Category: Uncategorized
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They’re out to get me
It’s a relatively short walk home from The Great Institution to The Ranch, however there are times when it does have a certain marathon-like feel to it. And so it happened last night. After settling my affairs for two pints of the good stuff I made my way to the exit door and somehow managed…
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Throwing mud
If you throw enough mud at something, then some of it will inevitably stick. And so it goes with the journey of mindfulness and awareness. I have been on this journey for over a year now and it remains a daily challenge. The whole thing of disconnecting from random thoughts, mostly from the past, is…
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Dusting off the clarinet
So there I was, doing a bit of guitar practice with The Diligent Drumcondra Man and The Santa Dude. We got to chatting about the upcoming gig in The Great Institution of Chatham Street and before I had time to say that Acker Bill is your only man for clarinet, I had agreed to dust…
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A second gig
The first one went really well and so the green light has been given to do another gig upstairs in The Great Institution of Chatham Street. Wednesday November 16 is the big night, kicking off at 8.30. A few changes will be made to the line up with a view to keeping things fresh. All…
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A lovely evening
Over the years I’ve been involved in the organising of many events. Most have gone well, the occasional one has not. And so it was particularly pleasing to be able to put on what proved to be a very successful little musical gathering last night in The Great Institution of Chatham Street, the best pub…
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The Big Gig
So there I was, propped up on my usual perch in The Great Institution, doing my bit for the Guinness Pensioners of this world. The Boss was holding court behind the bar and somewhere along the line I put forward the idea that I might play a few tunes in the upstairs lounge some evening.…
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The Queen and Sir Alex
The late Queen Elizabeth II and Sir Alex Ferguson had very different upbringings. A life of sheltered privilege versus the harsh times of working class Glasgow in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. However in some ways they became similar people. For one thing they shared a love of horse racing. For another they were the…
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A great woman moves on
The recently departed Queen Elizabeth II of England was , without doubt, one of the great people of history. By all accounts she was a very impressive human being and scored many understated diplomatic triumphs during her reign. Arguably her finest moment came with her visit to these shores a few seasons back. Hitting all…
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A moving moment
Every now and then something happens when I’m busking that tugs at the heart strings. So there I was, plucking away on a beautiful South King Street afternoon. Near the end of my set a couple of Spanish sounding young ladies sat down on my bench and started happily chatting away to one another. When…
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The three quarter guitarist
Although speed is not the most important thing in the learning world of classical guitar it is a useful indicator of progress. ‘Cavatina’ and ‘ Classical Gas’ are the two benchmark pieces that I judge myself against. At present I am cruising along at three quarter pace on both tunes. With a bit of luck…
Blind light 