Wednesday 28 April 2010

Four weddings and a funeral

Actually have four weddings and a funeral this week so forgive the short blog! Bizarrely all four want The Queen of Sheba! One of the weddings I am playing the piano which will make a nice change. In the middle I am playing Chinese Harp for a tea ceremony!

I bought some material today to make a new dress for weddings as I have so many! The criterion:- fantastic design, always autumnal shades (to match the harp), not needing to be ironed, can screw up in a bag, appear beatifully again and dry on a washing line in 10 minutes - easy!!!

GIGS IN MAY
29th - Bacup (see previous posts or dates page)
GIGS IN JUNE
6th - Bandstand, Saltaire
13th - Trades Club, Hebden Bridge
l9th - Otley Courthouse

Monday 26 April 2010

tadpoles

We managed to get out for a walk yesterday and bumped into young friends, William and Albert.
Fishing nets, plastic buckets, wellies and thousands of tadpoles. We caught up with them at a pond near Lumbfoot. I used to take my kids there and my son Luke lost his very first watch in the river there. Looks no more than a stream or beck but its actually the River Worth. Albert was named after my twin son - so theres young Albert and younger Albert now.

No broken strings this weekend - with 28 harps thats a major achievement!!! When the temperatures settle down its brilliant - the dodgy times are Spring and Autumn for stringed instruments. They hate going from hot to cold... and back again. I am just about keeping the incubator temperature level but that has been harder work than usual.

I painted a new sign for the farm - found an old serving platter in the shape of a hen at a car boot sale and used that...

Friday 23 April 2010

surprise appearance on BBC 1 Look North

My Mum got such a surprise tonight and emailed us straight away. (We were out and missed it of course). I hardly noticed that the audition was filmed and never dreamt it would be on TV but there it was.

If you missed it - BBC l Look North - feature on Symphony for Yorkshire Auditions

www.tripleharps.com

Four weddings and a funeral

We swopped a walking stick for stringing a harp today. It turned out to be a much longer job than first thought alas (why do these things always do that?). When I heard that a man had down-loaded a design of harp from the internet I assumed that the 'mathematics' of the instrument had been included. Not so! A long process of measuring the harp and working out where the holes will be on the soundboard and head. Each string has to be parallel and exactly 15 mm from the centre. Usually the strings run parallel with the forepillar - this one had a curved one .... Eventually I worked out the guages and lengths for each string and gave it to the man. He went away and drilled all the holes but when he brought the harp back - guess what - he had lost the guage.... Almost back to square one with measuring again...

Anyway - job done and I can now move on. Next week I actually have 4 weddings and a funeral - for the second time in my career! One of the weddings will involve playing chinese harp and a spot of piano for a change.

Next gig - Bacup (see earlier post for details - tickets from me)

Thursday 22 April 2010

auditions and incubators

Usually when I don't write the blog its not that I have nothing to write about its just that I have no time to write it! Such is the case and I could run off a list of events here and now or continue to chat away about a couple of nice things...

Mac the sheepdog is bouncing around back to normal and had his stitches out. I packed the incubator full of eggs and hopefully in 3 week's time we shall have a load more pompom chicks, wyandottes and copper blacks to replace the others.

This morning I went to an audition - tipped off by my Mum (who has time to read newspapers).
It went well - I am thrilled because they all seemed to understand the hours of slog I have put into designing the harp - and the different music I can achieve - hurrah....watch this space. It sounded pretty positive but they will get back to me in about 2 weeks time. Who knows what might have happenned by then on this farm!

Next gig: The Wyrd of Stake Moss Festival - 29th May 2010 - tickets by invitation only - please get in touch!

Wednesday 14 April 2010

Back at Barearts - this Friday

Nearing the end of a very busy spell now! This is just to thank all of you who came to the Wuthering Heights and remind you about the next gig. This Friday at the Barearts in Todmorden - 7 pm. If you like good company and good beer - and of course good music - see you there...

Sunday 11 April 2010

Wuthering Heights - next Tuesday

Hello there again - have been across the country E-W twice this week playing the harp. Did a fabulous wedding in the hot sunshine playing flamenco/latin and neapolitan....on a terrace overlooking a river. Rather a lot of people 'ear-wigging' - just a fabulous atmosphere.

3 concerts in a week as well!!! Loving it!!!! The next 'gig' is at The Wuthering Heights Pub in Stanbury (nr Haworth) on Tuesday evening.

Also have a new cd to sell with the two tracks - Gypsy and Indian Princess - not to mention Geoff's tune - all proving popular :)

Monday 5 April 2010

Easter eggs

We took a break from harps and lambing and decided to go for a walk. As we couldn't go far we decided to explore close to home. We ended up walking round Kildwick which was beautiful. Dave wasn't too sure about it at all but ended up really enjoying himself!

Dave's friend bought me a Thorntons Easter Egg but Dave ate it. Today he bought me a tellytubbies egg - on sale - he had waited especially until after Easter so they were on special offer.....!!!! (Now you know why his nick-name is 'Weasal')

Saturday 3 April 2010

Antoinette and Harry?

Two lambs so far - the first was named Harry by Harriet so the second should be Antoinette for my son, Anthony? A huge lamb, needed help to be pulled out so perhaps a large name is appropriate! (Yes, ALL our sheep names....and most of the hens too)

Onto harps - I have at last managed to listen to the cd on a normal cd player and I haven't done a bad job! I have actually managed to get the treble louder than the bass which is very bizarre but think we can correct that. Some gorgeous moments and I am really pleased with the way my own compositions are coming along. I seem to have gone in two directions at once - 'gypsy baroque' and uniquely, F-K's own.

I am waiting for paint to dry on a new sign I have made to advertise the surplus eggs to passing walkers. I have painted a sheep, a sheepdog, a cockrell ... and of course, a harp on it. I need to make a 'gibbet' to hang it off but for the time being the washing line will have to do.