Those are the Monday Night Fiddlers on stage at the Open Up The Summer Kitchen Ceili in Almonte last Sunday. There were nine of them although you can't see two who are in the background in this photo. That's what they do — get together and play on Monday nights. What fun these good old boys must have jammin together!
I have to say that I envy them a little bit. I wish I could do what they do: not that I'd ever be able to reach their level given my late start, but I'm sure you take my point. Speaking of which, they (the physiotherapists, not the fiddlers) stopped physio on my fingers last week. Their ministrations did help; I do have more mobility now, but my hands are far from fine. I assume that I'll be able to continue to play a little but probably never a lot, and I'd really have to practise a lot to get up to any sort of speed at this stage of life.
The somewhat frustrating thing is that those guys are all older than I as far as I can tell, but their hands work fine. I do take some consolation in the fact that I'm not alone, however. My physiotherapist shared that she was dealing with two other fiddlers about my age with similar of finger problems. I guess that information helps a bit; it's not so much that misery loves company, but it seems beneficial to my spirit to know that I'm not the only experiencing premature arthritis — well, I think it's premature! Apparently, violin injuries of various ilk are apparently quite common, and Cuppa was just talking to a lady last night who is suffering from a severe case of banjo arm — another musical malady.
Meanwhile, here's a short clip of the Monday Night Fiddlers along with my last thought for the nonce — about the tools at our disposal. I love these tools. All of these videos that Cuppa and I have been posting (of Smudge) are taken with her somewhat old (as in four years old) digital camera. We haven't bothered with this feature before, but it's come in so handy with Smudge's arrival. And how great is it that YouTube exists to make sharing so darn easy.
BTW, if you want to see more photos of the Ceili, they're here on Flickr, and all of our little videos are here on YouTube.
AC - I so understand your frustration and I know you are realistic about life and accept the fact of your arthritis. I've got a similar hand thing. My kid sis has had two joint replacements (arthritic thumbs).
ReplyDeleteMy hubby just came in from work today and unloaded about all the tragic medical cases he saw in one afternoon. It helps me keep things in perspective - for a little while -
Thanks for sharing the music.
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