Flight or fright!

I had very little sleep last night, woke at 5 and couldn't get off again. Breakfast, quick check of emails and taxi to the station with Gill. Nice kiss goodbye. The train journey then went quite smoothly and sort of restored my faith in Britain a bit. Every train - I had three to catch, plus a tube - was clean, on time and well signposted. There was some stupid behaviour from some yobs on the London train, where one dropped his trousers, that upset me quite a bit. But generally fine, the suitcase was no problem, the wheels made moving it easy, and I got to Heathrow early. Also very impressed with all ticket collectors and staff that I came into contact with, all cheerful and helpful.

Heathrow was just mind blowing. HUGE! 66 gates! Huge shopping centres. I had to wait an hour before I could check in, and then again a very helpful lady let me off paying XS as she said I could have put it into two bags and not been overweight. I had a coffee at one of the several Starbucks and then sailed through security - to find even more shops and Starbucks. I had to get an underground train to get to my departure gate!

The flight - I am about three hours in at present - is fine. I am really glad I paid for the extra space, and booked a seat on the aisle, must do so on the way back too. It is now very warm, but I was cold at first. I have watched "Jack Reacher" - no way Tom Cruise could ever play that part - had a not bad at all meal of braised steak, tried to watch "Lincoln" but given up, and may try to get some sleep now. I still find it amazing that a thing this size stays in the air, but I can see clouds below me, so it must be working. 

No sleep. Flight largely uneventful,  I had a computer nerd next to me, a real fidget but totally uncommunicative. The landing was bumpy - three overhead lockers came open near me. I note that it was a lady pilot but make no comment. The worst bit of the flight though was that it took 1 1/2 hours to clear customs at Washington Dulles! If you have 50 exit gates, why would you only man five of them? So I was very glad of the enormous welcome hugs I got from Cathy, Holly and Heather when I finally got through. We went home to pick up Neils - and what a home! - and then went for a meal. By now it was 4am for me and I had been travelling since 9.30 the previous day, so I was slightly hysterical. And not really hungry. Bed when I got in was very welcome. 

One.....

Case packed. Comes in at about 58lb, which means a charge of £40 going and $60 coming back - I can live with that. I could have had two cases with 51lb in each, but I could not handle two cases on my long journey - three trains and an underground! In spite of the number of ladies who have advised me to go commando so I carry less weight. I can assure everyone I will be modestly attired at all times, and believe I have enough clothes so that I will not need to wash - clothes - till I get back. Carry on bag packed, except for this iPad which will be with me at all times, meaning I can stay in touch via Skype and Facebook, and this blog. Apparently my cell phone will not work in America, but I will be carrying it so I have some contact on the way to and from the airport.  Despite all the scare stories about poison ivy, I ave no calamine or other remedies. I do have Deet and after bite care, but I do not have sunscreen. Perhaps I should. I have booked the taxi to the train station in the morning. I still have to print off a boarding pass tonight.

This is a big thing for me. I have never been to America. I have never flown for eight hours - my longest flight was one hour when I was sixteen, to Munich. I have never been away from my wife for more than a week. I have never been in a pop-up on a campsite in the middle of nowhere with no transport of my own. I am so grateful to Holly and Neils, and Coleen and Neal, for all the help they have given me to get me thus far, and look forward enormously to spending time with them and to meeting so many people that I feel I know already because of our shared interest in autoharps.bring it on!

Two.....

Gills birthday today, so out for a meal tonight and with visitors during the day, very little time to worry. Which is good. I worried a lot last night! Hardly any sleep at all. Tomorrow I pack. Maybe time for a short practice later, the last one before America probably.

Three.........

Getting a bit fed up waiting now. Very little left to do. I have made some extra labels for my carry-on bag and my harp cases, and now just have to wait until Friday evening when I can print off my boarding pass and itinerary. Good job I have retrieved my computer from Stormfront, where they were transferring all of my stuff to my iMac. Which is now sitting in my office, in its box, until I get back on July 11th. Probably have to wait a while after that as well, because a) I will be well jet lagged and b) I will probably be involved with new grandchild - Serin or Orin, apparently. And no, they are not dwarves in the Hobbit! Must remember to order a taxi for Saturday morning as well.

Four.....

Bought a money belt and a plug adapter. Now must have everything I need! Surely!! Holly says I need swimming trunks - sorry, I don't do swimming, don't have any trunks and will be very happy not to borrow some. Today I took my computer in to have all the files transferred to Mac - and they claim this will take them all night, so I pick up the new computer and the old tomorrow. They did give me a lesson in Mac though, and it all seems straightforward - more logical than a PC, and a lot quicker, so I should be fine with that. Have split my money into three piles for different stashes. I booked a seat last night as the aisle seats were going fast. Trying to decide which of the scary stories on cyberpluckers about poison ivy, poison oak, sasquatch, chapacubras, deer tics, and other hazards of camping in US woods are just leg pulls and which I need to heed. I think if I stay on paths, fully covered, and dont touch anything, I should survive. Have learned that Heather will be joining us as well - YAAAAY!! Now really just waiting. Still time for more practice.

