It’s been a tough old time…losing my little shadow and soul dog Gypsy, a busy time in the last week at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, William chopping the top off his finger.  (Yes I’m serious, he really did chop the top right off!!)  But I’m choosing to focus on the good, so here is a joyous email!  All the amazing things that are happening all around…

Christmas Collaboration Magic!

A massive shoutout to all the fantastic harpists who sent in their videos for the Christmas Collaboration.  102 – wow!!  Your enthusiasm and willingness to put yourself out there is what this project is all about!  William and I are knee-deep in weaving it all together.  It’s a lot of work, but we love it, and the reward of seeing it all come together is beyond words.  The final video will be premiered on YouTube on 17th December.  I can’t wait!  Just need to get it finished now!!

Cheers to the RCS Harp Students!

A round of applause for the incredible harp students at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.  Term 1 was a whirlwind of hard work, dedication, and beautiful music.  We even had a bed bugs incident in the harp room where everything, including all the harps, had to be fumigated!!  To all of you, enjoy a well-deserved break over the festive season.  You’ve earned it!

Adventures!

Last weekend, William and I were staying where we first met, and lived for about 15 years…..Glasgow!!  On Friday we met the wonderful Pauline Ann (and husband Vincent) from the How To Harp membership for an evening filled with fun and laughter.

On Saturday night we went to see Daði Freyr.  He is from Iceland and you might know him from Eurovision.  I love how his songs are fun and you can dance, but his lyrics are really sweet and cute.

This song is about his baby daughter

And this one is about his wife

So lovely, and the gig was amazing!  Jazz harpist Ben Creighton Griffiths was up in Scotland for a concert and some workshops a few months ago and we realised when chatting about music that we both loved Daði Freyr.  Isn’t it funny how harpists often listen to music that is sooooooo not the typical thing you’d expect a harpist to be listening to?

Then on Sunday night, we went to see Corook.  Their song ‘It’s OK’ has meant a lot to me over the last few weeks.  I’d give you a link to this one too, but the second verse is pretty intense and might be too much for some, so search for that one at your own risk (there may also be the occasional F-bomb).

Our Glasgow trip was planned as a ‘getaway from work’ weekend but with so much on this wasn’t possible.  We had our laptops and worked all day Saturday and Sunday.  Busy work days then gigs at night, could have much worse though I suppose!!

Such a busy week, and even busier this week.  I love it though, so being busy is fine by me.

Thank you again for being a part of this journey.  Your support adds an extra layer of magic to what has already been an amazing year.  I’ve gone from dreaming about getting my ideas about what harping could and should be out there to more people……to actually doing it!!  There have been tough times and obstacles but the support of the harping community is what has kept us going.  You’ve no idea how much it means to me.