Self indulgence

I’m not prone to being self indulgent, but sometimes everyone deserves a special treat…….. right???

I played piano as a youngster, achieving up to Grade 6 standard. Then came the problems…….. my lesson was every Saturday evening at 5pm. This was around the time us rockers met outside the town music shop. Well, I say ‘music shop’ but it was more of a pound shop that happened to sell LPs and cassettes at the back of the store! After our afternoon meet up we would head to a local bar for a few drinks….. yes, I was too young, but I was a teenager, rebelling against the world! After the pub we’d head to someone’s house for more alcohol and then out that night to a very small rock club that was somewhat lenient in their door policy. Ironically, it was the safest club in the local area. Other, bigger clubs, were full of drugs and fights. Our wee club was safe as houses, with all us younger ones (especially the girls) protected by the older crowd…… though I was only aware of one fight in all the years I went there anyway.

Anyway, the point of that tangential story is that I gave up piano. My dad was very disappointed in me, clearly not really falling for my assertion that I needed more time to study for my GCSEs, but realising there was little point in forcing me to continue playing.

Following my brain tumour diagnosis, I started trying to do things I felt would help me stay as healthy as possible, for as long as possible. I stopped drinking alcohol, cut down on drinking caffeine by switching to herbal teas, changed my diet to exclude processed foods, cut my work days down to 07:30 to 16:30 4 days a week, started sea bathing weekly, and just generally slowing things down a bit. 

I decided relearning piano would also be good for my mental and physical health and around 18 months ago I bought myself a fairly decent keyboard and started practicing. Like everything, some days were better than others! Some days I could play an instantly recognisable tune……other days I struggled to find the right notes. Not to be deterred, I kept at it and have gradually improved. I’m definitely nowhere close to my former standard, but I’m better than rubbish…….sometimes!!

When my dad passed away last October, I decided I wanted to buy myself a proper upright piano. Daddy loved to hear me play and I knew he’d approve of my purchase. 

A couple of months ago, hubby and I visited a piano showroom. The owner left us to browse and told me to try each piano he had. I proceeded to move round the showroom, playing each piano in turn. I had already decided that the first one I had played was the one I was going to buy, but I tried each of the others just to be sure. I played each one and then told hubby the first one was the one I wanted to buy. He smiled and said”You haven’t tried them all. You haven’t tried this one……”, as he indicated to the baby grand he was standing beside. I laughed and said I wasn’t good enough for that one. He told me to give it a go, just for the craic!

I sat down at this beautiful shiny black Yamaha baby grand piano and giggled, protesting that I’d be rubbish. I played it and proved my point! I simply wasn’t good enough a pianist for this stunning instrument.

The owner walked back into the room and commended me on my decision to try this piano. He explained it was second hand but had barely been played and told me it was far superior to anything else he had in stock. To demonstrate this, he played the upright I had originally chosen and then played the same piece on the baby grand. He’s a concert level pianist and both times he played were beautiful, but the difference in tone between the two was clear to hear. Hubby and I both fought back tears as he played the baby grand. 

I agreed there was no comparison between the two pianos, but that I simply wasn’t good enough to buy the baby. He told me to go with my heart and hubby actively encouraged me by reminding me of the difference between them. I reminded him that it wouldn’t sound ‘like that’ when I was playing it, but he insisted I could make it sound incredible and that I’d be sure to practice if I owned such a wonderful thing.

The short version of this story? I bought a baby grand piano!! 

We live in a fairly small, semi detached bungalow. We’ve had to completely transform our front room, removing a hearth, changing the floor and painting the walls. 

The result? A beautiful music room that houses a shiny black baby grand and hubby’s ever growing record collection. 

I’ve spent a lot of time shaking my head and laughing at this act of complete indulgence. 

‘Who do we think we are??’

‘I fear I’ve written a cheque my fingers can’t cash!’

But do you know what?? My dad would love it! He lived his life with many luxuries that I dismissed as being unnecessary.  Now I know better.

My husband and I have both worked hard all our lives and continue to do so. Our son is 23 and starting the next stage of his life abroad, having just completed a masters degree at a university in Europe. Our house will always be his home, but it’s now a place where just the two of us live…..with our beloved dog!! 

I’m off to wake the neighbours with a wee tinkle of the ivories……their dog seems to very much enjoy it, I heard him howling along earlier!! 

Self indulgent? Yes. Completely justifiable? Absolutely. Joyous? You know it!!!! 

Thank you daddy. We miss you, we love you, but we’re doing you proud. Living with xxx

 “I’ll have you know, I’m playing all the right notes…….just not necessarily in the right order!!” ;)

Basket case!!

Finally, finally, finally……..after way too many attempts I finally got to see Green Day live! Previous attempts were thwarted by stupid cancer and stupid covid pandemic. The closer the date came, the more superstitious I found myself getting…… maybe it just wasn’t meant to be?? In the run up to it I was struck down by yet more sinus problems. Those of you lucky enough to have well behaved sinuses may not be aware that covid symptoms largely mirror sinus problem symptoms, so I was more than a little concerned when I developed the sneezing, thick snotty nose blowing and sore throat that always heralds a change in the weather! Yet again, grey clouds overhead became grey clouds inside my head!!  Being a human barometer is no fun at all.

Our plans were big ones due to gig reschedules…… we were going to Belfast, getting a coach to and from Dublin for the Green Day/ Fall Out Boy/Weezer gig, staying in a hotel in Belfast that night and the next night, before catching an early flight to Manchester to stay with my sister and brother-in-law and seeing Crowded House live. Two rescheduled gigs, complex planning and time booked off work to accommodate a fun time!! 

What if I didn’t have sinus issues?? What if I had covid?? I was almost scared to test because I knew a positive result would mean everything would have to be cancelled. Had that been the case, I was worried I’d see it as a bad omen…….a fear compounded by the fact that I haven’t yet received my most recent scan results.

Despite my fears I knew I had to be responsible, just like I’d expect from others. I did a test. Negative. Phew! The next day I did another one. Negative. Phew again!! 

Both gigs were incredible! Green Day we’re definitely worth the wait…… as they played their final song of the night, Good Riddance (the time of your life), I began to cry. I was completely overwhelmed by the song and the fact I was finally getting to see them perform it live. As the final notes were played, flames started soaring up from the stage and fireworks went off, I was a complete mess, but absolutely delighted!! Like an overstimulated child, I cried and laughed and whooped!! Awesome!

Crowded House was a different gig….. a bit quieter, but still emotional.  It’s not too often my sister and I agree on music, so it was fantastic for us and our husbands to attend a gig together, and even better to dance and sing along in the blazing afternoon and evening sunshine in Manchester!

On our return home, I covid tested again. Negative. Hurrah! There are some big things happening in our house, but I’ll save that for when it’s all finished……don’t want to skud it!!  For now, I’ll just keep trying to sort out these damned sinuses, get on with all the stuff that needs doing and hope against hope for speedy and positive scan results.

Thanks Billy Joe and Neil…….you made a wee princess very happy indeed!! Living with…..