Good Monday Morning.

 

This is what a reader evidently said. We won't go into names.

"I took the liberty of reading through the posts on this blog [The Curmudgeon] and on Richard's blog and have concluded that Peter aka The Curmudgeon and Richard aka RBB are like a couple of silly old men who try to outdo each other on writing silly and time-wasting blog posts."

Gosh, I'd better change my ways!

No, that's not going to happen.

If you don't like it, don't read it. It really is that simple.

* * *

Moving right along.

Okay, I know that a lot of people aren't interested in my violin practice. I guess I'll have to repeat myself here. If you don't like it, don't read it. Violin playing is a big thing in my life. If that's not your thing, stay away. When I get up in the morning, I find that writing a post is a nice way to start the day. A nice way to wake up. 

I started playing the violin in 1961. I was eight years old at the time. My mother brought home a couple of violins from a school fair and asked who would like to learn to play them. At that time I only had two brothers. Rob and I put our hands up first. I started learning from a nun named Sister Joachim, at St. Mary's Convent. Sister Joachim was nice enough, though she did whack the fingers of students with her violin bow. I would rank her as a good teacher. I remember her fondly. When we didn't practise, which was quite often, our mother used to pack up our violins and put them near the front door, like she was going to give them away. I don't think it made us practise more. At that time, in my young life, playing rugby was more important. I finished up studying violin at university, though my main field of study was composition. I still didn't practise too much. To be honest, I was more interested in getting a girlfriend. I did work pretty hard on my composing. The violin teacher was a very good musician, but he didn't really inspire me. I did finish up with an honours degree, so I couldn't have done too badly. In my last year at university I started playing the bass guitar and that became a passion.

A little later I started taking a few double bass lessons with Harry Botham. We finished up working together, as teachers. We became friends and, when I got married, he was a Justice of the Peace and presided over the wedding ceremony.

For many years the double bass and the bass guitar were my main instruments, though I did play quite a few other instruments at various times. 

On the 5th. of May, in 2012, I started practising the violin again. I got rid of my shoulder rest on the 13th. of May, in 2020. By this time I had become rather serious about practising the violin. The self-doubt that I carried in my earlier days had largely disappeared. No one has to tell me to practise the violin anymore. I'm practising much harder than I ever did. I feel free to learn as much as I like. I feel that there are so many things I can show others. I teach violin at two secondary schools. I don't teach privately. For many years, when people have asked for help, I have helped them for free. The funny thing is that, when you don't charge people money, they seem to think that you are no good. I don't do that much these days. Let them pay someone, if that makes them feel better.

Well, that's it for this morning.

Don't make carved images, but it's okay to have a statue of Mary.

What???

Ciao.