few weeks time and he plays melodeon, whistle and piano. I suspect that if I had merely "sent them to lessons", or "made them learn" they would very likely have gone right off the idea of playing any sort of music.
Good luck with the little lad - what's his name?
Dave
# Posted on October 26th 2003 by showaddydadito
Re: Watch out for the chickens
Showaddy - I mentioned his name there - Fergus.
"...and also I play what I will when I will"
- I can't do that as the wee man sleeps a fair bit!
# Posted on October 27th 2003 by Key Maniac Lad
Re: Watch out for the chickens
And he looks JUST like his daddy, Fergus does!
# Posted on October 27th 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: Watch out for the chickens
...except he's got more hair.
# Posted on October 27th 2003 by Key Maniac Lad
Re: Watch out for the chickens
Sorry Danny - you did say!
The sleeping wears off after a while, and when you've got to be awake cos the child is, but he is happy playing on his own, what better than a bit of a tune.
cheers
Dave
# Posted on October 27th 2003 by showaddydadito
Re: Watch out for the chickens
We have a chipmunk who lives under our front porch. Last summer I would take him some peanuts and sit playing the whistle till he showed. Eventually he was trained to come look for peanuts whenever I played.
I've heard of musicians who played for peanuts, but this may have been the first audience who worked for peanuts.
-- Scott
# Posted on October 27th 2003 by srt19170
Re: Watch out for the chickens
When I was at the Scoil Eigse in Clonmel in August we were staying on a farm a few miles outside the town and late one fine afternoon I took myself and fiddle out onto the lawn for a play. A herd of cows in the adjoining field wandered over and stood in a line on the other side of the ha-ha watching and (presumably) listening to me for the next ten minutes. Best audience I've ever had
Trevor
# Posted on October 27th 2003 by lazyhound
Re: Watch out for the chickens
My two cats used to run away and hide in the bedroom when I got out the evil instrument of torture (the fiddle), but I've been practicing more and, I think, getting better, and now they'll even stay in the same room and sleep while I'm playing.
A previous cat would get up and leave when I played the fiddle, but he didn't mind if I played the guitar, and my guitar playing is much worse than my fiddling. I came to the conclusion he disliked high pitches, as he didn't mind the viola, which I also don't play nearly as well as the fiddle.
I visited my sister and her husband not too long ago, arriving when they were at work. When they came home, I told them, "Your kitties ran away when I brought in the evil instrument of torture." My brother-in-law said, "What, you brought a vacuum cleaner?" I said, "No, the OTHER evil instrument of torture."
Carol
# Posted on October 27th 2003 by carolsviolin
Re: Watch out for the chickens
LOL -- tell your sister to keep your brother in law, he sounds like a good one...
# Posted on October 27th 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: Watch out for the chickens
Zina ---
She's planning on it. (So is he.)
# Posted on October 28th 2003 by carolsviolin
Re: Watch out for the chickens
When we were in New Zealand a few years ago I had a fine time one evening playing to a flock of geese in the field adjacent to the campground. They could follow the reels pretty well but had trouble with the jig step.
# Posted on October 29th 2003 by bmcivor
Patrick Furlong's Budgie
Then there was Patrick Furlong's pub in Enniscorthy. A man of great hospitality who went into business some 60 years ago. Unfortunately he wasn't sure which. So in his pub [NO draught beer or stout] one could buy first edition books from the 19th century, nappies, biscuits, tea and coffee [he had his own coffee grinder], sandwiches [not for sale - but provided to musicianers and songsters], beer and whiskey amongst other things.
He also had a cage with a beautiful budgie in it and every time we played any tune in A maj the budgie would join in - in perfect tune!
# Posted on October 29th 2003 by breandan
Re: Watch out for the chickens
bmcivor - theres another step that geese are good at, but I just can't remember the name of it right now......
Dave
# Posted on October 30th 2003 by showaddydadito
Re: Watch out for the chickens
Dave.
Oh! how could I have missed that !! Might be a good name for a tune there though.
Bob
# Posted on November 2nd 2003 by bmcivor