Fiona Katie Harpers News

The lost Bell

2012-01-19T14:13:00.000-08:00

I have lost a bell ... and ... yes ... I do think that Father Christmas borrowed it and forgot to give it back! Bells are extremely difficult to get hold of. A few years ago hand bells were in every Christmas catalogue but not now alas.

This particular bell was my lament bell. These bells used to be wrapped in linen to dull the sound at funerals. I shall keep looking and will have to improvise until I find it!

I am performing at The Square Chapel tomorrow (Friday 20th January) - starts at 8 pm. I have an amazing set of people who follow my music and I love the fact that music brings together people together.

Nearly the entire set has been written by my husband, Dave. (In true spirit of: 'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em'!) We start in Ethiopia, 3,000 years ago ...
Come and listen - see you there?

scared of the dark

2012-01-09T01:50:00.000-08:00

Our young lad, Jack, is scared of the dark. Has to sleep with the light on. Every night our two donkeys come into their warm and dry, cosy, stable for the night. The last two weekends the weather has been atrocious and some days we have left them inside. (Donkeys are not waterproof so they need to have decent shelter.)
They pestered us to let them out this weekend even though the rain and sleet blew in from the West. Every night Jack and I had to take the torch and squelch through the mud to bring them in. We have a long narrow field that heads down hill by the side of a deep goit. (When I was a child the word goit meant a ditch but round here it is much bigger - a ravine.) Half way down is a Roman wishing well called a Keld and quite a lot of trees. The donkeys, however, decided the most sheltered place was right at the bottom where the stream comes out of the ravine but the field takes a steep dip.

The mud is so deep in places that Jack's wellies get stuck. Of course your legs keep on walking so he ends up taking a very cold step before he realises. I don't use a torch because I like the dark and the moon but Jack takes the biggest torch he can find. This gives shadows and it has taken him two trips before he realises that its best to walk without ... and that the dark is not as scarey afterall!

When Flossy comes up the hill she wanders in zig-zags and knows exactly where it is driest. We tried to lead her but she was adamant and now she leads us. We are always followed by the kitten, Stix. His white paws show up in the dark and his bell can just be heard through the howling wind.

the cat hat

2011-12-31T11:47:00.000-08:00

I managed to stall the camper van in the middle of a busy roundabout and the very next car to pass was the police .... arghhhhh! I was stressed and they very kindly asked if I was okay. I said yes and willed the camper (called ginge) into action. It stumbled across and promptly stalled again but this time I made it look like I had parked it and the police drove off. Then I realised I had my birthday hat on. Dave actually said 'if I knew you were going to wear it I would never have bought it' ... hmmmmmm. It is made out of leopard skin fake fur and has large cat ears on top lined with pink.

We have had a change round so I am sat at a newly-donated computer (thanks Dave). I have promised not to ever place magnets anywhere near it so this means I can catch up.

I have finally managed to clear out some of the kids stuff which was hoarded all the way round the house. I cried as I went through school books and toys and the memories flooded back! All in all though it HAD to be done.

I have some very exciting news about the new harp but it can wait until the next ...
HAPPY NEW YEAR.

its not just me who has bad days

2011-12-28T12:35:00.000-08:00

We were supposed to be on the radio before Christmas - to promote Dave's new book and all the music to go with it. I rang the presenter on the Sunday evening to confirm and, yes, she said we had an hour on air the following Wednesday.

It was Dave's first ever radio interview and he spent hours getting his text ready and sorting out quotes. Imagine our dismay when we arrived at the Radio Station to find another couple waiting, with the same time slot ...

They told us the presenter had rung them up in desperation the day before to fill that hour and they had only travelled from around the corner so we could take the hour with pleasure. Lovely people.

The interview started. The Presenter couldn't remember my name, or Daves, or the books!!! Dave ignored all this and he started well. I played the first tune on the harp (too long, Dave said, but I got stuck in a loop - NERVES!!!!). Then there was a knock on the door and it was over! Dave and I looked at each other in disbelief whilst the Presenter welcomed the next guest ...

To add salt to the wound the answerphone was flashing when we got home. Guess who?
The Presenter ... just confirming that a lady called Rachel was coming to be interviewed that day at 2 pm. She had to listen to the message first saying who she had rung up ...

Very sad really that no-one got to listen to the amazing quotes from Dave's book - which means you'll just have to come to The Square Chapel, Halifax on the 20th ...!
(see you there?) (8 pm)

soggy moggy

2011-12-23T14:31:00.000-08:00

We have a very 'festive' stable here - really! Donkeys, dogs and puppies, guinea pigs, rabbits and hampsters! We have so many because my daughter has brought her pets with her for Christmas and the dog had pups last night! Our kitten, Stix, is very curious about it all and has to check each food bowl and bucket. He got in the way yesterday and was shooed away. He decided to jump onto a down pipe to get a better view. It fell off straight into the water butt. As the down pipe disappeared into the water Stix was frantically trying to climb up the pipe. Even his tail was spinning to try and gain bouancy. Luckily I was watching from not-too-far-away and ran ... I caught him just before he disappeared under the water!

This is a very special Christmas for Dave and Jack. The first thing Jack did when he came into the house was to check out all the fireplaces to see which one Santa would come down! He had his 7th birthday last week so the excitement is high. We have a house full but luckily one of my Christmas presents was a huge ham from Mum. It has already nearly gone! Stix is continually trying to sneak a taste but has been foiled on every attempt so far ...

We called in at The Barearts in Todmorden on Thursday and I am thrilled to say that Cathy has agreed to paint one of my harps. It was made for me using old oak and mahogany but don't worry! - the soundbox is made out of less-exotic wood and this is what will be painted - more on this soon!

Well all to say is to wish you all a very Peaceful Christmas and Happy New Year.
I am at The Square Chapel on Friday 20th January - 8 pm.

I love teaching!

2011-12-06T09:59:00.000-08:00

Had a lovely reception last night from Clitheroe Ladies - thank you. They were 'guinea pigs' for the new repertoire and it went down a storm - even asked for CDs - its the next job!!!

Dave came with me as the weather was very snowy here. However they had hardly any snow but it was very icy. All week the Sat Nav has been sending us down tracks and driving us mad! Last night it directed us up a track opposite the pub marked 'no through road'. We needed to turn round so headed up to find a gatehole. Much to our amazement this track took us to the main A59 and proved a brilliant short-cut.

It is very 'wuthering' here today with snow on the ground and a bitter wind. There is a local story that this was the very farm that the Earnshaws lived in when the Brontes were alive. It is difficult to prove as it was tenanted and split into 2 houses, then fell down and was re-built 10 yards in front.

Suddenly I am in big demand as a teacher! I am juggling harps around and having 32 harps is just about enough!

Father Christmas

2011-11-28T09:14:00.000-08:00

We were driving through Morley at the weekend in our camper van when Jack nearly jumped out of his car seat and yelled excitedly. We had just commented that the lights were pretty poor... When we spotted, at the side of the road, Santa with a fantastic sleigh all lit up! Dave tooted and we got a big wave. He was just going to turn all the lights on!

The wind was pretty bad up here but the greenhouse survived and nothing blew away, or down! Albert tried to fly his massive stuntkite but it twizzled into a big mess! It is now un-twizzled and waiting for a calm day.

The great news is the tubular bells are finally on the harp and working! I now need to buy a further 3 sets for the other harps! I ended up using the insides of old plugs to grip the bar threaded through the bells and fasten it to the harps. Old fashioned cotton reels threaded onto harp string to play the bells with.

This Sunday I return to Wycoller Park. There is a free children's workshop in Pepper Hill Barn where they make Christmas cards and we learn carols on the cimbalas (small stringed instruments which are very easy to play). At 2 pm we all go down to the Aisled Barn and play a carol concert. 11-3 pm

magnets and daisywheels

2011-11-19T11:38:00.000-08:00

I am in big 'trouble' ...!!! In an attempt to get Dave organised I clipped wads of papers together for him. These clips had magnets on the back and I stuck them on the side of the computer. They have been there for a few weeks. Strange things started happenning to the computer and I 'helpfully' suggested at one point that a poltergeist was playing tricks. Dave has been tearing his hair out trying to fathom out what was going wrong with the computer. I have hardly been on (as you may have noticed).

It finally dawned on Dave and he couldn't actually believe I didn't know about computers and magnets ... nope ... I have never had any computer lessons alas.

The first day at my very first job was spent on 'Yorkshire's first and only daisywheel word processor' - according to my very first 'Boss'. I was stuck in the converted attic of an old Georgian house with no windows and a long very boring report to type. I started with a Beethoven Sonata (The Walstein) and it coped very well. I thought I had come up with a solution to boredom so tried some Gershwin. Not Rhapsody in Blue but Prelude in F ... I got to the last movement and the carriage shot off across the room about 10 feet. I wasn't looking because the flames coming out of the centre of the word processor were threatening to singe my hair.

I never dared to admit what I was actually doing and the IBM Engineer quized me very puzzled as he surveyed the burnt out machine ...

(Don't tell my Boss please.)

off to market

2011-11-10T10:05:00.000-08:00

The sheep were long overdue for market on account of Dave breaking some bones in his back in October last year and then breaking his leg, hip and shoulder this Spring. We had to catch them, check their tags and load them into the horsebox. We were dreading it! We had enlisted the help of my son, Albert to help. We made a make-shift pen with old security fences in a corner of the field and our sheepdog, Meg, rounded them all up into the Corale.

We had one black Shetland Ram with black curly horns called Tony (he was t'only one). He was very feisty. We had about 5 tups in all but Tony's main rival was a white ram with very curly horns, called Brandon. For about the last 2 weeks Tony and Brandon have been fighting - they charged at eachother and launched themselves into the air so that they clashed about 4' from the ground. I was always scared their horns would lock but luckily it never happenned.

The first job the day before was to mark all the tups, check their tags and also mark the few sheep we were keeping. Even squashed in their pen Brandon and Tony were chasing the 'women' and fighting so we decided to do them first. Meg and I guarded the opening and Jack climbed up onto the wall safely out of the way. We checked a few Ewes and Brandon was happy to go back into the field with them but Tony paced and charged the fencing right up until the last sheep was released! He would hit the metal fence at about 4' high and we would all brace ourselves to hold it in place, even with a couple of wooden posts we knocked in as well. I still have the bruise on my knee where he charged at the opening and sent me flying!

He was the first to go into the horsebox the next morning at 6 am! It was minus 3 on the thermometre in the porch and our breath still showed inside the car on the way to the auction mart.

knicker elastic

2011-10-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm just about managing to write this blog once a week! So much going on but mostly very mundane. I have however managed to produce this amazing-sounding harp after making all the treble strings. The sound improves with every week that goes by. The next step is to hang the tubular bells inside the strings. I am looking for some very strong and very thin elastic - hence the title! Don't worry I intend to buy it from the market, not raid the knicker drawer... It is not going to be easy but I am aiming at having 6 bells on each of the quad harps.

I will eventually have a separate carrillon that will work with foot pedals on the floor. Alot of the music has been arranged to include the tubular bells and my husband's research has proved that there were such harps around at least a couple of thousand years ago. Much more on this when my husband finishes his book and I am not bound by copyright!

The oldest harp came from Ur being 2,500 BC. They still play the same design in Ethiopia today and I have just added a tune from that region to my repertoire.

I played at Phoenix School last Monday. Everything was going well until someone brought in the School's percussion trolley ... It only takes one extremely noisy drum and everything is drowned out and alas, this is what happenned! Eventually our 'drummer' got bored and wandered off and we played native American songs, South American and Irish Jigs, not forgetting Manuel Flavia's wonderful tune from 1492. It only moves one note at a time so all I have to do is make sure everyone starts on the same harp string and knows which way is 'up' or 'down' as I shout out 'commands'!

water in my wellies

2011-10-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

I was well known for my walks - I would set off following a well-defined footpath and suddenly without warning it disappeared. Many a time my daughter and I scarmbled down almost sheer drops or battled chest-high bracken or thistles! This time, however, it was Dave ... We had 2 dogs with us and his son, Jack. The hills and valleys around our farm are covered by conduits. Amazing Victorian Engineers connected all the reservoirs and they follow the contours of the hills and provide brilliant (unofficial) footpaths. Every now and then they cross roads, including an impressive Roman Road and every now and then they have home-made ramps so that any sheep that have fallen in can climb out.

We got stopped by had a very impressive iron gate to stop the sheep going in - but it stopped us in our tracks! We had to clamber down the 5' slippy,steep side, negotiate the 12'' of sludgey water and figure out a way of getting out the other side. The two dogs decided to swim for it over the reservoir corner. Jack was hoisted up but Dave and me had very wet feet!

Fantastic sunny day though so they dried eventually. Not so when Dave asked me to 'check the cut-off switch under the kitchen sink' (which he had just mended but not fastened onto the tap). I got a blast of very cold water and didn't have time to change ... hmmmm ... very funny Dave !!!! He is still telling everyone how I was daft enough to check it :)

rain, rain go away

2011-10-12T01:40:00.000-07:00

Well, we have decided to sell our beloved camper van, Ginge. Since we decided it has not stopped raining so we cannot take photos ... Wonder if Ginge is behind it all! The reason is not that we are giving up our 'wandering' lifestyle but simply that we have an old caravan that needs renovating. It is quite rare as it folds down into a trailer but has solid sides. Dave was amazed when he saw it go up this summer. It has been parked in the corner of our yard for so many years it has sort of blended in, the white roof is now covered in lichen and nettles hide its sides! It is in nearly-new condition inside but the wheels need some work!

