Happy New Year! It is nearly the end of January, and on a rainy rainy day I thought I would get on with some much neglected website admin. Bookings are coming in for the upcoming season, so it is a good time to update some of these pages. Starting with a quick catch up on the blog.

November saw a return to the Dragon Festival in King’s Lynn with The New Cambridge Waits. We played at various locations around the city. There were lots of activities on offer, such as a dragon trail, and animal encounters, art things, and stalls to look at. We enjoy playing in King’s Lynn a great deal, and are looking forwards to being back there next year for their Hanse Day Festival.

December brought in another return to Kentwell Hall for their Dickensian Christmas event. Alongside some private Christmas supper functions. Both of these required some Victorian music, and so for the past few months I have been learning to play the melodeon.

Learning a new instrument is such a delight. You start out in a frustrating way, until gradually it begins to feel familiar and you can relax and play. I managed to gather half an hour worth of tunes, both festive and folky, and made my professional melodeon debut!

One of the lovely things about playing at Kentwell Hall is that because I’m being a first person character musician, it means that I can be really flexible and relaxed with my playing. This in turn means confidence in a new skill can grow really quickly, as without the pressure of a formal setting it is easier to be bold, and take risks, and see where it takes you.

Alongside the melodeon, I took my usual requests on the bagpipes. Asking most visitors what their favourite Christmas tune from any period is, and then giving it a good go on the bagpipes. Some tunes are more successful than others! A first this year was a request for The Prodigy, which I think was meant to trip me up, but being a teenager in the 90s, meant I delivered with absolute delight. Breathe by The Prodigy on bagpipes must be a first for anyone surely!

I have some more melodeon gigs booked already for this year, so I need to increase my non-festive repertoire.