New Wheels

In my parking space

I am now the proud owner of a new set of wheels, a 1999 Ford Fiesta, for those who understand these things, it has a 1.25 16v Zetec engine, three doors and it is in super condition. 37000 miles on the clock (and about 1000 of them are from me already). Two previous owners, an old lady and a young lad, who drove it very little, but did install a rather nice radio which stayed after the transaction.

Posing outside a friends house.....

It is interesting to note that, of my 4 siblings and the parents, only one, Little Big (or is that big little????) Sis, owns a car younger than this one.

Oh and one other thing, on a recent trip through Bulgaria, I saw a silver Austin Maestro, the first for absolutely years. What is interesting is at the exact moment i saw it, it was being overtaken by a Lada....

Grim Challenge 2007

Last Saturday i partook in what has become Guildhall tradition, a tradition which I was involved in the starting of four years ago...........

Every winter, a group of rather brave (or nuts?) souls, travel south to Aldershot to run eight miles through mud, water, obstacles and the pain barrier. This year four people survived the GRIM CHALLENGE!!!!


This years GRIM was a bit of a fiasco though, as the rental car acquired for the day refused to start wit a flat battery. This meant that two of the seven runners had to miss out as the rest of us squeezed into a Fiesta. The fifth member was forced not to run with a duff knee and stayed to take photos on the sidelines.

The next fiasco was that, after half an hour trying to start the rental car, we were running rather late. We arrived just on time to hear the announcer on the tannoy shout 3,2,1 GO and watch the 3000 runners setting off. The clock was at 5:00 by the time we got our gear on, pinned on our numbers and crossed the starting line. It took about 5 minutes proper running to catch the main group and the rest of the race, sometimes waist high in freezing water, was spent overtaking. Finishing time was 1:39:14 and my place was about 1100th, although did not get an official placing because my chip fell off in the rush to the start line. The others finished at different times one 310th (having disappeared into the distance about 10 minutes in) and the other two in the 1300s

At the end, four rather stiff but very pleased runners received T-Shirts an piled into the car for a pub lunch, a lazy afternoon and, definitely in my case anyway, an early night.

Photos can be found on my facebook or one official one here

Baby you can drive my car.......

As a freelance musician, one is left at the mercies of public transport, relying on catching every connection on a train journey, or else spending a night sleeping on a train platform or a small fortune on taxi or B and B are a very real possibility. Turning down work because there is no nearby train station is equally depressing.

Having decided that I have gone long enough depending on public transport for every single gig, I decided last month to finally get a license and a car. Horrid waiting lists in Ireland and 4 years studying in london have hindered this process somewhat, so the best and easiest option was to do t over here.

28 days and 3 lessons after receiving my Provisional license, I am now a fully qualified driver (that must be some sort of record). I was incredibly lucky to get a cancellation test only a week after starting to look and the test itself went very smoothly.

I am now looking for my first car, with the assistance of an old friend of our favorite organ tuners. Reanault Clio, Ford Fiesta or Vuaxhall Corsa have all been suggested as resonable cars which will not cripple me on insurance. Next week I am doing an advanced course which will significantly reduce my insurance cost also. Will keep you updated on my progress as I plan to own my own car within a few weeks. Aren't you proud?......

London Son BMus (Hons)

The horns of 2007:

Having achieved what many thought was impossible, and acquiring a degree (albeit a music degree). The time came for me to collect my degree. I was very honored that Our and Our Mother were able to attend my graduation ceremony. It was also a superb chance to catch up with my colleagues of the year of 2007, many of whom are studying or working abroad. The horns of 2007 reconvened for the first time in over 6 months.



The ceremony was held at the impressive and very prestigious Great Hall of the Guildhall of the City of London; not the unimpressive and not very prestigious Semigreat Hall of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama as the parents had assumed. Once the robes were donned and many thousands of photos taken we filed into the Great Hall to receive our degrees and various points of wisdom from the Mayor of London and other important people. It was actually a very meaningful and dare I say moving ceremony, followed by free wine and food.

As an extra bonus, Our Parents had time the following day to travel down to the Isle of Wight, where I was working and managed to get to my concert that evening. I believe they had a super day exploring and rediscovering spots of interest from Our Fathers past, I presume their blog contains details?? They then drove me home which was rather nice, although we did get rather lost in London. They even bought me a nice coat before leaving the following afternoon.

Catch Up

In my efforts to remember what I have done in the last 6 months it has dawned on me what a busy boy I have been.

I left you in Zurich, towards the end of the EUYO tour. This then went to Kazakhstan where we played in two cities, the new capital Astana (only ten years old and nothing more than a building site the size of a medium sized city) and the old capital Almaty (beside the mountains that form the border of Kazakhstan and China. The culture of this country was so different than anything I have ever seen and the girls were incredibly beautiful, combining the best features of China, Mongolia and Russia. Borat could not be any further from the truth.

After the tour most of my efforts were concentrated on preparing my final recital and passing my degree. I am now the proud owner of a degree from a respected music college and my name is now eight letters longer (See updated name above) . Not quite in league with our father but working on it as I will shortly be starting my Masters, also in the GSMD.

This summer I was a traveling musician (or minstral) My dulcet tones were heard in Bantry House, Devon, Cornwall, London, Dublin, several Italian towns, all over Surrey and various other interesting places. I also feature in two new Irish/Pop crossover DVDs, for Celtic man and (real originality here!) Celtic woman. If you see either of these bands on tv in the near future there is a reasonably good chance of also seeing me.


That pretty much brings us up to date. An update on the various animals is still to follow.

Long Absence

It has been a rather long time since anything has been written on my blog. I will update you briefly on the rest of the tour (now 6 months late) and give a quick synopsis of my many and varied activities since. The progress of the animals (tarantulas and housemates) must also be commented on before normal service can be resumed. Watch this space......

Italy

Zurich behind us I found myself in Genoa, although not really in it. The hotel chosen for us was a good half hour travelling from the centre. The management and arrangements were passed on to another group for these two concerts in Italy. Genoa is quite a rough place but quite pretty and full of life. After well over an hour searching the town centre on palm sunday we found a place to eat a pizza.

The next afternoon was a little more successful, with me and the pianist visiting the aquarium, the largest in Europe. The concert that evening was in the most impressive theatre. The stage and area above stretched upwards by about 14 storeys and downwards about 5 below our feet. And a really big hall.

The next evening we played in Bologna, which is a pleasant place but most were too tired to explore, my memory of the hall and the concert are quite sketchy, I think that it may have something to do with the 5 O Clock start the next morning to reach Bologna Airport for a flight shortly after 8 to Kazakhstan