I am enjoying playing Ang-Al (Angel) since I re-strung it. It is tiresome work - every day you have to tune it up a tone. As you tighten the strings you wrap more round the pegs and every now and then you have to un-wrap it, pull the spare string through the hole, cut it off and re-tighten it ... The bass strings are too thick to go through the pre-cut holes on the pegs so you have to hammer the end of the string flat, cut a thin sliver off and thread it through.

Patience of a Saint is required!!! ... the good news is though ... multi-strung harps are perfectly balanced so once in tune they are good for about 10 years - just need a bit of tuning now and then with temperature changes. I needed to play an old harp last month which I hadn't played for about 4 years - it took me no more than 10 minutes to brush up the tuning ... WOW!!!

Dave's book

2011-10-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

I gave Dave's book a HUGE 'plug' on the radio today, trouble is he hasn't actually finished it yet ... ha ha!!! It's getting close though. I played 'Hand-Al', (the 3/4 size portable harp)- it is still not finished either! I am at the stage of polishing - loads of layers of wax polish. It does not make much difference to the sound but the patina is coming along nicely. Every week there is an improvement in the sound as it settles in. I was asked if it was made from a special kind of wood, (brilliant! - plywood, in case you are wondering).

The strings I was making last week are a complete success so I am thrilled. They are for the large performance harps. I have a couple of harps to re-string now ... Luckily it is only in the treble and I can change them round a couple at a time and carry on playing.

On the animal front the turkeys have been very naughty and were escaping every day so I have locked them in their shed whilst I re-do their fence! They do not realise it is for their own good! If turkeys mix with hens they get a disease - hens are okay - it does not affect them.

Talking of escaping - the bunny has been an absolute nightmare and has escaped out of her run 3 times this week! It was too hot for her so the coolest place for her was downwards! She even managed to get the wire mesh off the bottom of her cage. Dave's son and me searched and eventually found her at the bottom of the wood laid in an earth trench/burrow she had made. It was a very elaborate capture plan involving carrots, a dustbin and a fishing net ... and a lot of patience!

Check out the BCB previous broadcasts for Wednesday 5th October 2-3 pm, presenter: Janet Davies

donkeys ...

2011-09-27T11:16:00.001-07:00

We were sat in the dining room having tea when there was a sort of shuffling noise coming from pantry, followed by a huge crash. I jumped up just in time to see the back-ends of two donkeys disappearing round the corner. Flossy is a silver-coloured adult and her foal is jet black with a ginger winter coat just coming through. He started off with a few grand names to choose from but ended up as 'Dodge' - you can guess why. He has a white belly, eyes and muzzle. His knees look far too big and his hooves look far too little. He can gallop round the field at a fair pace and puts on a good bucking display for any passerby.

Of harps ... I am very busy - which is good but it does mean a gap in the blogs. I am also re-stringing Ang-Al (Angel) to try and get more tone. It is going well but the harp is at the stage where it sounds awful! I am well past the point of no return so shall have to keep going! That means another 20 or so strings, all hand-wrapped. I am sure I could adapt the drill but it would take a bit of time and I shall see if the tone is right first. If the harp is improved I have another 3 to string!

turkeys

2011-09-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

This time last night I was chasing a turkey through the woods! I went to lock them in and the male stag was missing. I had left it late and it was pretty dark. Just to the back of the turkey pen is a wood with a sharp drop to a goit and 10' tall waterfall. It is waist deep in nettles and thistles. I heard a rustle and of course it was somewhere in the undergrowth. It broke cover and I chased it towards the pen but it couldn't fathom how to get through the gatehole. A couple of owls had heard the commotion and were circling overhead calling out and the waterfall was 'fair-drumming' because of all the rain we've had.

This bird is huge and quite scarey. I am very cautious when I approach with feed. Turkeys have red necks and faces and when they get frightened or nervous they go paler until they are a deathly greeny-white. They also fluff up their feathers so they look twice as big. At this stage they will attack.

I didn't realise until last night that they were also luminous. This turkey was frightened and everytime it broke cover you could see its head and neck glowing white in the dark! I spent about quarter of an hour running round in circles and wading through the nettles until I gave up, went back to the house and asked Dave to come and help! I cornered it and he grabbed its neck and hung on tight. It flapped and screeched and it took all his strength to keep hold of it and put it back in its shed.

Saturday Night's concert at Fairweather Green - A full house and it was lovely to get a thank you email first thing the next morning. Dave's son liked Eddie Lawler's songs and has not stopped singing since!

buck-oo-up-oo breakfasts

2011-09-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

We are in need of one right now!

Too many people off-loading their problems/messes onto us but less of that and here is today's 'dream'.

The best time of the day (according to my Dad) was early morning. We would set off, sometimes on push-bikes or me pillion on his motorbike, but mostly in his 1934 Lagonda. We'd end up in some wild deserted place not far from home and set up a camp fire. We took frying pan, sausages, bread, teabags etc and the all-important brown sauce. We'd watch the sun come up and if it rained (which it usually did) we would find a bridge or ruined barn. He refused to put the roof up on his car and me and my sister would hide under the toneau cover to escape hail, snow and rain.

There was one hill we loved to go up - out of Summerbridge towards Brimham Rocks. It is very steep and narrow and overhung with trees all the way up with lots of bends. He let the Lagonda back-fire all the way up whilst we shrieked and screamed kneeling up, facing backwards watching the flames come out of the exhaust.

Well, I must away and carry on. In a rare break I replaced a couple of broken strings on Ang-Al (Angel) - all set for Saturday at Fairweather Green.

The bhb and problems with legs

2011-09-09T02:04:00.000-07:00

I have a gig every day this week so I am quite proud that I have actually made it to the computer at all! Today's wedding involves negotiating roadworks of a major scale. I have been warned to expect nearly half an hour of detours! That's a major part of the Dales!!! I shall enjoy the scenery and have Buffy StMarie cd ready. Dave was going to come with me but the added time would prove too much so I have made a pile of sandwiches and pizzas to heat up!

I have finally sorted out legs for my 3/4 size harp! This 'small' and lightweight harp has taken the longest and proved the most difficult of all my projects. I ended up sat on a wooden box at Saltaire Bandstand last week - and still have the bruises to prove it alas. At the wedding the day before I sat on a fold-up fishing stool - OUCH! Same problem!!! Well I finally had the time to attach screw-on legs yesterday.

The bhb in the title refers to a car. A long conversation with my son last weekend (they are only long if cars are the subject!) revealed his latest project. He has a very important engine in his garage right now that needs fixing. I remember seeing this on tv a while back. Bhb stands for Basil Henry(?) Davenport who raced this car on Brighton beach past crowds of spectators in the 20s and the engine blew up narrowly missing everyone. Anyway the cylinder barrel blew up at Harewood a few weeks back and needs fixing. I gather this chap only made a few racing cars - Spider being one of them. Fantastic cars.

Well I shall be back next week. It's the Woodland Festival at Townley Hall, Burnley this Sunday - I have always enjoyed the diversity of this event - you get sculptors with chainsaws in the woods, the Sealed Knot on the front lawn, crafts and demonstrations ... and me of course!

Congratulations

2011-08-30T12:57:00.000-07:00

This is just a short 'blog' to say how proud Dave was telling everyone how well his daughter Lucia had done in her GCSEs. You did him proud, Lucia - well done from us all - absolutely amazing :)

The harp with no name

2011-08-30T12:41:00.000-07:00

A week of incredible highs and lows. The biggest 'buck-me-up' (other than my Dad's breakfasts) was our new friend, Philip, phoning up to say he had made me a harp ...! WOW!!! This harp is magnificent - thank you so much.

It has no name as yet... in fact it has no strings either ... or any decoration!
It is made from 100 yr old Oak and has a new-fangled design by Philip to hold the soundboards together at the front.

I cannot wait to get it strung up but first I need to decide how to decorate it as it's impossible to do any painting when there's 128 strings in the way! Dave has a wood-burning gadget which would burn a pattern into the wood permanently. I just have to work out the stencil patterns.

Firstly though I have a harp to finish decorating for this weekend! I have managed to design a 3/4 size harp with the same amount of range as the big 'concert' harp. I have made the bass strings as they are obviously slightly shorter. Although this harp has been 'out' a few times I have not had chance to fully decorate it!

I will be parking in a multi-storey in Manchester and walking with harp-on-wheels and amp across town with my long dress, microphone, spare strings etc in a ruck sack - I need this harp. There is no way I would manage with a full size harp!!

Why don't you drop off the harp I hear you ask? Simple - one-way systems - arghhhh!!! I hate 'em. Saturday afternoon in Manchester ... much easier to have a carriable harp.

Well more of harps (and of course the secret of my Dad's amazing 'buck-oo-up-oo'
breakfasts) later ...

baby donkeys and puppies

2011-08-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

'what's this all about?' - I was asked so many times on Friday as the public watched act after act perform behind the bus station in Keighley! I was on after the Bingley Bell Ringers. The wind had got up and was swirling around, carrying all the sound away. If you can't hear bells you're gonna struggle to hear a harp alas ...! We did our best so hope it sounded okay! There was quite a crowd and it was good to hear live music in Keighley.

All is well on the farm. The baby donkey, Dodge, and mum, Flossy, are thriving. Flossy had her feet clipped and is looking very sprightly again. Dodge puts on a show for any passing walker charging around and rearing up on his hind legs. We keep going on Facebook to see photos of him taken by complete strangers!

Jack came for the weekend. Mist, his puppy went for her first proper walk on a lead ... well actually we keep forgetting to buy one so we used a bungee! She also came with us in the car to Sainsburys ... didn't think much to it at first as she shot under the car but Jack coaxed her out and she got used to it eventually.

My next gig ... Limetree Festival ... Sunday afternoon ... see you there?

long time no see

2011-08-16T05:52:00.001-07:00

Well I'm back. Things have been pretty hectic here since I took over the farming! The first thing Dave said when he got up was 'how on earth did you miss the fact that the sheepdog is in pup?' - whoops... it gets better ...! Not only the sheepdog but all the sheep - yes - we lambed in July! Much easier my way though. We sold all the puppies, but one who is to be Jack's. He has named her Mist.

It is Dave's daughter, Olivia's birthday today. We haven't forgotten, Olivia, and although your Mother won't let you see your Dad, Brother or any of your family we all wish you a very happy birthday and send you lots of love.

I got a standing ovation the other night at The Sanctuary of Healing, near Blackburn. My son jokingly asked if everyone was desperate to leave - ha ha!!!

I am playing in Keighley Town Centre this Friday lunchtime - a first!!! It is for an event called Citizen's Day - 12.15 pm - see you there!

BACK FOR MORE BLOGS VERY SOON :)

books, harps, children

2011-06-03T19:10:00.000-07:00

Dave has been busy working on some new music and sorting the barn out with a stage all exciting stuff.
Last week I played at Ryedale folk festival , tomorrow I am playing at a wedding.
But first Dave is bringing Jack his son up to the farm which is really exciting stuff
especially with the pregnant donkey , pups and hens that are all around at the moment.
David is learning to play the keyboard and is doing really well as well as writing all the time and he has been speaking with some literacy friends of his and his book is just having the illustrations done for it.

Daves book will also have a cd to go with it which will have music played on the harp by yours truly

folk weekend

2011-05-25T14:17:00.000-07:00

Catchup-
Well hopefully we are catching up
Tonight we have been to a auction where we liberated three rabbits, , two budgies and seven Quail thankfully these animals are going to pre determined homes.
Next Weekend - Playing
Ryedale Folk Weekend next Sunday - see you there!
A fantastic Venue with fantastic people and fantastic organisers.

Fiona Katie will also be playing in Batley for the Masonic Charities in July

We are also in the process of arranging many other concerts to take place around the UK. If you would like to be included on a mailing list please drop us a email and we will add your name and will provide you with updates

new harps

2011-05-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

We have been incredibly busy over the past few weeks .
No sooner had I got the plaster cast off my leg, than I finished the harp for Fiona Katie and then ten minutes after it had been strung "crack it broke right across the grain.

Two years work on my part down the drain and nothing could be recovered from the harp apart from the sound box and I am alittle loathe to use that again in case it breaks again.
So Fiona Katie did a concert with our good friend Eddie Lawler up at East Morton Village Hall and there we met a very interesting chap called Philip who offered to take a look at the remains of Dave and came toour house the following day and took Daval away with him. two weeks later Philip appears with a new forepillar and head made out of mahogany and laminiated with real oak.
Well this piece of craftmanship is actually very beautiful- Yes it lacks the fantastic paint job that Daval had and will be a oak laminated harp at the end of this but it really is a beautiful piece of work.
So do I feel jealous????? Errrm No not exactly becuase at the end of the day it has got me out of a tight spot and I am well behind very everything on the farm due to attending other family matters and Philip is such a nice chap I like chatting to him he is one of those people that you cannot help but like , great chap and I cannot wait to see the finished piece of work.
So at the moment Philip is in france for two weeks building a summer house seemingly then he is going to come back and no doubt will hope that Fiona Katie has drilled the head on the harp but once again we have been caught up with family stuff so neither one of us has had the chance to look at this yet.