Five

Packing medicines today. My carryon bag will rattle furiously. Lots of advice and "stop worrying" messages from folks. Actually, having Melanie and Dylan and the dogs here for the weekend while Jeremy went to the heavy metal Download Festival, has meant I have had no time at all to worry! Or sleep, for that matter! Discovered I have no bumbag - I refuse to call it what the Americans do - so may have to buy one tomorrow when I go to collect my iMac. They will be transferring all my stuff to the new computer and giving me a lesson on how to use the iMac. I may be some time. I need a good couple of hours practice tonight. Over the weekend I only managed 30 minutes. But, that was enough to play through each piece twice - almost perfectly, certainly the best yet. Feeling good about this. If I can play as well as that a week on Thursday I will be happy, even if I come nowhere.

Take your pick....

The more I play my five tunes - yes, I have five now, though no way will I need them - the more decisions I have to make. What order, what key, where do I speed up, where slow down, where soft, where loud .... So many choices. Tonight I had a really good practice, but complicated it yet again by looking at different thumb picks. At the top is my favourite Perfect Touch thumb pick that I have used for years. Below is the orange Kelly Speed pick that June Maugery introduced me to, though not trimmed as short as she did. I thought I would give that a try for a change and was just amazed at the difference. It is louder, but also much brighter. So then the question is, do I want a bright loud bass line that might compete with the tune? And the answer is - sometimes in some parts of some tunes. Ideally I would be able to swap picks when I need to but that is of course impossible in a live performance. So .... more decisions. Which tunes will work best with which picks? I think I have made up my mind, for now .... it may change, still time. Meanwhile back to my list - spare glasses to add!

PS: have today recorded on my iPad four of the five tunes, once using the Kelly, once using the PT picks. So that is eight recordings to listen to. I needed about 30 seconds listening to each track. In every case, the Kelly made a harsh sounding bass line that competed with the tune. This is my opinion, yours may vary. But I want the bass to support the tune, not compete with it, so for every tune I will be using the quieter, more mellow Perfect Touch thumb pick. And still bare fingers, with about 2-3mm nail showing.

The other things recording showed me were how many dead notes I am still hitting, how inconstant my tempo is, how I still don't have enough dynamic range, how I am still making loads of mistakes .... I will definitely only need two tunes, so I have to make those as good as I can.

Countdown!

Two weeks today, at this time, I will be at check-in at Heathrow Terminal 5 pushing the Big Boy - that's the case, not me! - and hoping it will be under the 51lb weight limit. So I just packed it with everything I think will be in it - came to 48lb!! And that is including the two autoharps. The problem is that actually it is very heavy but not very bulky, there is quite a bit of space inside, and I can see the harps moving about and bumping into each other. Bubble wrap is called for I think. Now back to my list making, tune practicing, singing, and worrying. It really can't come quick enough.

Quietly #%€$ing myself

Real adrenalin rush after the concert last Saturday when I rediscovered both my voice and my performance persona. The rush is wearing off as I keep stressing about all sorts of things. I am sleeping very badly too, as Gill is away. Back tomorrow, so one pressure off. I have been doing things today like clearing everything off my iPad that I don't want so I have space for photos and sound recordings, and trying to sort out the UKAA CD graphics so I don't have to rush that when I get back. Four hours on the failing computer, but successful. So  I treated myself to some singing. I went through every song I might want to record with Neal. The harps were a real problem, slightly out of tune and feeling quite dead. But .... I can sing again. I can't sing loudly, or for very long, but neither of those are a problem. I can sing in tune, and expressively, with a good range. I enjoyed the singing, and sang some of the songs the best I had ever done so. At least I am pretty sure my voice will be good for MLAG. Next thing to do is to pack my case and weigh it.

Gargrave

On 3 Jun 2013, at 10:31, Caroline Turner wrote:

Well Ive had the most fantastic weekend up in Gargrave with the UKAH. Arrived early Saturday for the day of workshops, and promptly walked into Sue and Bob. What a lovely warm welcome from everyone. I didn't feel a stranger at all and indeed everyone I met was so warm and welcoming, I was immediately surrounded by friends. Fabulous. 

.......... Huge thanks to everyone for making these days happen. Im sure there must be so much work, getting you guys together, plus the venues, the catering, the sound and to then be so generous with your knowledge and experience.....well Ive never known a musical community like it. Thank you thank you thank you. 

........................Caroline YOU are why we do it! What a lovely lady, smiling and cheering us up all day! And her evaluation sheet set a new record in synonyms for "wonderful"! 

