Violin; raw novice.

Hi,

Many thanks Logan and sorry for the late reply.

Isn't it a wonderful feeling to own your home outright without mortgage and a bunus too is to also own the land. Bron and I had enough savings to pay off our mortgage when I retired in 2000; did you go through the period of 15% interest rate on your mortgage; now we have our mortgage fully paid off and money saved we find we've become money lenders due to the insulting interest on our savings whilst mortgage interest is so low these days. Nothing in it for us.

I'm pleased the tree job is fully sorted but I still can't find the time to spend in the studio; I seemed to have more spare time whilst working full time including putting in lots of overtime; there's always something to do around the bungalow and gardens.

I was brought up in the sixties which was a very exciting time with the Mersey Sound and so many brilliant groups and solo singers; each generation though will be brought up with different music; modern music mostly is just a noise and rapping well what can I say. I remember Shirley Bassey very well but never hear of her these days.

I started wearing glasses from the age of eleven being called "four eyes" amongst other names; how those school glasses caused sores on the back of my ears; I need glasses full time but I'm delighted for you if you only require reading glasses; I'm still OK with glasses though because being a tight Yorkshireman I can still see the difference between a £10 & £20 note.

The computer has tired me out today due to having to concentrate so hard. Will I manage to get into the studio tomorrow; I can dream on.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

Hi
Don't know what sort of mortgage we had, hubby takes care of those things and yes it's good not to have one.
Thanks about my eyesight and our son had to have glasses at 6 years old, my mother wondered why because all of the other family didn't have them.

Yes I was brought up in the 60s and Shirley Bassey is still going strong.
This is this year

Have a good evening.
Logan

 

Hi,

Thanks Logan; the sixties were exciting times and oftem people were happy with a smile on their face unlike now. Shirley Bassey has a powerful voice; thanks for the video; there were so many excellent singers in the sixties like;



Dusty too was excellent; some of the Beatles songs we like but then they lost the plot with things like Yellow Submarine.

Like your hubby I too look after our finances; for quite a while endowment mortgages were all the rage; we had an endowment mortgage but only for a very short period; I actually read the mortgage agreement in full one day and immediately replaced it with a standard repayment mortgage. We know of one couple who took out an interest only payment mortgage who were amazed when they wanted to move only to find they hadn't paid a penny off their house; it being interest only meant the full amount borrowed was due at the end of the term; I'm suspicious of any deal which looks too good to be true.

Wishing you a great gardening day Logan; take care.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

Hi Retired
Yes they're were a lot of great singers in those times.
We might have had a mortgage like that, I remember once seeing the building society statement and it was just the interest paid off.

Thank you and you have a good day also.
Logan. Take care Colin

 

Hi,

Thanks for your good wishes Logan; I hope you enjoyed a lovely weekend.

I well remember looking at our mortgage statements which brought tears to my eyes; mostly charges for insurance and interest which was 15% because we were paying out but now we have savings the money is just as well under the bed given the pathetic interest rates on savings; it can't get much lower or we'll end up paying the bank to store our money.

Things are looking up at last; I must have enjoyed over three hours in total today playing with my violins not feeling under any pressure. Whoopee.



Years ago I added new numbers to the front of our bungalow but we still receive hand delivered mail for neighbours; perhaps the numbers aren't large enough

Yesterday I added another set of numbers to stare anyone in the face as they approach our front door; I bet even with these on display we'll still receive unwanted neighbours letters; no problems with the postman/lady though.



Before I could attach the numbers to the wall more unexpected work to be done; our bungalow front is subjected to extremes of weather being on the steep valley side; here it attacked a section of pointing.


Here the pointing has been raked out and new mortar added; the new mortar will dry to be the correct colour it already having changed colour by the time I put the numbers up. I can never do one job without encountering other more pressing jobs needing doing but in spite of this yesterday I enjoyed a couple of violin sessions; the only problem with all this work is it's not really helpful making my arms and hands stiff which reflects badly with violin playing but I stick with it; now the holiday is about over next job is ten new fence posts to play around with.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

Hi
Thanks I did have a good weekend, went to see my friend Saturday afternoon and ended up helping in her back garden, clearing some brambles and cutting back a few shrubs.

Good that you got some violin practice in for a few hours.

Yes there's always something to do with maintenance of house especially when exposed to the weather but those numbers look great, hope that it works.

You be careful when you're doing the fence, have you got someone to help you with it?

Hubby's the same he suffers from joint and muscle problem because of his age.
Have a good day
Logan.

 

Hi,

Thanks Logan for your good wishes; you too have a good day in fact a brilliant day.

YUKK; brambles; it took years to finally clear all our brambles which kept popping up all over the garden and some still try it on; this also applied to both holly and oak lots of seedlings kept appearing; my two real pests now are Cleavers and weeds.

Thanks also for your kind concern Logan; I do all the work on my own; big jobs I break down into smaller jobs; a big job like felling the multi trunked willow tree I ended up using a 2,500Lb winch but then it's no problem for me because I'm trained for moving huge machinery around so am familiar with handling epuipment; it's still hard work but when finished I don't owe anyone anything or any favours.

