fascinating ... stresses (yes, really!)

I have made it to the half way point on the harp! This is where the stresses really start to build up and this harp has a very different way of holding the two soundboards together. None of us are really sure if it's going to work! The 'inventor' is engineer, Philip Burnley, who came up with a wooden 'spine' to hold the two soundboards but also to give huge strength. Usually though, if you need strength, you lose the elasticity or resonance so it was a bit of a risk. Nevertheless, it beats my 'papermache' using bandage and wood glue! So far the front hasn't moved a millimetre, but the back has 'rounded' ever so slightly ... watch this space!

painfully slow progress

I've been here before! Yes - putting 128 strings onto a harp takes time. I have done about an octave and a half on each side but am so busy doing other things I am only managing 2 strings a day some days alas. I really need this harp for performances as my large silver harp was only supposed to be a prototype! I have 8 turkey chicks which hatched a week ago and an incubator full of eggs ready to hatch in a couple of weeks. I only have a pair of adult birds and the female lays 2 eggs every 3 days so its slow going! I bought some eggs last year but they turned out to be useless so better slow and productive I thought. At least our eggs are 100% fertile. I am also looking after a small puppy. She was very vulnerable at first but she has turned the corner and is at last putting on weight and is very playful. I have been chased round the field by Dodge the donkey (born last June). He is incredibly strong and with Spring in the air got very feisty! We want him to be a companion to his mum, Flossy, so the vet came up last week and did 'the deed'! I am waiting for him to calm down! I am told 6-8 weeks. Until then I creep up to the hen shed running from tree to tree out of sight. The danger comes when I go into the turkey pen... Firstly I have a huge stag to contend with. Just throw him food I hear you say ... not so simple ... he will only eat from the feeder for some reason. This means I have to get the food into the old caravan before he gets there! Occasionally he is waiting, hissing and spitting, by the door and I have to go back later. This is Dodge's cue and he is usually waiting in the wood for me to come out gingerly! I usually dodge Dodge through the trees and leap over the wall onto the footpath and come back to the Farm that way! I am just told that I am playing in Keighley at the Artistic Off-License in the next couple of weeks - I will keep you informed!

a moment in time

I borrowed the title from my husband's book but I also noticed it on a poster today advertising a lecture in discovering local history ... Yesterday me and Dave voted. We walked out of the farmyard, through the 'kissing gate', along the side of a field on a very muddy footpath (actually more like a stream bed after all the rain has washed the top soil off) and turned left out of the snicket onto the track which led to Marsh Chapel. The last few times the officials have placed a portoloo onto the pavement by the side of the Chapel, next to that is the sign 'polling station' and you go into the kitchen. The first thing we heard was the organist practising ... Then you go through another door into a back room with an old electric fire on. There was a chap sat sorting out all the voting papers and squeezed into the corner were the two put-up booths. We were looking for the box to put our votes in and then realised the lady waiting had put her stick on top of it. We edged past her, she politely smiled, apologised, removed her stick and we voted and made our way through the kitchen still humming the hymn. Last summer I spotted two friends of mine strolling through Todmorden as I drove through after a wedding. Trevor wore a linen suit, straw boater and walking cane; Cathy had a huge sunhat covered in flowers. I asked them if they had been to a wedding. No, they replied, they were going to vote ... The Book of Caris, from which I borrowed the title of this blog (in the book it is where Titus sees Hadrian's Wall for the first time) is for sale - and being bought, I hasten to add! Email us if you're interested: info@tripleharps.com

concerts

This is my poster for a forthcoming concert more details of other concerts coming soon

Had a really busy day , First we delivered the pet food as normal then the publisher phoned to say that Dave's new book was ready so we went and collected that. We then had to nip to Asda and got back to the farm to find that someone had been to the farm and opened all the gates and let the sheep out . Finally after catching all the sheep we had Dinner . Dave has spent the evening trying to figure out Twitter I now believe I have a twitter account but I am not sure just how to use it yet so please bear with us If you want to follow my "Tweets" then add me Fiona Katie Roberts @HarpsFKRoberts Thats all for today back to recording tomorrow and Dave is back on with his marketing drive for new venues and bookings

It is finished! THE BOOK OF CARIS by David John widdop The illustration you see is of Caris drawn by our friend, Dennis Oates of Oxenhope. The book is being printed tomorrow. My husband, Dave, started writing this book by hand over two years ago but over the last couple of months we have been transferring it to print and doing the corrections ... I mention this, not because he is such a bad speller or even bad at grammar, no, we picked up a nasty virus which messed up everything we tried to type! The more we corrected the line endings, the more went wrong! Trouble was, it only showed up when we turned on the computer again, everytime we left it - things were perfect. It was a nightmare! We nearly lost it and worked through till 3 or 4 am every morning to try and get it right. I think we re-typed the whole book 4 times! Now you know why I haven't been near the blog. Dave has to live in and amongst 32 harps (and of course me). You've heard of 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'? Well I think Dave did just that. The book starts with a beautiful harp and not only that, he wrote me a whole book full of tunes. Each event in the book, or character, has a tune so we are on with the recording right now. I have played these tunes in concert a few times now and he can write some lovely melodies - brought some to tears they did! More soon!

All for the cat

You would not believe how much work he has created ... He isn't even a big cat, about 3/4 in size. He is, however, such a thief. He can get the screw caps off milk bottles, get cheese out of celaphane, open tupperware boxes and tins and will knock anything off a shelf to see if it breaks so he can get in that way.

A couple of weeks ago some walkers took him back to their hotel because they fell in love with him. Luckily I had been round the vets and pet shops and left our number. I'm wondering if he stole all their chocolates in the night before they decided to hand him in!

Dave has spent all day sealing up every tiny crack and hole around the pantry. I lock the door and a couple of hours later find the cat locked in yowling madly. He has squeezed through the tiniest holes around the central heating pipes. He has even chewed a cat sized holes in the platerboard.

There is now a brand new door across the corridor outside the pantry and wooden cladding all around the holes. Finger's crossed!

On the harp front I spent an enjoyable week playing to nursery children and special needs children. We took a vote and they have decided that 'happy dance' music is better than 'sleep' music. They settled quietly with lots of drumming, bells and a good beat!

I am playing at Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle on Sunday 11th March between 10-4 pm for their Wedding Fayre.