Clements Hall concert

FIRST OF ALL A BELATED HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY READERS. WISHING YOU A HEALTHY, HAPPY & PEACEFUL 2014 FILLED WITH AN ABUNDANCE OF LOVE AND LAUGHTER. 

I've got the bug again!  No not the one that's going around that makes your nose run, your eyes sting, your throat hurt and your head ache... I mean the performing bug!

Still buzzing from our student concert at Clements Hall on Saturday night.  As my public appearances have been in single figures over recent years, this event was causing more than a spot of anxiety, specially as I was involved in five of the nineteen songs, two of them composed, as Hank Wangford would say, out of my own brain :)

It was great to be playing in several different line-ups - duo, trio, five piece band, eight-piece band and also in combos of various age groups, each playing different styles of music. For instance on Sway, a latin number, we had a percussion section of 10-12 year olds, playing maracas, claves and cabasa as well as the adult members of the band playing guitars, base and drums.

For Pete, our illustrious and industrious mentor and teacher, the pressure must have been huge - would everything be ok on the night or would the inevitable tiny glitches morf into huge catastrophes? Arrrrrrrrgh!*!*!*!

We were all assembled at the hall by 2.30 in the afternoon for sound checks, which from my onlookers perspective seemed to go remarkably smoothly. The hall was a tad chilly to say the least on a cold wet day, especially sitting with my knitting in between songs, so by 5.30, when the pizzas arrived, everyone was more than ready for them and they were immediately set upon and devoured by the ravenous cast and crew.

After the food was cleared away, curtain-up loomed large, but there was just time to change into a sparkly bugle-beaded black jacket that I found last year in a vintage shop in Dublin during one of our knitting tours. It was love at first sight though I had no idea if I'd ever find an occasion to wear it. It had hung in the wardrobe ever since patiently waiting for it's first outing, and tada... this was it.

Soon the audience started to arrive and the seats filled up quickly with the families and friends of the musicians. The  adrenaline was pumping as the notes of the first number rung out in the hall... we were off!

The whole show was such a smooth and professional performance, a massive team effort with great performances from all involved. Although on the one hand I found it terrifying, on the other it was fabulous to know I can still do it. In fact I loved every minute and now I just want to do it again... and again... and again. Unfortunately there are no pics as P dutifully charged the camera and then forgot to take it... best laid plans etc! Hopefully some may turn up on Facebook and if so I'll add them later.

Exciting to feel that another chapter of my life is starting - one which I started many years ago, always loved but had to abandon when the kids were little as the need to make a living demanded more and more of my time. Can't wait for the next opportunity to play... watch this space!