Fiona Katie is currently at a wedding in Doncaster and has bookings coming in all the time which is great news

So now onto my niece who fell out of a tree on Thursday night and broke both her arms and her pelvis and her kneecap and has had to have a operation to relieve pressure on her arm and spine.
Paralysed from the waist down we hope you get better soon Chantelle.

Dave Widdop

exploding harps.;

2011-04-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

Yes you read it correctly DavAL the harp is now a pile of strings and broken wood after it exploded under the tension . Fortunately Fiona Katie has 32 other harps.
This now means though that I have two Months to completely build her another harp using differetn wood for the head.

I enjoyed making Daval and learnt a lot in doing so so I am secretly not too upset as I feel I can improve on the Design significantly and will be making a start on the new harp Capernicus tomorrow.

So all is well that ends well

Sucess - Happy Mother Day

2011-04-03T05:38:00.000-07:00

A very Happy Mothers day to you all.
Fiona Katie has had a wonderful day ths far she has received a lovely bag fromfaughter and a bottle of something nice from her eldest son and phone calls from her twins so all is good there.
Meanwhile the orphan lamb which was been looked after until I recovered has returned!
5 times larger than when it left here..

We got back late last night F.K got to try out her new harp at a wedding venue and I am pleased to say that reports back were that it was a resounding success and judging by the rapturous applause I am certain it went down a hit.

This afternoon s job then is to change the new website and to complete it

Thank fully it should not take too long
In the meantime just for something different on the blog thought I would post some updated photos of flossy!!

Sunnier times

2011-04-02T07:15:00.001-07:00

Well the sun is shining and as I write I can hear the Cockerels crowing away in the garden. The weather is a far cry from this morning when it rained.
F.K is playing at a weeding this afternoon for 1 hour and it is giving her a chance to test drive one of her new harps.
Meanwhile I am continuin to write and I am looking forward to getting the plaster cast removed from my leg on Tuesday that will be a weight off wuite literally

Well enough for today
Onwards and upwards I say!

Green wheels, Harp and A performance for the BBC

2011-04-01T15:31:00.000-07:00

Well what a interesting week it has been
On Wednesday I had a appointment in Keighley so I was unable to go with Kate and since I had a broken leg I got a friend of mine who is a Policeman to take me to Keighley.
Meanwhile Fiona Katie had to dash off to Leeds , fortunately we had persuaded Alberts Fiona Katies son to help take the pressure off so he arrived in his silver VW and much to my suprise he had painted the wheels bright green!
Somehow he managed to get the harp and Fiona Katie into the car and they drove off for Fiona katie to perform as part as a showcase for the BBC
I got back home about 5pm myself and I did not see Fiona Katie till late on and I was in bed when she came home.
Seems she had a great night but did not want to go to the after party! shame I had a broken leg optherwise I would have gone along with her well more weddings lined up over the weekend lets hope the weather holds out for the couple and this wind dies down a bit ------- dave

new website and dates page updated

2011-03-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

well I have finally done it after saying I would update the page on F.K's website I have finally done it and have also started to change the overall layout of the site which can be accessed from here http://www.tripleharps.com
Got a busy week over the next week the garage are coming to collect my car in the morning for the MOT on Tuesday Albert Fiona Katies lad is coming up to take her to the BBC project she is working on during wednesday evening.
Fiona Katie is also playing at the Wuthering Heights pub on Tuesday night along with our good friend Eddie Lawler. Tuesday nights performance is free of charge and all are welcome to attend we hope to see you there.

Things atrt hotting up for the wedding season at the weekend and details of the dates that Fiona is booked to play on can be found on the updated dates page of the website

fiona and her harps

2011-03-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

Fiona Katie was practising her new tunes today in preparation for her forthcoming weddings , and concerts.
Fiona will be playing alongside Eddie Lawler a good friend of ours at The wuthering Heights Folk session which is next Tuesday evening I do believe (I will check)
Following this Fiona will be working with the BBC on Wednesday and will then be performing at a wedding later.

Today Fiona Katie has had the donkey out and once my plaster cast is off we are to start clicker training and see how that progresses of course this will have to be in between helping Fiona

Fiona Katie also fired up the incubators today I believe she is going to hatch some Polish, Large white wyandotte's and some more copper black Maran birds we will wait and see if any hatch!

forthcoming concerts

2011-03-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

Today is Tuesday and Fiona Katie is getting ready for her forthcoming work with the BBC and forthcoming concerts which she has coming up.
I am waiting to hear back from a couple of venues that I have contacted over the past few days on Fiona Katies behalf.
Flossy the Donkey is doing very well and her fur looked in good condition from the window upstairs.

operations , hospitals and stuff

2011-03-18T16:34:00.001-07:00

Hi well I have been meaning to alter Fiona Katies website and have just not had the time which is strange since I have broken my leg and I have not been able to do much recently. On Wednesday I had major surgery and Fiona Katie stayed with me as I went down to the operating theatre and had my operation on my tumours.
I was suprised that the surgeon agreed to do the operation as I am in plaster but Fiona Katie and I were told that it needed doing as a matter of urgency so now I am hoping to make a speedy recovery then I can help Fiona Katie like she has helped me recently.

Tomorrow I am hoping to update the existing website whilst starting work on the new one. In between this and resting I am writing a bit mnore in the book of caris which is a book I have been working on for some time.

Meanwhile Fiona Katie is getting several enquiories through now for the summer weddings for next year which is good and I am able to deal with all her enquiries whilst laid up and my step son albert is home helping his mom with lambing as well as our friends thank goodness. It is a shame that our relatives who are farmers could not lend a hand! given the circumstances.

Update

2011-03-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

It has been a few day since we last posted this has been down to the fact that On saturday we had one of our working sheepdogs taken from the farm.
This caused huge problems as lambing had just started and Dave has a broken leg .
Following a huge campaign on facebook, twitter, posters, police and farmwatch
Our Sheepdog was found 5 miles away

Lambing has started and thankfully we have had help from Friends ..

concerts, bbc

2011-03-10T06:58:00.000-08:00

OK so we have not managed to get anything on the blog and the website is due to be tidied up today too.
Things are going well for Fiona Katie and we have done some negotiations with the BBC this last week for Fiona Katie to do some work for them on 30th March 2011.

Also on Tuesday this week Fiona Katie played for the Lord Mayor and will also be appearing at the pain clinc which I attend in May 2011.

In addition to this she will be doing another concert in East Morton.

Well best get on and have a crack at these web pages

lord mayor - international Womens Day

2011-03-05T04:43:00.000-08:00

Day 8 of Daves broken leg
Managed to stand for a few minutes today with the aide of crutches . (Makes life a bit easier I am determined to feed the dogs myself this afternoon and take some of the strain off FK.
despite the leg throbbing at least this may keep my mother in law off my back!

Fiona Katie is to play for the lord Mayor on Tuesday as it is international Womens day.
All very exciting stuff I know the Lord Mayor Peter Hill personally so it is always good for her to work with people I know .

Fiona Katie also played for the U3A on last Thursday and the feedback we have had is tremendous

World music festival Grimsby

2011-03-03T16:30:00.000-08:00

NOTE

Due to me breaking my leg and dislocating my arm
It is with the utmost regret that
Fiona Katie will not be able to perform at The world Music Festival on the 4th of March as advertised on the festival program

We would like to thank the organisers of the festival for being so understanding

Normal service will resume very shortly!!!!!!!!!!

A cautionary tale!!! hens and harps

2011-03-03T14:55:00.000-08:00

Fiona Katie is practising downstairs
The hens have started laying
I am gaining more movement in my foot and think the bruising is beginning to subside

Here is a tale which was told to me this morning.

A Scorpion was basking in the sunshine on a leaf which was floating at the edge of a pond.
Suddenly a breeze blew the leaf with the scorpion on into the deep part of the pond and the scorpion in fear of drowning cried out "help, help help"

Nearby was a frog who came by to see what all the commotion was about.
"Whats wrong" asked the frog to the scorpion.
The scorpion replied " I cannot swim and will surely drown in this deep water please will you carry me on your back to safety?"

The Frog replied "But you will sting me and kill me and we will both die if I allow you on my back"

Scorpion': "No I wont because if I sting you we will both drown and die "

And so the frog agreed to carry the scorpion on his back and started to swim back to safety.
As the frog swam through the deep water the scorpion raised his tail and stung the frog in his back.

"Why would you do such a thing" the frog asked the scorpion as the poison began to run through him for now we will both drown and die.

"because it is my nature" replied the scorpion

Watch out for scorpions!!!!!

dave here I am writing Fiona Katies blog for the moent as she is managing feeding the animals due to my injured leg, shoulder and hip

I have done some more work on the new website today and hope to have completed at least the first page by tomorrow night . I am trying to get to grips with the new software I am using Webserif it is completely different to anything I have used and like anything new I have to find my way around it.

My toes have gone bright purple and black so I imagine the rest of the bruising must be coming out which can only be a good thing

we went to the pain clinic today and Fiona katie is going to play there in May all been well which I am sure will cheer up all those who suffer in silence with pain

Watched out of the window in sheer frustration as Fiona Katie fed and watered all the animals .

u3a, concert, website.

2011-03-02T16:00:00.001-08:00

Fiona Katie performed this morning for the U3A for the uninitiated this is the university of the third age .

It was a chance to test drive a new harp and as usual she gained some more fans I am sure and went down a storm. The people /audience were lovely and a good time was had by all.

We arrived back at the house and have had 4 enquiries regarding Fiona Playing two concerts a television appearance and a memorial service all in one day.

Tomorrow afternoon Fiona Katies website will be unavailable for a short time whilst it is given a update and makeover.

The new website set to replace the old one is currently undergoing construction and is coming together faster than originally anticipated.

Todays Picture is of Fiona when she played in Castleford and opened a new brewery.

harps and concerts

2011-02-27T09:37:00.000-08:00

We had a enquiry today for Fiona Katie to play at a charity event.

Fiona Katie has played at a lot of Charity events to name a few she has played for

The blind

The Deaf

The MS Society

Epilepsy society to name but a few

A good friend of mine Dennis called this afternoon Dennis is a Freemason and has asked that Fiona Katie play for a Garden party in June / July

Work is still coming in for Fiona Katie which is always a good sign in these uncertain economic times

Blog by Dave Widdop

zimmers, harps, donkeys and sheep

2011-02-27T04:26:00.000-08:00

Hi dave here
Well I did not sleep much last night terrible pain in leg and toes are black.
Hospital offered a Zimmer frame to help me get into wheelchair .
Physio cracked a joke about Fiona Katie attaching strings to it and renaming it CripAL which caused me to smile I must say even though it was in bad taste.

flossy, harps,concerts, and stuff.

2011-02-25T14:43:00.000-08:00

Have had another look at Deval the harp this afternoon and since I am now stuck in the house have spent the afternoon looking at designs for many different harps and have discussed some of the ideas with Fiona Katie as we are both working on these together.

Had a eventful day with the Vet coming to look at Flossy , she is to have shoes fitted shortly and the Vet feels she may have to be sedated.

This afternoon I had to go back to the hospital to have my leg manipulated into place before a more permanent cast was fitted. Physio was concerned about the weakness in my right hand side and as it is my left leg that is broken a wheelchair is going to be delivered tomorrow morning all being well.

It seems we are not able to be as freem with our speech on here as we would like .

This is a shame as when I set this blog up it was meant to be able to tell a little bit about harps and our lives in general.

Some it seems take exception to this. Such a shame

Next concert is is Grimsby all being well.

I will be sorting out further concerts in the next few weeks in Yorkshire shortly

I will post the details here

Above photo is Fiona Katie dressed to perform at a wedding

Dave Widdop

The new harp Daval

2011-02-23T08:02:00.000-08:00

Finally after months of hard work and delays I have managed to make a start on finishing the harp Daval.
As I write this I am in between coats of laqher, in order to give the harp added strength it is necessary to apply this 15 seperate times and each time the harop is to be given 5 coats with a fiteen minute interval in between. by the time it is finished this means the harp will have received 75 seperate coats of laquer this seems a lot but the coats are applied so thinly so to prevent sagging.

I have had to revert to spraying the harp in the barn for two reasons after days of hardwork installing the wood burning stove in the stables I lit it and it failed the woodburner is beyond repair and damaged further than initially thought rendering it useless and I nearley burned down the stables in the process dropping everything to get the Donkey out then going back in to throw a bucket of water over the rayburn .
Tomorrows job is to remove the rayburn from the building and to put it in the scrap pile!!!!

Now desperately seeking another wood burning stove that will not be in such a bad state
The idea is to warm the stables through for when flossy the donkey has her foal..

OK back to spraying

Lambing, Donkeys, Harps and chimneys

2011-02-20T13:55:00.000-08:00

Woke early this morning by the Donkey ,

Miserable weather outside and decided that I had best get on with the chimney stack for the wood burning stove in the stables.

Flossy is doing very well now her back has become very straight and she is extremely intelligent today she picked up her feed bucket and pushed it through the gate to me !!! she does also carry her water bucket by its handle to the back of the stables when it is placed down in front of her.

