Fiddling About

Christmas is over (hurrah!) and I haven’t even picked up any knitting for goodness knows how long! The break is actually refreshing, and my inspiration and motivation appears renewed. But there’ll still be no knitting for at least another week or two.

A couple of months ago I finally decided to realise a little dream I’d been chasing since childhood. To play the violin! Well, in truth, it’s the fiddle  – same instrument but different, less rigid, techniques.

Having never played any instrument before, the reactions to becoming a beginner at age 51 were varied. Many people were at pains to tell me that the violin is a particularly difficult instrument to learn and wouldn’t I be better off with something easier? Others appeared to doubt that anyone over the age of 10 was capable of taking the instrument up – so much harder as an adult, they say. 

But a few did actually understand my motivation, applauded me for taking on the challenge and wished me well on my journey.

So, I bought myself an instrument and looked for a fiddle instructor who’d be happy to teach adults (many aren’t) and booked in for a few lessons to get myself started. I’ve now had 6 lessons and am loving it. Sean Kenan, in Northcote ( Fancy Yourself Fiddling) is the fellow who’s showing me the ropes – he’s a very patient instructor, is a mine of fascinating technical and historical information, and he also seems to be able to deal well with the many challenges I present him. It’s an hour’s drive to the lesson and some days I get there totally buggered and fatigued and can’t seem to get it together at all. But on other days  much progress is made, and much information is absorbed.

In between lessons I try to practice each day, and have acquired a few books to help me on my way. Basics and Practice, both by Simon Fischer, and Essential Elements 2000 for strings, plus a couple of books of tunes and Irish ballads that I picked up in a second hand book store. Yes, I’ve now reached the stage where I’m playing tunes (after a fashion!), and am currently working on  The Star of County Down and The Parting Glass.

And tomorrow I’m off to the Lake School for a week of Celtic fiddling workshops. It’s held at Koroit each January and they conduct music tuition workshops – all led by reputable Australian musicians – for adults, both beginner & experienced, in fiddle, bodran, guitar, tin whistle, songwriting, singing, Gaelic language, Uilleann pipes and even Irish set dancing. It’s going to be uncomfortably hot, and I suspect my brain will be reduced to mush under those conditions, but I reckon I’ll still have a great time – and it’ll be good to meet up and play with other beginner fiddlers.

Incredibly, today is the final day of 2007. Just where did it go? Have a safe and happy New Year one and all.

The fat lady’s whinging, not singing

For most of Australia the election was over and done with two weeks ago but here, in our electorate of McEwen, the counting still goes on.

I had a vague notion on polling day that Fran Bailey, (former) Liberal Minister for Tourism & Small Business COULD get voted out of her previously safe seat here in McEwen. I have never liked Fran  – neither her political leaning and particularly not her modus operandi  – and that has made me a bit of a pariah around here, as a LOT of people I come into contact with, irrespective of their own political bent, do think she’s been a good local member and done much for the community.

Anyway, it’s looking like my vague notion is going to become a reality. After a count and a recount, Labour candidate Rob Mitchell has polled just 7 votes more than Fran. It’s apparently the second closest call in Australia’s electoral history (where some poor sod was pipped to the post by a mere 1 vote – he/she must have been particularly peeved at that result!).

But the Fat Lady hasn’t sung yet – she just keeps whining:   Fran has asked the Electoral Commission for a second recount as she clearly can’t accept that the people of McEwen have had enough of her. Actually, I suspect that the truth is that a large proportion of local voters weren’t so much intent on evicting ‘their’ Fran from her seat, but were voting instead to remove the Liberal Government from power – Fran may well be just one of the casualties required in order to achieve that end.