I'm sorry to learn your hubby suffers joint & muscle pain as so many do once they start to age; best wishes to him; I'm keeping my head down regarding ageing; I'm only 74 so hopefully I'll be OK yet for another twenty years; my aches and pains are brought on by my activities; I often work myself to a standstill struggling to clean tools and put them away after a very hard day but after dropping into a coma overnight I'm fit and ready for anything the day after; using machinery which vibrates causes problems with tingling and hands trembling but after a rest it disappears; the recent treework I did was a huge job on my own and after hours of chainsawing and using the shredder I suffered a bit making it virtually impossible to play the violin; I'm OK again but with a fencing job now hanging over me; the work here never lets up but I'm not complaining because I'm sure your hubby would like to do as I do Logan with aching bones which ease after a rest.

I'm about to enjoy a mug of tea then I think I'll go Cleavers hunting again;

https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/discover-wild-plants-nature/plant-fungi-species/cleavers

Kind regards, Colin.

 

Hi Colin
That's great that you portion jobs up into smaller pieces.
Thank you about hubby he does things in small pieces as well and he'll be fine tomorrow. Yes we have the Cleavers and I'm trying not to let them go to seed, they grow so fast because they're a annual plant and thanks for the link about them.

Yes the brambles can take over and hopefully can get it under control, it's just trying to dig the roots up, the ground is clay and dry at the moment.

Good that you recover from all your hard work and you can enjoy your violin when you can.

Have a good evening
Logan

 

Hi,

Thanks Logan for your good wishes; I hope you enjoy a wonderful day today.

Once Cleavers appear in a garden they are terrible to get rid of popping up all over the place; fortunately they can be easily pulled out with bare hands they being harmless to handle but they need careful disposing of because of how easily they spread. Yes definitely remove them before they seed or it then really becomes a much bigger problem.

We used to have lots of brambles which always attacked me whenever I was near to them also when we moved here the front garden had lots of roses which too used to attack me so the lot were cleared. Our valley side has so much clay only a mile away there used to be a brickworks. Perhaps I should take up making pottery as another hobby?

On Tuesday I had the worst violin practice so far nothing at all going as it should; before putting the violin away I gently cleaned the strings using meths; yesterday everything went very well indeed; as I played the practice back through the Tascam and amplifier it brought a smile to my face; I'm still very much a violin novice but I'm steadily improving; something so simple making such a huge difference; I usually clean the strings and violin using a dry micro fiber cloth; meths must be used with care and never allowed to touch the actual violin because it could strip the finish.

What a lovely morning; a bit cool but with lots of promise; I'm treating fences and posts today using a mix of old engine oil and diesel; over the years I've tried lots of fence treatment all which fail in a short time at least this mix is cheap. I don't splash it around ensuring I just treat the timber; it's bad for soil and plants etc.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

Hi Colin
Thanks for the best wishes for today, going to have my Pneumonia vaccine this morning now that I'm 65.Thanks for the advice about the Cleavers.

Sometimes the violin practice might not go as you expected and perhaps it was because it needed cleaning.
I'm like that with my singing, sometimes I feel that some of the songs are a bit high for me to sound good and then when I do them again they sound better. Even though Karen Carpenters voice is good for me, I'm much better with a male voice that's lower.

It takes a lot of time to get the proper clay for pottery making.
Watched a programme called inside the factory where they went into a well known factory making pottery, very interesting.
Hope that you get on well with your fence.
Have a good day
Logan.

 

Hi,

I hope all went well with your pneumonia jab this morning Logan and thanks for your good wishes. I'm 74 and if I let our surgery loose I'd be a pin cushion; the only jabs I've had are the three Covid jabs but so many jabs are available these days.

You do better than me with singing Logan; if I tried singing I'm sure I'd clear the area; Bron and I have friends in Australia; our friend Joan heads a small group of singers who do gigs for places like respite centers cheering people up also they do specials at Christmas; Joan also leads a ukulele group all are retired and it keeps them active rather than so many glued to the TV all day.

Bron and I liked watching The Great Pottery Throwdown until it started being politically correct and the new presenter acting like a clown; pity because the first series was excellent and years ago we visited the pottery where the first series was made. I'd like to have a go at pottery but it's much too messy. Pity we missed the Inside the factory episode although we do watch lots of such interesting programs.

Information | Middleport Pottery | Re-form

I enjoyed a brief violin practice this morning and it went well; all it needed was a bit of TLC cleaning the strings but with each session I do learn more.

Thanks; I'm well on my way with treating the fences; I've treated two today but just knocked off because I'm not used to working in hot sunshine; dire weather I'm used to; I think I'm going to melt I feel so warm.

One long fence still to treat and ten galvanized fence posts to erect once they arrive which might be this Saturday; when I think I'm at last on top of all the work something always crops up.

Please be careful Logan if you go out into the sunshine; we're not used to it?

Kind regards, Colin.