Flossy is a bit nippy what I mean by this is that if you have something in your hand she tries to get it off you I have decided only to give her food in her bucket from now on as friends on the Donkey Forum told me to do this to avoid her nipping (Donkey bites do hurt)

Due to Flossy coming to the farm unexpectantly I have used more hay than I originally calculated on for the sheep so I have a good friend who has a farm who is going to come to some arrangement with me for 20 bales of hay which should see me through.

The snow which has fallen has not helped at all went through another 3 bales today only have enough to last till the weekend .

Lambing should be starting the 2nd week in March which is not that far away and will carry on till mid April.

Finally managed to replace the table saw which is located in the workshop I got sold one last Year by a Family Member no less and it turned out the Motor on it was defunct not only that when I tried to get a replacement motor I found out this part was obsolete and even if it had been available it would have cost more than a new saw.

Thank goodness for ebay

New harps

2011-02-16T12:55:00.000-08:00

Had a great day today I went to see my mom gave her a new coat I had bought for her and then went off to the paint shop to buy supplies to complete Daval.
Had to strip the varnish off Daval ready for 15 coats of laquer which will be sprayed tomorrow.
Davav the harp will then be left to dry for 3 days before having the next set of decals and laquer sprayed over the top.

At this stage we will be drilling the harp ready for stringing and then the final part will be the electronics .
It is my intention to have Daval ready for stringing by the end of next week
Then the real work start as 128 strings have to be fit into place and months of tuning will begine at this stage Daval could explode under the huge strain and a years work will simply become firewood.

I am hoping that it all works
D

Farewell to my friend Duncan (By Dave)

2011-02-15T13:37:00.000-08:00

It wasnt as if he appeared unwell but my best friend Duncan had suffered from diabetis for many years.

A few years ago he stubbed his toe at the bottom of the stairs something that many of us do but for a diabetic this was pretty serious and a few months later he was in hospital with blood poisoning. I remember going and seeing him and thinking oh my goodness . That though was 7 Years ago now and I had long since forgotten about it.

Duncan went to the foot clinic just 3 weeks ago a routine visit just to have his feet looked at. The Nurse was a bit concerned and decided a few days in hospital resting might help with the aid of antibiotics. That was on the Thursday on the Monday things went bad and Duncan was transfeered from one hospital to another . I got a text telling me he was not good and decided to go see him the next day.

The following morning I got a call from Duncans daughter the type of call no one ever wants to get my friend of 15 years had died .

And so last Friday we went to the funeral and Fiona Katie played somewhere over the rainbow whilst I acted as one of the pall bearers and carried my friends coffin into the crematorium.

A very harrowing and painful day . I must admit I cried as I watched Duncans 97 year old Father say farewell to his son.

Duncan was more of a Father to me than ever my own Father was and I will mourn for him forever a true friend, Father, Son, Brother. Duncan was many things to many people but to me he was my best friend..

Picture

From left to right My younger brother Tony, Me (Dave) in the Middle, Duncan right

Update on flossy

2011-02-12T15:23:00.000-08:00

Flossy continues toget a bit better each day and is developing into a good friend .
I have been working in the stables in the adjoining room to flossy today and have been in and out with bits of harps and equipment for the workshop.
Flossy has decided very quickly that if she starts making her sqeauly attempts at a donkey noise that she gets a carrot but I have decided not to give her toom many as I do not want to give her stomach ache/.
Tomorrows job is to call down and see our good friend Mark who owns Airevalley wood shavings in Keighley he has helped me out no end and my good friend Julie Rhodes from Rhodes Hardware came up to see flossy with a huge sack of feed for flossy
It does seem that everyone is taking a bit of interest in flossy and she is getting spoilt .
I have in all my years never seen a animal so mistreated and to say she has been treated in this she still has trust in mankind . I am suprised that she does not bite anything that moves..

Well it is time for bed and I am up early in the morning as I will be working on Fiona Katies latest website which is www.harpistforweddings.com
Still some finishing touches to go on but I think I have managed to get the music page just right

Davex

Flossy

2011-02-10T12:08:00.001-08:00

This is flossy our rescued Donkey

The top picture shows the cruelty that was inflicted to Flossy before we got her.

Flossy is now doing better than she was but has a long way to go yet

She is due to foal in May and we are trying to get her built up whilst taking extra care with her foot.

Flossy has laminitis in her front foot which is why she is wearing gaffer tape on her foot which is holding a instep in place to help her walk.

Flossy (our new donkey)

2011-02-08T05:41:00.000-08:00

Yes ...! only you, I hear you say. I was due on stage in 4 hours time and Dave said we must just go and see this donkey for sale in Colne. I could tell he was serious as the old horsebox was hitched up behind his car already. It was pouring with rain, the wind was horrible and there she was perched precariously on a very thin slippery, sloping path made from concrete paving stones. Huge bare patches of skin showing through her rain drenched coat, deep cuts on her knees and heavy with foal ...

Of course Dave bought her!!! (After serious haggling!) She bravely limped into our horsebox and back at the farm we bedded her down into a dry stable with hay and pony nuts and a bucket of water (neither of us remembered seeing one when we picked her up).

The good news is Dave rescued her just in time. The vets aren't too worried and have bandaged one of her feet. Dave is shampooing her coat every day and she has antibiotics and wormers in her food. Things are looking very positive. She is an absolute love - very talkative and the difference in her is noticeable already. She obviously feels at home and is rolling happily and trotted to the stable door for a carrot this morning!

And in case you were wondering ... we had a cracker of a concert and you could hear a pin drop when I played the 'ghost' tune (with permission, of course) ...

Next performance at the Wuthering Heights, also with Eddie Lawler on Tuesday, 29th March

next concert this Saturday in Clayton - pls see next blog down!

2011-02-01T09:03:00.001-08:00

I cannot believe it's been nearly a week since I last wrote. I have two new websites - the thanks and inspiration for the names go to Duncan - a great friend of Dave's and who shall be sadly missed. I shall check first that they are actually up and running without hitches before I give you the names! The original website www.tripleharps.com was set up by my daughter's friend, Adam, whilst still at school in AS level year. In those days we never thought things would get so big and I never thought I would be spelling it out over the phone umpteen times a day!

I am at present making a huge map on the kitchen table. The harps have been moved out of the way for the moment! We are on a quest to find out as much history and folklore about harps as we can - in particular in connection with the Romans as they brought so many new ideas into the country - music included! I have discovered many links with locations anyway and I am enjoying myself creating this map with a whole new outlook!

Well, at present rate of progress I will not write again before the concert so I hope to see you all in Clayton on Saturday - 8 pm - there is a bar ... Music and tales from hills ...

sold loads of tickets :)

2011-01-26T14:35:00.000-08:00

Next concert at Clayton Village Hall (BD14 6QN) on Saturday 5th February - 8 pm
with Eddie Lawler http://www.eddie-lawler.co.uk/
Tickets £5 in advance and £6 on the door. info@tripleharps.com or tel 01535 642581

I have just returned from a wonderful place, hidden on the second floor of an old Mill in Keighley! They call themselves The Big Soup Theatre Group and have a cafe and a huge stage with gorgeous purple velvet curtains, purple chairs, purple window curtains and big purple plastic daisies stuck on the wall ... My sort of place. Should have taken my harp 'Purp-Al' but it is undergoing a re-furb at present!

I was greeted in the corridor and the concert started before I had taken my coat off. In fact - I never did take it off!!! I was having 'one of those days' and had exactly 12 minutes to get changed and ready for stage ... which I did ... I scraped my hair back into 'spanish' style with a black net bow, amazing ceramic earrings - a gift from Brazil, red taffetta bustier and black leggins. A wrap round long 'flamenco' style matching skirt was to go on after I had carried the harp in! It stayed, draped over the back of my chair throughout!

Such enthusiasm and rousing applause from the audience - the years of 'all-nighters' making harps on the kitchen table were worth it. I have still to fit the mechanism for bells alas. They are spread out in the kitchen, taking up most of the worktop - but having tried a few different ideas I have at least worked out HOW to do it ...!

of mouses (mice)

2011-01-21T02:17:00.000-08:00

For next concert details please see next blog down!

Having a problem with 'mouses' at the moment. They sneaked into the house in the cold weather and have settled all over the place. To my horror I discovered evidence of one in the grand piano. The top of the piano is covered with bits of paper, sometimes manuscript, but usually old receipts and anything I can grab when a tune comes into my head. This can be anywhere - at the shops or on a walk across the moors. I try and hold the tunes in my head but past experience has shown that writing notes down is the best way.

A mouse ignored all the chocolates I received at Christmas and decided instead to chew my notes on some Arabic music I heard at the proms. Little bits of paper are now stuck inside the piano. Todays job is to slide the action out and using very soft dusters, lengths of wire, tweezers and pliers, to totally clean out the inside.

My daughter decided to use a humane mouse trap in the cold weather then got soft when it was time to release it ... yes she did actually let it go outside the back door so it came straight back in and ate through her ski trousers ...!

Dave stayed up to the early hours mending my computer so I am indebted to him right now - it sprang into life at the touch of a button - WOW! I am taking lessons from him. My computer skills are minimal and my children haven't stopped laughing yet for ringing them up, literally in tears of frustration, because I couldn't get anything to work. It never occurred to me that you put the palm of your hand on top of the mouse so I was using it upside down ..... whoops!

Ang-Al and Dav-Al

2011-01-17T13:12:00.000-08:00

Next concert - Sat 5th Feb 2011 - 8 pm - Clayt0n Village Hall, BD14 6QN - £5 in advance/email us on info@tripleharps.com or tel 01535 642581
with Eddie Lawler, www.eddie-lawler.co.uk There is a bar!

I have just had an hour's practice. I have a lot on my mind so ended up playing 'the blues'! I am still sat looking at un-finished harps. The phone keeps ringing and there is generally so much to do. I am not sure how I ever managed to build so many in the past! Hopefully tomorrow ... I have, however, managed to get the extra string on Ang-Al so I can play a new tune! I have spent a long time getting this tune together (it was written in the 9thC by a Roman) and tonight I finally played it right through and was happy with it. I started playing it in another key but struggled at speed to dig my fingers into the inner strings (like the 'black' notes). I changed the key and ended up with one note short at the top! The great thing about making your own harps is you can get the drill out and add another string!

You may be wondering about the names of the harps. All the names end in 'Al' - my kids idea after they ate and did their homework under the first harp made of Aluminium. Ang-Al is actually for Angel and has names written down the back of people who are sadly missed - it starts with 'Dad'. Dav-Al is finished in jet black/glitter car paint so it reflects different colours in the light. It has been constructed with fibreglass, has no strings on it yet but I can't wait to hear what it sounds like!

Yorkshire Ridings

2011-01-14T13:13:00.000-08:00

Next concert February 5th, Clayton Village Hall (BD14 6QN), with Eddie Lawer (The Bard of Saltaire) - 8 pm - £5 in advance - info@tripleharps.com or 01535 642581 (there is a bar)

'Didn't know farmers listened to harps' - This was the greeting at the hotel the other night. 'They do now' - I replied. It struck me that they actually had no choice as I was the booked 'Speaker'. Nearly a hundred farmers came down the fells and valleys to attend the dinner. I must admit I got a few 'looks'. Once I turned up to give the after-dinner speech and the Chairman (who hadn't booked me) took one look and decided he would 'take the stage' and give a very long introduction with a lot of very bad jokes ... I brought the house down with the 10 minutes I was left with. 'Leave them wanting more' - oh yes!!!

I proudly announced that this was the fourth time I had been booked to speak at Farmers Supper Clubs to which the reply was 'What, didn't they listen the first time?' - We had a good laugh and there was a brilliant attempt at Pachelbel's Canon when I handed out some small table-top harps.

Today we got a call from Roy. His article had been published in the Yorkshire Ridings magazine. By dinnertime I had already taken a booking - thank you Roy! (page 38 if you want to read more ...)

from Russia ...

2011-01-10T13:11:00.000-08:00

Next concert with Eddie Lawler on 5th February in Clayton Village Hall. (with a bar!) 7.30 pm and £5 a ticket in advance.

Greetings to the several hundred people in Russia who checked out the website yesterday, and the person from Korea. Amazing! I love checking the website stats! Russia was one of the few places in the world who had the skills to make the Orchestral Harp right up until the 70s. I used to do a workshop for visiting children from Chernoble and they were always amazed at how 'small' my harps were! They had never heard of anything other than the large pedal harp and treated it with awe. They all knew of a small stringed instrument which we call a psaltry or cimbala. It is triangular and sits flat on a table-top. All you need is a sheet of paper with 'blobs' on that slips under the strings. Follow the 'blobs' and it guides you up and down the right strings to make a tune.

They also told me of the radio stations in Russia. Apparantly there's no separate station for different music - you get Tchaikovsky followed by U2 - a mixed bag all the time.

I managed to get a bit done on the harps today. I have been learning a tune from 9thC Armenia and needed one more string in the treble ... so I got the drill out and put another on ...

guido fawkes

2011-01-07T02:21:00.000-08:00

Next concert - Clayton village Hall, nr Bradford, 5th February

We have awoke to snow again ... Supposed to be in Clitheroe this evening but we haven't been stuck in yet, fingers crossed!!! It does mean squashing the harp into a small suzuki jeep though and I am limited to one harp at a time! Over Christmas I had to call upon a neighbour for help and the harp ended up sticking out the back window - brrrrr, freezing. Not only that but I was playing in a shop and the door kept being left open. Amazingly there is a video on Facebook and You-Tube (Cobbles and Clay, Haworth 12th December) showing no signs of the frozen fingers! I was at the limit of coldness that night.

