14 Sep 2005
This week marks our first anniversary of coming to Cork and there was a familiar theme to it. This time last year, we arrived just in time to watch the All Ireland Hurling final which Cork won and the following evening we went into town for the homecoming. This week the result was repeated and we were amongst 50 000 people in town on Monday night to welcome the team back. The music was the same, the speeches were similar and the atmosphere was RED.
After the speeches we headed to a supposedly quiet bar to meet a friend only to find that half the hurling team had beaten us to it. That wasn’t so bad but a couple of kids must have seen them go in and several text messages later, the pub was packed with kids, pushing their way through the honest patrons in order to get an autograph on their replica shirt and a photo on their phone cameras to show all their friends.
Looking back it’s been a pretty incredible 12 months. We’ve seen and done a lot. It makes me wonder where we’ll be in another year. The 3 in a row hurling celebrations may have to cope without us.
Fishing For Customers
I’ve been fishing a few times lately. It’s been a long time but this is the right time of year for mackerel and we’ve been successful every time we’ve been out so far. Mackerel curry is great. Email me for the recipe.
Work is incredibly busy at the moment. Like the mackerel, music students only come in in significant numbers in September and October although the tide doesn’t seem to affect them so much. We spend large parts of the year waiting for customers, then all of a sudden we need 2 tills and an extra person to answer the phones. It helps pass the time though.
Mind you, the customers are usually good for a laugh:
“I’m looking for a song but I can’t remember what it’s called…Do you have it?”
Several questions later “It has something to do with Donegal…”
Several more questions “ I think Daniel O Donnell sang it…”
Go away you silly man.
Another lovely old dear wanted to know how to use a metronome to tell when her roast was ready. Ah, that’ll be a thermometer you want. This is a music shop.
I love the people who sing you the piece they are looking for. I love it even more when we find it for them.
“Deedee deedee deedee deedee doo” Fur Elise!
“Duh…Duh…Duh…Duh…Duh…Duh…Duh…Duh” Of course, Pachelbel’s Canon.
Then there’s the people who ask for the impossible, or at best extremely unlikely-
Chain Reaction by Diana Ross arranged for Clarinet?
A theremin? (look it up)
Music for a 64 string mandolin harp?
Music Happenings
We went to see the Fun Loving Criminals the other night. OK, it’s been a while since they had any really big hits but they’re cool and we all sang along heartily to Scooby Snacks.
The band is going well. Paul and I went to Youghal last week for a live interview on a local radio station. We plugged a gig we were playing and played a few acoustic versions of our songs on the air. I have no idea how it sounded but the DJ is supposed to send us a mini disc so we can listen to ourselves. If it’s any good it will appear on the band website sometime soon. This Sunday we’re playing at a nightclub. It’s a fantastic set up with a huge sound system and rotating acts so we only need to play a few songs. I’m really looking forward to it.
Cork set a new world record last Saturday by staging the largest Ceilidh in the world when 7000+ people lined the streets to dance the Siege of Ennis. Kinda cool or kinda dorky? You decide. Sadly I had to work and I think Jane was washing her hair that day. The previous record holders were Dublin.
Dublin USA that is.
