buzzing

I am taking a break from sewing flowers in organza for the Yorkshire Symphony dress and sorting out a 'buzzing' sound on Recyc-Al. The Yorkshire Symphony are filming me on Tuesday on the moors above our farm. I still haven't heard the tune - just snatches here and there very briefly.

This afternoon I met my daughter Philippa in Warrington to hand back her harp, now mended with few new strings and a bit of polish. Didn't have time to clean it - the best way to get between the strings/pegs is to use bird feathers. I now have an excuse to carry on that childhood habit of picking up feathers. They also have oil on them which polishes the wood a bit. A Flautist told me - its an ancient trick to clean Ebony flutes.

The buzzing appeared after the harp was stuck in the car for 2 hours the other afternoon in scorching sunshine. Normally if I have a gig/wedding I set off very early and find somewhere to park under a tree and take a picnic and a good book until its time for the wedding. I don't have a very modern car so no air-con. This time however we were summoned to a recording studio in the centre of Leeds - slow traffic and definitely no trees. I covered the harps up with old sleeping bags but it still got too hot for them. I took a 'back-up' harp and the damage was 2 broken strings and the 'buzzing'...

Well, must get drilling and see if I can fix it... (now you know why harps were predominantly played in the cooler parts of the world).

pupils and tea partys

I promised you the name of the Festival but its all to no avail as its sold out anyway...! Hoping for more off the back of this one though - keep spreading the word!

Well, Dave actually cut the lawn today - a major benchmark for the garden. Someone actually noticed how fantastic it was looking. The pergola is causing comment - it looks like a wigwam without its canvass.

I had an afternoon of teaching. I have noticed mothers arriving early and leaving late which usually means there is a sort of party going on in my dining room whilst I teach - hillarious! Oh well, am determined to 'leave my mark' - some seriously good harpers coming through.