Over Christmas my sister and husband surprised us all by booking 3 rooms at the Inn where Guy Fawkes was born. The staff were very proud of their ghost - hmmm - they didn't realise we lived in a house dubbed 'the most haunted house ever' by West Yorkshire Paranormal Society ...! We wandered round York in the snow and watched the ducks huddled under the bridge in the only small patch of unfrozen river water. My sons set off to find St Mary's car park and nearly drove through open gates straight onto the river thinking it was the car park. A small sign of a car toppling into water was spotted last minute!

Off to get some harps finished - Hand-Al sounds so sweet already but needs decorating and 3 more strings! (The trouble with trying to make a small, transportable harp, that can deliver my repertoire.)

Minus 20 below

2011-01-03T01:33:00.000-08:00

The temperatures on the car dashboard varied considerably between Malham and Haworth - we spent most of Christmas week travelling between the two. I think Haworth had it colder - we clocked -20 on a regular basis. Most of the houses near us in Haworth had no water for 10 days but we managed to stave off a disaster. My husband and three sons worked round the clock for 3 days to stop it freezing. The pipes in the house were slowly freezing, creeping closer and closer towards the kitchen. Heating, Rayburn ovens, log fires etc did nothing to stop it. We had one toilet still working and one bath. A tap would work and we left it running only to find 10 minutes later that it had frozen up. We had heat lamps, electric heaters, hair dryers, duvets - you name it. In the end we had to put pipes overland lagged with 'muck' and hay and left the water running on full. Pipes we mended and lagged in the morning were burst by lunch.

Tragedy occurred in the hen house. They have lived in the same hut for about 4 years but this year we went in and they were all sat on the perch frozen ... Very sad. Only 4 survived.

The roads near us were beautiful - totally white. The trees coated with frost. My daughter has a huge choice of photos to use as Christmas cards next year but I think the best was the pheasants and moorhens in the garden taken through the frosted window.

saying goodbyes

2010-12-29T09:21:00.000-08:00

Since last writing the internet has been a nightmare! I finally gave up trying so it was such a surprise to get on finally today!

We have had such fun over Christmas and I meant to fill you in as it went on ... however, I now start with the goodbye!

My sister, husband, daughter and son flew over from Boston for a traditional Christmas and we have done everything and been everywhere!!! Last time she came over we parted at a bus stop in Oxford, outside Debenhams. I have brought up my kids with a certain sort of originality which meant the dining table stayed upside-down most of the time as we played 'sharks'. We invented our own version of snakes and ladders with real ladders up stairs and over settees and the snakes were knotted ropes dangling from attics and haylofts.

Me and my sister boarded the 'park and ride' bus almost in tears and left eldest son and daughter at the bus stop outside the bus. The automatic doors closed but the bus didn't go anywhere. Quick as a flash Luke started playing charades - we were yelling the answers through the window and people moved across the bus to join in. The bus driver had never seen anything like it.

This time it was a final meal of fish and chips (apparantly they don't taste quite like it on Cape Cod (?!). I wrote down the directions to the Airport as best I could and we parted on the roundabout on the Skipton bypass! Arms waving out of windows, tears and huge cheers as our car headed up the Keighley road and they turned up the Clitheroe road ...

Ginge got stuck

2010-12-12T23:58:00.001-08:00

Well, my camper van, Ginge, has been pulled out at last! It was stuck for well over a week. Firstly with the snow and then with the 2 inch layer of sticky mud that was left behind. This place isn't called 'Marsh' for nothing!

It has been a week of struggling against the elements. I walked 2 miles to post Dave's son's Jack's birthday present (phew, so many apostrophes...). Decided to wear walking boots to get extra grip but the snow was so deep heading off down the field that my boots were full of cold snow by the time I reached the village so came home up the icy pavements. We squashed the harp into Dave's little 4 wheel drive which meant I had to sit in the back on one of the tiny fold-down seats. I had to unfold myself out of the car to get on stage but it was quite comfy.

I spent nearly an hour pushing two vans out. They narrowly missed sliding into the ancient standing stones stuck at the side of the cottage next door.

I got a mention in the Epoch Times Music Review - 'one of the outstanding highlights at Musicport' - this is making the cold/flu bug seem less nasty so THANK YOU!!! :) xxx etc ....

revolutions brewing ...

2010-12-06T14:07:00.000-08:00

Wednesday 8th December 6-9 pm - Cobbles and Clay, Haworth
Thursday 9th December 7.30 pm - Shoulder of Mutton, Castleford - www.revolutionsbrewing.co.uk

Click on the link, they can explain their beer better than I can! Yorkshire Music - they say - brilliant. 'Yorkshire Rocks' was the heading a few months back on the front of a magazine! (with me stood on top of ... yes, a Yorkshire rock)

Well, another gig cancelled because of the snow alas. Wycoller wasn't to be. The road down to the village does tend to be a bit like a stream, awash with water at the best of times. Yesterday we had a bit of a thaw and we passed a car stuck into a massive snow drift opposite the pub. It was almost completely covered over by snow and no-one had attempted to get it out. It reminded me of a tale from the past. We lived near Blubberhouses and the road got very bad with snow every year. My Dad got a call one night from a friend who had to abandon his car and walk home. He asked Dad to go up and put some more markers on it as he was worried it would be hit by the snow plough. He had tied his tie to the aerial and had found an old fence post to mark the back. Trouble was - what to put on that? My Dad roared with laughter and it was a few days before us girls found out. (The only thing he could think of was his underpants.)

Well, its either see you for a cup of tea, or see you for a beer?

the phone keeps ringing

2010-12-02T08:48:00.000-08:00

Sunday 5th December 1-4 pm Wycoller Country Park
Wednesday 8th December 6-9 pm Cobbles and Clay Cafe, Main Street, Haworth
Thursday 9th December 8 pm - Revolutions Brewery Opening, Castleford

Well, I can't complain - folks out there want to keep hearing harp! (thank you)

The snow has arrived thick and fast and the cold is unbelievable. I have now finished making curtains which fit so well to stop the draughts. I have raided skips over the last few years and retrieved old shutters and wardrobe doors and fitted them over the huge windows at the front of our house with great effect. I'd say it adds on about 10 degrees in those rooms.

I may have said this before but my Dad always kept saying the definition of a Yorkshire man was one who could buy something off a Jew and sell it to a Scotsman and make a profit ... I am proving to be all Yorkshire! Sometimes it works well being 'canny'. I saved a huge amount of money by buying the top-of-the-range, lightest duvet the other day - they had one super-king left in the sale at half the price of the others. The question was 'would I be able to cram it into my existing king-size duvet covers?' - answer - YES (of course!).

When both sheepdogs had pups the other week and the father, Mac, was left without an abode - I quickly converted an old compost bin and put it under a row of Scots Pine trees in a lovely sheltered spot overlooking the farm. Don't worry he is now in the old caravan 'livin it up' but it helped us out for a few days till we got sorted! Funily enough he took to it straight away and I think he rather liked it!

I am off now to see how to fasten bells to the harps. It has flumuxed me a bit but I am sure it is possible if I keep thinking about it!!! Mystic-Al and Vand-Al are now holding their tune well and I need to find the time to finish off the decoration - it's time to take them out on a gig!

Let it snow, let it snow ...

2010-11-26T00:10:00.000-08:00

Wycoller Country Park next weekend - Sunday 5th December - and will it snow?!

For the past fifteen years or so I have been lucky enough to play at Wycoller before Christmas. It usually starts in Pepper Hill Barn, all set up for wildlife enthusiasts and learning. Loads of little ones making cards and playing my little harps and cimbalas. Then we carry everything down to the main old barn for a bit of a sing-song and as many tunes as the biting cold will allow!

It's funny but I suffer from terrible chillblains and my fingers swell to double the size and turn purple for most of the winter months but it doesn't ever affect the playing. I swop the rings to my little fingers and the beaded rings I wear for the drumming are old curtain rings so can be bent to fit!

Two years ago it snowed heavily. I gingerly drove through cut out walls of snow, just wide enough for one car and over 6' high in places over the moor top. The road into Wycoller was a sheet of ice and somehow I managed to park between a brand new Range Rover and convertible Bentley without mishap. I did pray all day that the owners would move them - but alas, it was not to be so had to enlist the amused help of Rangers to get me out! They stood at each corner to make sure I didn't slide! The road, however, was just unpassable and a tractor was needed to tow 2 cars at a time up the hill!

The setting however was just perfect. Just before the concert started we were stood in silent awe watching the snow cover the trees and ruined house when a deer stepped into the scene for a few minutes.

10 green bottles

2010-11-22T03:36:00.000-08:00

Wycoller Country Park - music workshops followed by short concert (3 pm'ish) on Sunday 5th December - more details from the Countryside Wardens/Tourist Information - free event

Well, I have just been asked to play at yet another Brewery! I played at the Barearts on Friday night and they have shelves of beer and wine stacked right up the walls. I played in the corner with all these bottles behind me. There is a wooden floor and every time I banged my feet on the ground with the bells there was an audible tingle of jangling glass all the way round the room! I was so afraid that the bottles would creep forwards in the middle of one of my 'flamenco' tunes or 'irish jigs' and the lot would come crashing down behind me! As if to confirm my worst nightmares there was a blackboard with a special offer on advertising one of their beers - 'Cascade' - arghhhhhhhhh!!!

The owners seemed to think this was hillarious and after a huge daft debate throughout the bar about whether my public liability insurance would cover the cost we carried on with no mishaps - phew!

Playing at a Faith Forum tonight in Huddersfield.

Border Collie Pups for Sale

2010-11-18T12:59:00.000-08:00

Border Collie Puppies for sale £200 each

Ready 13th of December 2010

£100 deposit secures

We have both Males and females available ,

Both parents can be seen

Both parents are working sheep dogs

These dogs make excellent pets are highly intelligent and are loyal and obedient

If you would like to come and see the pups

Please give us a call on 01535 642581

The Barearts, Todmorden, Friday 19th November 7.30pm

2010-11-18T10:56:00.000-08:00

Hello again

Just briefly to let you know kick-off is at 7.30 pm tomorrow night at The Barearts! Am going to use my new pick-ups, specially designed for the Quad harp so here's hoping for a great sound again!

Must dash, didn't get chance to do anything at all today ... spent the day in waiting rooms, first at the Doctors, then at the hospital ... ughh. Good outcome though so worth it!

Hoping to see you tomorrow night. Music from Ancient Mesopotamia, South America, Spain, Ireland ...

poltergeists

2010-11-16T00:21:00.000-08:00

The BAREARTS this Friday 19th in Todmorden, opposite Morrisons. 'Proper' beer, served in jugs, good company and the harp, of course - see you there? (starts early-ish - not sure myself yet but they have a website!)

We have had over 2 weeks of peace and quiet in the house so I dare write about it now! For the past 23 years we have lived with several ghosts. The house is Edwardian and the site has a very interesting history. No-one knows exactly when the poltergiest activity started but the teenage lad who lived here before us refused to sleep inside the house and took up residence in a caravan parked in the field at the back. The more sceptical the visitor, the more this particular 'spirit' played up. One guest left ashen-faced at 3 in the morning after he woke up to hear heavy breathing and someone sat on his bed. He gave a 'jungle' roar, leapt out of bed and charged out of the room, only to find the corridor outside his door had been blocked with a huge tower of chairs, cuddlies, toys and slippers.

In the last month we have been pelted with the crabapples I had picked; whilst teaching one afternoon we heard thud, after thud, on the music room door. My pupil had to help pick up all the apples which were still rolling round the floor outside the room. The tricks were numerous and after a few weeks of moving a particular piece of furniture every day, or a particular prank it would move onto something else. Occasionally we would have a few months of peace. I tried to find a pattern by keeping a diary but there was none.

Last night another pupil reminded me that last year it had attacked the Christmas Tree on every possible occasion. I would say goodbye to one pupil and walk into the room with another pupil minutes later and there would be baubles rolling round the floor and the tree would be on top of furniture looking like it had just been through a tornedo!

Things got so bad last month we decided to call in help. We had been kept awake for 5 nights in a row with tappings and very loud bangs on the bedroom door and on the bedhead. At 5 am one morning my exhausted husband shouted ... 'at least *** tap in rhythm'! The house had been exorcised 5 times but to no avail. We needed to do research and find the cause.

As a child one of my Dad's friends had sold a ghost in the local newspaper so I had even wondered whether we should put it on Ebay but the solution proved far simpler. I will have to leave you guessing as to how, but if anyone out there is as desperate as we were - just get in touch!!!

wow - someone reads this

2010-11-12T13:45:00.000-08:00

Wow! - not only did a lot of you keep your fingers crossed for me but I can't believe the response to find alternative venues for the 11th. Big thank you. Alas we have tried right across the mid-band of England from Hull to Liverpool and everything is booked up to Christmas but we have re-booked Clayton for early February so will keep you posted.

I am not sitting here doing nothing (as if!) - no, I have loads of 'corporate' work, after-dinner speaking and school work to keep me practised!