It was a bit good though. We definitely had our doubts about this one It was more than 100 miles from any of our tutors, so it cost us a lot to put it on in travel and accommodation expenses. And there were not many autoharpers in the area - which was why we wanted to go there, to do the John the Baptist bit and spread the word. But would the locals come?

The answer is "Build it and they will come" of course. We were disappointed in the number of local musicians dropping in (0), but I take the blame for that - I was meant to do a tour of the local folk clubs but was unable to do so. But we did meet six totally new-to-us autoharpers, and we made a big impression on the 60 odd locals who came to our evening concert. We were asked back, and we introduced a whole area of the country to an instrument they ad never heard of before.

So many great highlights of the day. Which started the previous evening with a half hour from the fabulous Kilcawleys - I think we shall rename them thus - in the local pub, followed by a singaround, to give some of the locals a taste of what would be in the concert. Noisy, but great fun. On a personal level, I found having to stretch my voice to dominate the pub really hurt, but actually next day it was better, so I think the more I use it, within reason, the better. At the end of the concert on Saturday I hit my top G - can't be bad!

Then the workshops on Saturday. Mike had about 10 in his taster session, with some locals taking advantage of the free session and loan of the Autoharp. Then Nadine and Ian took on playing in sessions, Guy the beginners, and I taught some dance tunes on diatonics. Really enjoyable. The village hall staff laid on chili or corned beef hash and loads of CAKE for a lovely lunch, and then on to the afternoon workshops - again great fun and really useful. I got to practice two MLAG tunes in front of a discerning and helpful audience of three, so really useful for me. Then Mike taught us about drag notes and blues, lovely workshop. Then the delights of the open stage - some real quality performances - so good to hear Paulette who we haven't seen in a while singing and playing "Never on a Sunday", but one of the highlights was Polly, a new autoharper but a very experienced singer with a lovely voice. She was not willing to regale us with that voice on its own - so Ted on whistle, myself on Autoharp and harmony, and Paulette on accordion formed an instant band while she sang Fields of Athenry. Brilliant.

We set up for the concert. How many tables? Who would come? The village hall staff said put out seats for 60 - there were benches round the side as well if needed, but we set out tables in a bistro style and waited. And they came. We had over 80 people in the hall, plus performers plus catering staff, plus bar staff - had to be a bar, its compulsory in Yorkshire! And they experienced the best concert I have ever been at, let alone taken part in. Nadine and Ian opened for us, with Hello Stranger from Nadine as the first song. Then the Kilcawleys with their inimitable voice and musicianship. Then I gave them Autoharp Blues - which had one member of the audience almost wetting himself as he fell of his chair laughing! - and took the opportunity again to practice an MLAG tune. Then Patrick OSullivan introduced his work on Robert Story.

Patrick has been the driving force behind this project from the start. He is the local host and has been fed up with travelling so far to UKAA days, so he pushed us, kicking and screaming at times, to put one on in his area. To facilitate this, he undertook to get some Arts Council funding! Marvellous! He got the funds to allow us to pay our tutors. As part of his bid he promised to do some academic research on a local 19thC poet, called Robert Story, who lived many years in the village where we were. So he did the research, found a huge body of work, and persuaded the lovely Stephanie Hladowski, a local singer, to set some to music and perform them to the village in a World Premiere in the concert. Stephanie sang the first solo, about the death of one of Story's sons, the Patrick joined the second, and Mike played Autoharp and I harmonised the third. Would have liked more rehearsal. Would have liked SOME rehearsal, but went fine.

Second half opened with all of us singing Grandfathers Clock, lead by Mike, then Guy Padfield came on and really nailed it! How he plays ragtime bare fingered like he does, I don't know. His personality was really coming through as well. He introduced, in his London accent, one of his songs (Good Ol Mountain Dew) by saying he needed to put on a Southern accent. A broad Yorkshire voice boomed out "Yerve already got un!" Stephanie gave us three more unaccompanied songs, beautifully sang. Then it was Mike Fenton's turn. There are autoharpers - then there is Mike. He was on fire. We were already running about 15 minutes over schedule. We finished an hour over. There was no way we could get Mike off the stage, even had we wanted to, we would have been lynched by the audience. From "Listen to the mocking bird" to "Goodnight Irene" he had them in the palm of his hand, with jokes, Jews harp, dulcimer and peerless autoharping. The following day Nadine, Paulette and I played before and after the Communion service at the local church, and a little old lady came up to me and said how much she had enjoyed the concert - "especially the comic!" Well, he is much more than a comic, he gave all of us a lesson in stage craft that night.

We finished en masse again, with me leading "Will the Circle be Unbroken" in G. Difficult for me to sing about my mother dying, but it had to be done, and I was pleased with how my voice held out. Great way to finish a great concert, and so full of adrenalin after. A reminder, after nearly eight months of NOT performing, of how much I do actually enjoy it. Now I am REALLY looking forward to MLAG. 

Bob Ebdon

www.bobebdon.com

Sent from my iPad