 

Hi Colin
Thanks about the good wishes about my pneumonia vaccine and it went well but it did hurt a bit when she did it but fine now, she said that I might get headache or feel tired for a few days, but I'm not worried about it.

Thanks about my singing and that's a good idea what your friends do and that's a thought for me in the future.

I haven't watched the great pottery throw down, but as you say it's very messy.
If you have iPlayer you can see inside the factory denby pottery mugs.

Great about how you're getting on with your fence and that you're getting better weather and thank you i'll be careful in the sun and you.
Have a good evening
Logan

 

Hi,

I'm pleased your jab went well Logan and an headache is better than pneumonia; as we start to age a bit we become pin cushions for many kinds of jabs; I do my best to stay away from the surgery and hospitals because once they get hold of you they don't like to let you go; far from complaining though because the NHS is brilliant and so easily taken for granted but unlike the US we don't live in fear of losing our home to pay huge health care fees should we fall seriously ill.

Our friend Joan in Australia has been singing with her group for many years and this year with Covid restrictions eased she hopes to add new members to her group; she also had a group of youngsters teaching them to play their guitar. Joan however as a youngster herself tried playing a violin but leaving school she quickly gave it up hence now she likes playing the ukulele; we have three friends including Joan who tried playing a violin but packed it in; I can understand why but I'm too stubborn to know when to quit; I'm enjoying the challenge and am making slow progress.



What a shame The Great Pottery Throwdown ended up like most of the modern rubbish put out as entertainment these days; I was brought up old fashioned with old fashioned standards and find it difficult to adjust to many modern day things but at least Bron and I can choose what we want to watch through YouTube; we are premium subscribers to YouTube paying about £12 per month so we can watch in peace without annoying adverts every couple of minutes.

I've just come out of the garden where I've been removing some of the fence posts; as usual I'll do it the hard way; out of five removed three were broken at ground level so I've enjoyed having to dig the post bottoms out; the new 6' long galvanized scaffolding posts have just arrived and these are heavy gauge at 4mm thick; with my luck I wonder if our termites have tungsten carbide teeth? I'll add a new thread covering my fence post story. I'll never ever buy wooden fence posts again because although they are sold as treated the timber is poor softwood; these ten scaffolding poles aren't cheap initially at almost £200 but long term will outlast wooden posts many times; once they are in perhaps this time I can forget them; I dislike doing jobs twice.

I hope you've enjoyed a good day in your garden today Logan whilst this nice weather remains.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

Hi Colin
Thanks about my Pneumonia jab and haven't had any bad reaction to it.
The NHS is brilliant it's a shame about the Covid showing up.

That's great about you and Bron friends in Australia, I don't think that i could play a musical instrument having to use both hands. I watch pianist play and it amaze me.

Yes it's best not to have wooden posts because that's the place that they rot first.

We watch a lot of YouTube but with adverts, only watch a few programmes on BBC and hardly ever on the others. But we do subscribe to Amazon Prime and watch some si fi series.
Thanks about that video, here's one that I found about denby pottery and it's not a advert but it looks a bit like it, we have the regency green dinner set and it's good that we can buy individual pieces if I break any, but not very often.

I had a bit of time in the garden, deadheaded the hyacinths and fed the roses,then put some compost around them.
I've also grafted stem buds on rose rootstock, I've successfully done 2, sometimes they don't take.
Have a good evening
Logan.

 

Hi,

Thanks Logan for your good wishes; I hope you enjoy a wonderful weekend.

I find getting a tune out of Bron's electronic keyboard much easier than getting a tune out of my violins; just using fingers on the keyboard is a lot different to trying to balance a violin on my shoulder whilst using my left hand in strange positions to press the strings whilst my right hand uses the bow; it's not surprising so many violin novices pack in quickly.

Using YouTube Premium benefits - YouTube Help

Bron and I have been YouTube premium subscribers for a number of years and never begrudge the £12 or so each month it costs; I think it's possible to watch YouTube using an ad blocker but we don't mind paying for something we use so much after all we pay a BBC TV licence for mostly rubbish on our TV hence the need for YouTube.

Thanks Logan for the pottery video I'll watch this on TV at dinnertime with Bron today; as usual I'm too busy at the moment; already tired having just carried scaffolding pipes up the mountain and I'm enjoying a mug of tea whilst I cool down; the fence job is underway. It's handy if you can replace broken pottery from a set. We used to visit the potteries for a nice run out but now to visit the potteries we'd have to go to china?

Isn't it nice to get into the garden in warm sunshine catching up and changing things around; the problem so far is that our gardening jobs are usually hard work as is the case now whilst I replace fence posts; every year at Autumn I think at last I'm finally on top but here I am again for the 35th year of living here still grafting; will next year be better; I doubt it but we love our bungalow and gardens in spite of how steep our site is; nowhere is perfect but this is pretty near and all the heavy work keeps me fit and active.

The plastic caps have just arrived for the scaffolding post tops; mug of tea enjoyed so back to the hard graft before another day slips by at an alarming pace.

Kind regards, Colin.