We have been counting the cost of the storm. Half my new greenhouse roof has been smashed, and a couple of shed roofs flew away. When I was little there was a very bad storm in the night and when we went out we had gained a complete shed, door fastened shut and about 10 hens still sat inside! They belonged to Mr Morris who lived in the farm up a very steep hill just above us. It was just near enough for my Mum and Mr Morris's housekeeper, Mrs Spence, to shout conversations at eachother when they were hanging their washing out. It was uncanny how many times this happenned. My Mum didn't think it was lady-like to bawl as loud as she could up the hill but Mrs Spence was brought up to be very polite and it would be rude not to engage in pleasantries so she just shouted louder and louder till Mum gave in.

Re: all the harp gluing I did the other day:- I hardly dare say but will 'whisper' very quietly ... the gluing has worked so far ... the soundboard has not sprung away from the soundbox. Please keep crossing your fingers - I can scarcely believe my luck.

double-booked

2010-11-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

Clayton Village Hall phoned today all embarassed - they had double-booked the 11th December. We had sold over 30 tickets already so are looking for another venue. If we don't find one we are re-arranging for Clayton in the New Year so I will keep you posted.

I am busy - again!!! I have again managed to confine all the harps into the music room but there are a few laid down like coffins taking up all the floor space. The trouble is that yesterday I had a 'gluing day'. I had an old Barometer to mend, a coffee table and 3 harps. I found a strip of oak that just fitted onto the forepillar of Mystic-Al. It had come off an old piano I had stripped for pegs etc last year. The pegs are going to be used in my version of small 'Cimbalas' - like a small zither that can sit on your lap but with harp strings - not wire ones. I have 4 old drawers from an old wardrobe. They are labelled 'gloves' and 'socks'!

That is my next project. I am being asked to go into more and more Schools which I love. I am booked as a 'birthday' surprise for a local Special Needs School.

I have glued a pupil's harp - the soundboard had popped off after it was left by a window in full sunlight whilst they were on holiday ... whoops ... not a good idea. Fingers crossed for me that the glue is strong enough!

The other harp had to be 'paper mached'. The new quad design gives a slightly wider neck at the top of the soundboard so I am left with a few gaps to fill. The expanding glue was a near-disaster so a new method was needed. Fingers crossed again please!!!

Concert in Clayton

2010-11-06T23:19:00.000-07:00

Dave has booked Clayton Village Hall on Saturday 11th December - 8 pm. This is the first of many (we hope!) - I have always had a large amount of people asking where to see me so we are going to book venues and get on with ourselves! Clayton is on the outskirts of Bradford - more details later on how to get there but it has its own bar and I am joined by Eddie Lawler.

I have just realised I never got to describe the Cambridge visit! The party was set in Queens College. The Porter directed us to the 'first door' - we entered the Quad. On the left hand side is a cloistered walk leading underneath the 3 storey 'boat' building. Apparantly the College expanded in the 16th Century and needed accommodation for the new Dean and his family so acquired an old ship, turned it upside down and placed it on top of a warehouse. Worked brilliantly.

We puzzled over exactly which could be the first door in the dimly lit quad. On asking students they couldn't help either - all apologising for their inability to help us. Eventually we decided to enter the first door in the centre with a light over it. There was certainly a party going on but my Mum and me were the only females present! Whoops... Guests there knew exactly where we were meant to be, however.

We had stilton tart, duck, lemon desert and birthday cake. The table was Georgian mahogany and huge. It was also very wide and we couldn't reach across to pass the butter dish but discovered it slid fabulously well if you nudged it ...

Afterwards we went to the student bar. It was halloween party night. Mum did very well and we stayed for over an hour - no-one batting an eyelid at the two 'older' guests that night.

Today one of my students is collecting the upright piano. I really enjoyed having 2 pianos when Philiy came home for duets but I just don't have the space and am struggling with its upkeep. I am looking forward to getting all the harps into one room as well! I will also have room to start work on them again - can't wait! I have some new plans which should sound amazing - more soon!

Porters

2010-11-03T01:25:00.000-07:00

The BBC have decided to sell dvds of The Yorkshire Symphony - £10 each I gather with £5 going to charity. This is the only information I have to date so will keep you posted in good time for Christmas!

My eldest, Philippa, was 25 at the weekend and had a huge 'posh' party. The dinner was held at Queen's College, Cambridge (where she is doing a phD) and we were to meet for pre-dinner drinks beforehand. To get into these Colleges you have to talk to the 'Porters'. They sit in little rooms just behind the big gates surrounded by 'pidgeon holes' - one for every student to receive letters and messages. They wear uniform, often with bowler hats. I have had reason to chat to various Porters over the years. They are the 'life-blood' of every college.

On her very first day (this was at Queen's College, Oxford) we were late... The car exhaust had fallen off on the outskirts of Oxford. Luckily I was in the AA. As it worked out, the easiest plan was for the AA man to take Philiy to college and for me to follow when the car was fixed with all her gear (including a harp, of course). I was left at a local garage and Philiy set off sat on the front seat of a huge yellow tow-truck. She was deposited at the porter's lodge, without her gown, with minutes to spare to attend her first 'formal dinner'. They have a system of 'family' support members. It amused me - she was asigned a 'college Mum', 'Dad', 'husband', 'sister' etc. This came into play straight away. The Porter rang for her 'Mum' who arrived with spare gown and swept Philiy into dinner, no fuss!

At 11 pm that night I drove down into Oxford centre to try and find the right college. There was no-one to ask, Philiy had taken the map and there are no signs. They open the huge oak, studded gates in the daytime and place a very tasteful wooden sign on the pavement so that the tourists can see who they are! Eventually I spotted an open gate. Inside the Porter gave me a map and directions to Queens. He also phoned so that they could unlock the gate! Sure enough a small door in the gate was opened and I was let in. I sat waiting on one of those old luggage carts next to a blackboard with wonderful messages on. 'hockey practice at 11 am tomorrow' 'Sarah's birthday drinks tomorrow night in the bar' 'we won the match' etc. On the walls at the side of the quad were beautiful shields depicting recent matches with College teams and scores, all drawn in chalk. Eventually Philiy appeared with a gang of her new 'family' to help carry harp and gear back to her lodgings. That was 6 years ago but I shall always remember.

schools

2010-10-30T01:53:00.001-07:00

I love taking the harps into schools. Every now and then a child is scared of the harps and starts to cry but usually they love it too. I was in a school yesterday and I had played them Tchaikovsky, now known as Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty music (... groan), they had danced to Irish Jigs and pretended the music was waves, wind or fairys dancing. It was time for them to have a go and a teacher started at one end of the line and I started at the other. I held the harp for a very small child and he was brilliant. Ignoring all his class mates he tried each string and immediately put both hands to work accompanying himself. Wonderful delicate music. I asked how old he was. No reply. His classmates chipped in: 'he's seven' - 'no he's not, he's only five' - 'I thought he was still four' . No reply from the tiny musical child totally absorbed.

I tried again. 'So what do we call you then'. Again no reply but his classmates were in one voice 'Titus' - they shouted. Fantastic name! :)

The Spa Theatre

2010-10-26T09:50:00.000-07:00

Gosh! - I thought when I saw the size of the theatre at Bridlington. I needn't have worried as there were very few seats left. It was far too hot but the harps coped. First we pulled up at the back of the Theatre and the sea was crashing up against the wall sending spray over onto the cars. I used to have covers for every harp but gave up a few years ago as it is a lot easier to carry them and also when they are stuck up inside the car its a lot easier to see through them and drive safer!! The point of saying that is ... I can get the harps out of a hot car, get them sprayed with freezing cold surf, put them backstage - and they don't break a string (that's good maths/design for you). Thanks to everyone who came ... and clapped and cheered ... I had a fantastic time too!

I have kept Mystic-Al and Hand-Al in tune and they are doing fine. I have not, however, attempted to finish all the decoration. Too much plaster dust around! We are getting there slowly but there is still one room left to plaster and until that is done I'm not risking any painting!

I made a load of Crabapple jelly. Our resident poltergeist has been throwing apples around all week so that's put a stop to his games! I was teaching on Thursday and we kept hearing bangs against the door. When we came out the floor was absolutely covered with apples!

Musicport this Saturday 23rd October

2010-10-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

I seem to remember promising Dave that my culinery skills might improve if I had a proper pantry ... So far it's not evident alas! Perusing recipes is not my thing but I generally make good 'fodder'. Today I remembered to take out the blackberry and apple crumble I put in the Rayburn two days ago. It was so solid that I think it will take another two days of soaking before I can scrape it out of my favourite baking dish. Cooking coelliac pasta was my next disaster. I thought I had it all worked out but today it turned into corn soup mush in less than 5 minutes flat. Oh dear ...

Today's job was to pick the last of the apples but something happenned last night to put me off. I was actually teaching in the music room when I heard footsteps walking diagonally above us. I didn't say anything but it is actually impossible to walk in that direction. Nearing the end of the lesson we suddenly heard lots of banging and clattering above. We both looked at eachother and got up to investigate. Dave came running in to say he had just been pelted with apples coming from the attic! Sure enough when we went up there were loads of apples along the corridor. Later we set off to the garage to buy some anti-freeze and when he put on his coat guess what was in the pocket ...?

Appearing at Musicport this Saturday 23rd

2010-10-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

I am amazed. The 'ghost child' is drawing away in the pantry and we now have 6 stick figures drawn. Some of them have skirts on. The plaster has been finished today so I can move in tomorrow and clean up the mess!

I have been busy outside wearing my 'Australian' leather hat to stop me burning in the sun! I have been searching for any stones useful for dry-stone walling and have dug them out of hedgerows and nettle patches. My back is about to break! I had to seal all the gaps underneath the shed and clean it out as the sheepdog is about to have pups.

My next job is 'progging' and I started building the bonfire today with all the prickly prunings.
My hands survived the ordeal in their old gardening gloves - good job I'm not like the harp player I was told about at a wedding the other day from Romania. She won't even wash up to 'save her hands' - ha ha!!!

shelves in a pantry

2010-10-15T07:04:00.000-07:00

Musicport - Saturday 23rd October - 10 pm

Last year I played at Musicport. It had taken Dave a lot of persuasion to convince the organisers that I could do it but they finally gave in and let me have a small room (capacity 80) people in the afternoon. Imagine my amazement when I arrived to try and carry the harp up the corridor and there were literally hundreds of people queuing to get in! Thought I must have the wrong room at first but no, they really were there to hear harp! This year I am on the main stage ... Brilliant! This is what the last 7 years of hard work were for - more please!!!

I have a brand new set of pick-ups. The trouble with inventing your own instrument is that you have no standards to rely on - just advice - loads of it from well-meaning folk. We have discovered that the pick-ups work the opposite way to what you think, eg stick one in the base of the harp and it becomes treble-high ...?! The biggest problem I have is that I cannot hear properly anymore so cannot do a soundcheck myself. As a child I used to hold a sea-shell up to my ear and listen to the 'waves' - now it sounds like that all the time!!!

Oh well, my little 'ghost' in the pantry has now drawn me 4 little stick figures - one of them whilst we had guests. Dave was interrupted cutting a sheet of plasterboard and left his pencil on top of it. One of the guests was the last to leave the room and the first to go back into it and there it was, clear as anything, about 6'' big, drawn on the plasterboard! Beautiful!

Missing Post

2010-10-13T03:28:00.000-07:00

Hi it is Dave here I received a letter this morning which I think was something probably intended for Fiona Katie.
Unfortunately the envelope was damaged and there was nothing in it
Royal Mail had put the empty envelope into a little neat polythene bag but since the envelope was empty I do not know who it was from!!!!!

If you send me a letter then please get in touch I cannot how frustrating this is ha ha!!!

playing with apples

2010-10-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

We are in the midst of chaos here at the moment. It is proving an interesting time though. I think anyone who doesn't believe in ghosts would need to live in this house for 3 months to be convinced. We have always had a problem and seemed to be living alongside a whole family trapped in the wrong time. Recently, however, with the collapse of the ceiling in the back rooms the activity has increased beyond all sense. The Milkman's Mother remembered an incident from her childhood (she was in her nineties when she told me). She couldn't remember if a tree had fallen on the house or if a beam had failed with woodworm, but the centre of the house collapsed and the two end walls followed after. The man of the house was killed. The whole house was re-built 10' in front - this is the accepted story from every authority.

This has never made sense to me as the stonework on the single-storey lean-to at the back of the house is original and very old. There is also a 'piss hole' in the back corner and the stone flags on the floor are very worn - too much so for a house supposed to have been built around l890-1900's. I think the house was re-built in situ. I also think all the flag floors are original.

The plaster is nearly dry and we have given up smoothing over the 'stick-figure drawings' that keep appearing in the plaster. We thought someone was having a joke at first but now I am delighted to keep them. Tools keep disappearing. 4'' screws that are screwed down into the walls are mysteriously unscrewed minutes later. I picked a box full of apples and having nowhere to store them left them in the hallway. They keep being thrown up the stairs so that they can bounce down the steps again ...

Next gig - Musicport - main stage this year - oh yes!!! :)

a car named 'spider'

2010-10-07T13:47:00.000-07:00

My son tells me he is only the 5th person in history to drive 'Spider', a 1930's racing car. He was racing his Frazer Nash at the weekend and the Chairman of the Club was invited to try Spider out but couldn't get it to start so asked my son to try. In a 'glossy' car magazine last month it said he drives as if 'his pants are on fire'. Must have done the trick as he had it to 120 mph on the straight. It doesn't actually have any brakes, just a hand brake outside the body. He is also over 6' tall and Spider is very thin, so much so that the body flexed as he squashed into it!

On the harp front - very exciting news today. A Luthier has started work on the stables so that harp production can move into there. The first job was the roof and to keep any rain out overnight we covered it with an old 'bill board' canvas advertising some Merlin/Wizard film with a 10' wide owl looking up at the sky.

To write this I had to clamber over a 4' pile of washing and boxes and boxes of very important bits and pieces from, what used to be my pantry, until the ceiling fell in! Plastering is under way and today the washing machine was fixed. A manufacturer's fault apparantly. They don't fix the electronic panel behind the buttons so every time you press a button it pushes the panel further away. Eventually nothing registers.

Tomorrow night at East Morton Institute - 7 pm - with Eddie Lawler, the Bard of Saltaire
tel 01274 564653 or email rhtassell08@live.co.uk or just turn up! (opposite the Busfield Arms)

A trip down memory lane

2010-10-03T14:08:00.000-07:00

I have been asked to play at the East Morton Village Institute this Friday (8th October - 7.30-11 pm) alongside the Bard of Saltaire, Eddie Lawler. On the poster (if you believe such things) it will tell you I am a singer ... hmmmmm???!!!! 'Fraid not folks!!! Eddie wrote a song about me - rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, or is it strings on her fingers? It's beautiful.

By strange coincidence East Morton has connections to both Dave's and my family. My Dad was brought up there and Dave's ancestors were the Busfields - as in the Busfield Arms!

On the present-home front my pantry/utility room is nearly finished. A few weeks ago disaster struck as the roof acquired a major leak and everything looked as if it was going to fall down. We nearly got all the 'clobber' out before the ceiling caved in... Everything is covered with a layer of plaster dust but I shall be able to get on with the painting stage after tomorrow.

Cleaning the multi-strung harps between the strings is tricky so I use feathers. They are coated with natural oil and do the job well. I daren't actually count up the number of strings-on-harps in this house! Tripleharps have around 93 and the quads have about 122+ . I do also have a few single-strung harps for teaching.

See you this Friday? It should be an entertaining evening as they have real ale and wine and candles! Phone 01274 564653 for tickets in advance £5 or on the door £6 - all in aid of the Village Institute.

two harps nearly ready

2010-09-30T11:49:00.000-07:00

'Cautiously optimistic' ... It's cool being an inventor, albeit, only of harps. The quad 'traditional' harp (Mystic-Al) is sounding absolutely phenomenal. I can't wait to play it. I am busy cutting trim and staining the last few bits of wood. The other harp is Hand-Al. This harp was the first harp Philippa took to Oxford. I believe she played for the Bruch Concerto on it. It was one of my first harps so I decided to re-make it and improve it. I once played Hand-Al in one of those huge optigan things at Towneley Hall. I cannot remember what they call them now but they were all the rage a few years back - they looked cool from a distance, huge plastic bubbles which you could walk round - when you play in one for a few hours you realise how much duck tape is used to plug the holes! One day disaster struck and one flew up in the air.

The harp is strung up with wire strings on the right and standard nylon on the left. I have made the bass strings by twisting up very long lengths of nylon together. It has worked well though and the bass has a punchy woody sound. All this on a 3' high frame - not bad eh?!!!

Harp Concertos

2010-09-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

I have been asked to play an arrangement of Mozart's Harp Concerto - 2nd movement for the entrance of the Bride. The last time I played the 1st movement it was very difficult - The venue looked stunning. They had strung fishing line across the ceiling in a grid and threaded daisies upsidedown from it. They were all at different heights and filled the entire ceiling.

The room was as packed as the ceiling and I was squashed between Grandma and her stick and bridesmaids in huge ballerina net dresses. Trying to play Mozart without elbow room was limiting - matters were made massively worse though when 'Grandma' decided to adjust her stick and it fell into the harp ... arghhhhhhh!!! Split second decision to take the left hand off to catch the stick but the right hand didn't drop a note - ha ha!!

It often gets quite hazardous when playing for the drinks receptions inside. Brides never expect it to rain and often we are all squashed in. I have had drinks spilt on the harp too many times but the worst is when people steady their balance by holding onto the top of the forepillar. Luckily every time this has happenned I have managed to stop playing and grab the harp and pull it back but one of these days disaster might take over and harp and person will crash headlong to the floor ...

The Barearts

2010-09-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

When Dave and I need cheering up we treck across the moors to Todmorden to The Barearts. Trevor brews his own beer (on a massive scale) and Kathy paints pictures (nudes actually and incredibly clever) - hence The Barearts. I love the way that they both welcome everyone through the door, no-one is ever left alone and they always introduce people. I always try to introduce people as well - it seems to be falling out of fashion in 'real life' but I am always pretty useless when it comes to Facebook!

We keep meaning to give Kathy a 'bare-harp' to paint. It would probably be pink and we would probably call it 'Virgin-Al'. Everything is painted bright pink - it shows off the paintings well and the serious beer drinkers don't seem to mind. Beer is served in jugs (posh-like).

Well I got a telephone call today wanting the harper who had been on Woman's Hour a couple of weeks back - big surprise to me as ever! It was recorded quite a few years ago when I made my first-ever harp. On the way back from recording in Manchester I got stuck on the M62 for 2 hours in scorching weather and the harp exploded in the back of the car ... Couldn't be mended so had to start all over again (now you know why so many trips to The Barearts are needed ...)

rings on her fingers and bells on her toes

2010-09-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

You know you've made it when someone writes a song about you - thank you Eddie (Lawler)! I had heard it before but it was lovely to hear it sung last night at Saltaire Festival. Eddie is the 'Bard of Saltaire' and wrote Saltairey Tales. I like his song about the Lord of Frizing Hall as well.

Today we were supposed to be having a day out. I packed a picnic and we set off hopefully in the rain (in the car). We got as far as 'Salt and Pepper' above Cross Hills and thought we would climb the tower. Dave got to the top and his hat blew off! It blew over the cliff and landed back near the car again. By this time the rain was blowing sideways and we gave up on the idea of a walk, ate the sandwiches in the car and went shopping in Colne!

This week's job is to get Vand-Al back on track. I tried to string it up with triple rows of strings onto a quad-luted soundbox but it just won't take the stress. I had to try it though because you just never know! I have now to take all the strings off, re-do the soundbox and re-string it with 4 sets of strings .... Mystic-Al on the other hand is starting to sing - sounds wonderful and no signs of stress anywhere. It is holding its tuning quite well - I sneak it up a quarter of a tone in places everyother day - not bad at all.

'famous' people

2010-09-16T11:43:00.000-07:00

I was asked to do a radio interview for Radio Leeds but this one was different. They emailed me the questions beforehand so that I could prepare the answers. Ha ha! - me!! Words are not my thing - they tumble out completely unorganised, often making no sense, and, even though I had elocution lessons for years as a child, the stutter comes back ...

Imagine my surprise when a 'famous' person knocks on the door to do the interview. Ian Clayton apologised and said that he had 2 more interviews and miles to travel so he had to leave in an hour. I can't quite remember when it was but certainly much more than an hour later Ian set off to Leyburn.

I had yet another reporter here yesterday. We were supposed to be up on the moor tops taking pics. It was 'wuthering' - majorily wuthering actually. Luckily Dave is quite an up-and-coming photographer so we have a 'bank' of pics of me-plus-harps on rocks (Yorkshire rocks). Well, it turned out that Roy and Ian live in the same area and go to the same pub on Friday nights!

I got a hug goodbye from both men to which Dave chuntered under his breath 'don't they have women in Castleford or something' !

The Square Chapel, Halifax, tomorrow night - 8 pm - see you there?

and pretty maids on all a row ...

2010-09-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

Three weddings in three days - and they all got the sun! I sat next to two ancient (absolutely huge) coffers in the Church, iron bars strapped round the edges, black split oak - absolutely gorgeous.

I have never seen a vicar blush so deeply for so long. I can't actually remember him saying 'you can now kiss the bride'. The Groom grabbed his Bride and launched straight into a very long, very passionate snog! I could see the panic on the Vicar's face as he tried to look above them as it passed the 2 minute mark and there was no sign of it ending. The Congragation was doubled over laughing egging them on!

Two weddings before I had loads of young fascinated bridesmaids and pageboys. 'But HOW do you do it?' they kept asking. Short answers inbetween sets were not enough alas. Eventually I abandoned the set list given by the Bride and entertained them with jigs and reels. The bells were hidden under my long dress but they had spotted them. They were dancing around but suddenly ended up in a long row - like line dancers - all stamping their right foot in time and slapping their thighs. I started drumming on the soundboard. Slight puzzlement, then one of them turned and drummed on the back facing her, so they all did the same!

The Square Chapel this Friday - 8 pm - thanks to everyone who has bought tickets - (Wow!!) :)

Valour

2010-09-10T03:22:00.000-07:00

My Mum says that people are behaving so badly because they are not scared of the 'devil'. It used to be drummed into everyone every Sunday morning and if they didn't come to Church the likes of Haworth's Grimshaw would round them up in the pubs! There is literally nothing to be frightened of anymore.

I love researching history and spend a lot of time playing to specific groups of people/children. The Celts used to take music therapy very seriously and laid down the rules very early on ...

'bring about an atmosphere of repose and slumber, bring them through to valour and tears but, always, always, leave them with the foot atapping ... '

I am in need of my own therapy today! After the ripple of nastiness has upset and affected people's lives the only thing we can do for them is pray ...

Bring back good old fashioned valour ...

still smiling :)

Near Calamity

2010-09-08T02:22:00.000-07:00

The worst thing you can hear on a harp is the sound of wood creaking - like an old boat. Sometimes it is barely audible to me but I sense it first. The design of Mystic-Al is very radical. I have succeeded in making a modern quad harp but had never tried making a traditional sound - ie more 'sweet' but involves more stress. I am no joiner so the first few weeks of tuning up are quite stressful. You are loading over 2 tons of stress onto a frame which could 'explode' at any time.

Mystic-Al was holding its tuning - usually a good sign - but I suddenly noticed that the forepillar didn't look quite right. It is made up of 3 pieces of wood and the point where all the stress 'hits' is about a foot up from the floor. One of the pieces of wood - mahogany - had started to warp along the grain. Astounding - the wood is about 4 inches wide and 1 inch deep and it was bending along its length not across the inch depth!

I stood transfixed and fascinated by the sound and then leapt into action. I had to loosen all the strings below middle C - being careful not to create a see-saw action by taking the stress off un-evenly. Getting clamps onto a triangular shape is not easy so I have an old margarine tub full of off-cuts. I had to find the right size and angle of wood and hold it onto the forepillar with my teeth whilst I tightened the clamp under the base of the harp using both hands! It took 3 clamps before I could persuade the wood to straighten again.

Dave came in at this stage from glazing my greenhouse and took one look and got his drill! It takes him half the time to drill holes and then drill the screws in - a knack I have never managed to master so do it laboriously by hand!

As I write this blog the harp has come back up to pitch and is holding its tune well - phew!!!
I have 3 weddings this week but am back on stage next Friday at The Square Chapel, Halifax.

Pick of the Week

2010-09-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

I was on Pick of the Week on Radio 4 today - huge surprise!! This is the link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qpdd

The Weasal Dance

2010-09-04T14:42:00.000-07:00

Dave has a new hobby. The superb weather has brought about a spate of chinese lanterns. We can sit at the kitchen table and watch them appear over the horizon and float up the valley and can work out where they might crash land. Dave then sends me out to rescue them and tapes another night-light in and sends them off again!

Had a fun gig at Cobbles and Clay in Haworth last night. It is so nice to play near home! I used to be terrified of playing infront of friends or family but this crowd was a blast, or was it the wine? It is quite an experience to hear a crowd of people joining in singing Italian Neapolitan at the top of their voices!

Had to repair Mystic-Al this morning. A screw had popped out with all the pressure on the soundboard so stuck a few more in. Eventually it will have wooden trim over the top of the screws but it is one of the last jobs. We are repairing a harp that was left in the sun (apparantly Dad had cut a tree down in the garden and they didn't notice that the harp wasn't in shade anymore). The whole soundboard has popped off all the way up. Luckily a clean break so have taken all the strings off, then: re-glue, re-string and tune up again ...

Dave at present working on downloading a new video taken at Limetree - The Weasal Dance - its good!

stonehenge

2010-09-02T03:02:00.000-07:00

Our neighbour next door is having a new garage built ... Whilst digging the foundations the builders have hit rocks - loads of them - so many in fact that they were desperate to get rid of them. Luckily they bumped into Dave ...

The first dumper-full arrived two nights ago and my son, Albert, Dave and friend all strained with crow bars and scaffold pole to move them. They came up with quite a nice 'feature' of rocks interspersed with all the hedging bushes I planted last year (most of which died in the drought but are still there stuck up like little bare twigs cos I haven't the heart to pull them out - and they 'MIGHT' come back to life, mightn't they?) Then the builders saw it and said it would look much better if it was a solid wall of rocks. This time we arrived back from shopping to find a huge pile. If grassed over it would have actually made quite a good ski slope.

This time help was not forthcoming - just Albert and Dave. They came up with quite a good system of dragging them off with the tractor and tow strap from the other side of the fence. Now the 'car park' (don't think posh) is surrounded with a solid wall of rocks, sadly not rounded and artistic but nonetheless quite impressive.

On the harp front - Mystic-Al got through the night without breaking a string and stayed almost at concert pitch. This is like the feeling of waking up after a good nights sleep and finding your newborn baby has slept through as well - fantastic! Dave is absolutely amazed at the hours of work that has gone into tuning it already - and it will be another 6 months before it will be steady and start to 'sing'.

Thanks for the message re concerts - much appreciated. Tomorrow night at Cobbles and Clay, Haworth with Baritone, James Hutton. Think they may still be able to squeeze a couple more in. The Square Chapel Concert is on Friday 17th. More to come so hopefully will be able to see you there!

it sounds ok

2010-08-30T05:31:00.000-07:00

I had a blast at Limetree thanks to a brilliant sound engineer. I cannot say how many times I have been on stage and the sound has been terrible - even after I have asked them to use a certain mic and told them the exact settings... I am the last to know as I am quite deaf - I only know if it sounds right by the reaction of the audience... A classic comment from Burnley the other week as my husband Dave tried to help the engineers, after they had blown up the pick-up in the harp and were frantically trying to stick mics into the harp as I was playing on the main stage - 'but we can't make it sound like a harp' - NO!!! - that is the whole point actually! They got it right for the last tune ...

I took my inspiration from a medieval poem about the storytellers who played harp after battles - their strings 'shook the floor'. The resonance builds up as you play and on single strung harps you can 'damp' it with either hand - not so on the multi-strung harp as you have separate strings for each hand. The trick is to have longer strings with a wonderful 'bass' tone and to damp as you play.

As I write I am about to go on the radio yet again - Radio Leeds 3-4 pm Bank Holiday Monday - The Making of the Symphony for Yorkshire. I am hoping that they are able to fit in some of my music that originally impressed Benjamin Till so much - I am adding this just after listening to it - and thank you Benjamin Till and Ian Clayton ... as my step daughter, Olivia, used to say 'you can't grumble at that' !!!

Oh yes, I nearly forgot to say - I am booked at Limetree 'every year' now!

Magical Music

2010-08-26T00:41:00.000-07:00

Actually managed to do some weeding yesterday in the garden due to the break in the weather. We're all waiting for decent weather. Two of my 'kids' (all in their twenties now!) more than most. My daughter is taking part in a gliding competition and my son is 'crewing' for someone in return for beer money ... Imaginations are running into overdrive as they try and distract themselves. Yesterday my daughter woke up sealed into her caravan with ropes and tape -mysteriously towed into the middle of the airfield - ha ha! I gather my son might find himself in a much 'worse' situation this morning - we await news!

Hoping for a less blustery gig this Saturday at Limetree. Thank you Sean for inviting me back! A lot of people think that solo harp may be a little soporific - NOT SO (for anyone who hasn't heard it live). I have literally spent every day (and sometimes night) for the past 7 years designing a harp, composing music and learning new techniques to produce music that blows your mind. 'Magical' is the most used comment ... See you there!!!

There's a feature on Limetree on BBC 1's Look North tonight - (Harry Gration called me the 'exotic harpist' at the Symphony Premiere - hmmmm!)

locked out

2010-08-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

My Dad and me used to spend hours digging 'the moat' at the back of our house. It was a hunting lodge in the old Forest of Knaresborough used up until the end of the 14th Century. We laid out all the bits of pot on the dried up bank. He used to tell me this tale that we were beaten by a family who had a castle near Leeds in the 12th Century. This incident was always referred to as a deeply personal affront that still touched a nerve.

I have done a few weddings in this 'castle near Leeds' but this one was ruled by a certain officious photographer (and wife). None of the guests were allowed a drink and he clung to his list of photographs and executed the order with military precision. I had played for the Ceremony and followed the guests as quickly as I could to play for the drinks reception, outside, the weather was windy but dry. These medieval castles were built without doors - obviously. No point in making things easier for the enemy. I lifted the sash window and opened the shutters below and slowly manouvoured the harp through. I appeared into the backdrop of a perfectly ordered photograph of 'bride and groom and guests of the groom' ... and got shouted at. The guests ushered me through but the photographer looked daggers at me as I stumbled in long frock with harp down the stone steps. I found a 'seat' on the stone wall overlooking the terrace and started to play. Didn't even finish the first tune - the photographer informed me (via his wife) that he would need the whole wall to stand on at any time.

Nothing for it but to sit it out. I carried the harp round the other side of the castle and waited with the waitresses and trays of champayne (going flat). Eventually most of the guests got fed up and defected for a drink to the bar - which of course was on the other side and we couldn't go through the door so we all ended up walking round the moat, me with harp ...

Imagine my dismay when I arrived at the Museum of Photography for a spot on the radio this morning at 10 only to be told that they wouldn't let anyone in early for any reason and I had to walk all the way round (with harp) to the door nearest the radio staff to try and attract their attention .... grrrrr!!!!

(Mystic-Al is about 2 tones down - I tune the 122 strings up twice a day. Hand-Al, the much needed small, carriable harp has all its strings on and is due to start tuning up tomorrow. Dav-Al is looking fantastic, awaiting its last coat of lacquer.)

call for help

2010-08-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

Every now and then Dave's bones give way and he takes a nasty fall. The cancer has left him with osteoporosis you see. Well this week was one of those weeks. I found him trapped inbetween furniture and had to help him free himself. The agony of watching him try and unravel his limbs is bad enough - the real thing must be horrendous.

I dosed off in front of the telly and suddenly heard this faint, strangled voice shouting 'Kate'. It sounded twice before I woke up and realised he was calling. I ran toward the direction of the sound, up the stairs and along the corridor. When I reached the bathroom I was confused - nothing there. Then it sounded again - very clearly through the window - a sheep bleating....!
We have about 20 sheep and one of them has this very strange 'baaa' - any kids walking the footpath fall about laughing if they hear it and I was caught out well and truly by this one!

Dav-Al is looking amazing. We are just waiting for some water slide decals... They have to be stuck on and then it is lacquered. It has had 3 coats of undercoat, 4 coats of black paint, 2 coats of sparkle and is waiting for another 4 coats of lacquer. (Then I have to pluck up the courage to drill the holes for the strings....!!!!)

I am at Burnley Community Festival this Sunday afternoon. In the woodland tent and a spot on the main stage.

opera singers anon

2010-08-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I completely forgot to tell you that it's not me that does the opera singing - definitely not!!!
I have been accompanying James Hutton for about 10 years or so now. He lives in Stanbury near us and is officially a Baritone ... but has been known to sing Tenor on occasion. In fact he tells me his voice is getting higher and is trying to change the keys of a few tunes. I say 'trying'. It is sometimes impossibly difficult and takes a huge amount of time to change keys on the tripleharp. Every 'move' has to be planned and practised - not like the piano where you can learn your scales and it gives you a thorough grounding. Also whereas the piano has 5 'black notes' for every 7 'white notes' the multistrung harp has 7 for each!

Anyway, back to the point, James and I have a gig coming up in Haworth at Cobbles and Clay on 3rd September and will be dueting our mostly Neapolitan repertoire - with added bells ... hmmmm! (James wasn't sure at first but I persisted and the audience loved the added touch of flamenco.)

I am at Burnley Community Festival - on main stage and mostly in the Woodland Tent this Sunday. Last year I had a wonderful afternoon. Robin Shepherd was making his clogs and did a spot on his violin every now and then. Fantastic stuff. All my kids wore clogs for the first 5 years (alas the school couldn't stand the noise of them clattering across the wooden floors...).

More news of harps very soon - with pictures - amazing developments afoot ....

Chinese Lanterns

2010-08-16T06:06:00.000-07:00

We tried to launch one of those Chinese Lanterns last night. The weather conditions were 'perfect' just as the sun was setting. We struggled not to tear it as we wrote 'Happy Birthday Olivia, we love you, miss you and will never forget you'. Then we took it outside, following the instructions. It lit well, inflated and then the moment of truth! It went up ... sort of ... then drifted off towards Hebden Bridge and crashed! We will try again!

I finished putting the strings on at 9.30 pm last night - phew. Dav-Al is hung up in the rafters of the barn drying. A fantastic sight - one day there will a a whole row of them!! (Barn-Awls?)

Do you fancy a Night at the Opera - Haworth style? Informal with a glass of wine (or two), good company and lots of laughs - September 3rd - Cobbles and Clay - their telephone number is on the dates page

Fishing line but no fish

2010-08-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

I am taking a break. It has just taken 3 hrs and 40 minutes to get the first 42 strings on. (another 80 to go - arghhhh!!) I had to take most of the pegs off another harp (which is second in line to be repaired). I use fishing line - not because I am a 'skin-flint' but because my harps are designed to sound different and to do this I have altered the lengths of the strings. All mathematics. When I asked the string manufacturers for quotes to buy rolls they wouldn't let me have them - only pre-cut lengths available. Huh!! Eventually a fellow musician who owned a fishing supplies wholesale company let me have every guage he had in stock!

Another problem I had was that I have to use harpsichord pegs to hold the strings onto the harp. To get more than one set of strings on the top (head) of the harp you have to be pretty organised - there isn't much room! The harpishord pegs have a standard width of hole in the end to thread the wire string through before you start winding it on and tightening it. The hole is much too small for the first octave of nylon strings. Solution ... to hammer the end of the string flat on an old shoe last and carefully cut a thin sliver off so it fits through!

As I write this the air is acrid because a local mill burnt down yesterday in Haworth, also Dave is outside spraying the first coat onto Dav-Al. Be patient Dave!!! He is so excited to see the finished result he worked till midnight in the barn the other night... (but I can't wait either!).

At Burnley Community Festival next Sunday - Queen's Park

Making DavAl

2010-08-13T01:38:00.000-07:00

Actually exhausted myself and overslept - usually up with the lark (or the cockrells on our farm). I have been finishing the new 'Elizabethan' quad harp, Mystic-Al and helping my husband, Dave, to finish the modern 'harp of all harps', DavAl. Thank you to all those who have asked when AngAl will be made.... and also my son who added when is FinAl going to be made!!! He has a point and I have struggled to make these harps as Dave is now realising. It is not easy. I have 2 re-makes, 2 harps to mend and am in the process of re-making HandAl, alongside MysticAl. THAT WILL BE IT!!!! My arms ache!!!

Talking of which... we ordered the specialist long drill bit so the drill is on charge! Today's job is to start drilling the outer string holes on MystiCal - reinforce the head with long screws and put together the soundboard of HandAl - a remake. This was the harp my daughter took to Oxford with her and caused a huge stir down there. It was then I realised I had some very serious 'fans' who were following my career, albeit from a distance and unknown to me. HandAl was very heavy and the soundboard wasn't brilliant so hence the re-make.

I am playing at the event Incredibly Edible Rossendale this Saturday 11.30'ish. Just past Kingfisher House on lhs coming out of Bacup on Rossendale road. All about growing yr own veg...

proud to be widdop!

2010-08-10T06:31:00.000-07:00

Last night we attended a meeting of the Aire Valley Vintage Machinery Club in Keighley. The talk was by Michael Laycock, formally of Widdop Engineering.

It was fascinating - really! The Widdop engineering works was HUGE and so well respected, even 55 years on. There were men there who had worked for 14 months, back in the fifties, and came up to me enthusing about their experience. Apparantly it was one of the best attended meetings - there was talk at the end of setting up a proper archive somewhere - I hope so. The engines were mainly for boats - from barges to trawlers and were legendary in their reliability.

I was touched to be treated with such respect by these dedicated engineers - as a harp designer - thank you!

Thank you also to the information about drill bits - will do!

Gluing the Laurel and Hardy way

2010-08-06T00:46:00.000-07:00

It took a whole week to get the glue off my hands! I am making my new 'Elizabethan' harp, Mystical, with 4 sets of strings which means it will have a luted soundboard and therefore a different design. I started joining the top of the soundbox to the 'neck' of the harp and discovered a problem ... screws and drillbits are just not long enough. I tried to buy some - must be very specialist as the local DIY shop couldn't help. Nevermind I thought - I will use some of that expanding glue.....arghhhhhhh....(as it turned out).

The plastic container of glue had been put deliberately to the back of the cupboard after the last attempt. It sets so fast that I could feel that the top half was solid, but, if I sawed the bottle in half (I am impossibly practical - 'waste not, want not'). I thought I was prepared - a metal tray, old honey jar at hand to pour it into, masking tape and plastic stuck all over the harp, newspaper on the floor, etc etc.

Two hours later it had finally set hard and I had finished scraping all the 'runs' off the harp and had trimmed my hair from its new fashion of 'christmas-tree-like' baubles. It burst straight through the masking tape, managed to fill the tray and expand to the table and all attempts at keeping my hands clean were futile. ... BUT ... it did solve the problem ... however ... do I do this again or can a better method be found?

Harpist - Look North

2010-08-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

Had a really nice day , we took a walk into Haworth this afternoon after watching the BBC symphony for Yorkshire on the BBC website

Dave is off to collect some more wood tomorrow for a new fore pillar for the new harp

looking forward to seeing more on the news tomorrow

Look North BBC1 - 6.30pm