Sunday 6 October 2013

Autumn in Edinburgh - Guitar and Squash

Thistle Street, Edinburgh
Super audience on Friday night at the Waverley Sports Club for my concert. The room is lovely, with one wall a panoramic window overlooking the tennis courts. There are comfy sofas and with the curtains pulled and snazzy lighting effects it make a brilliant venue. Thank you to Dave Ferguson for organising it, to the great volunteers who dispensed pizza during the interval and after, and to that lovely audience for coming  and making it such a convivial and rewarding occasion. Someone requested Recuerdos del L'Alhambra as an encore (which is not a piece I was expecting to play) and I am pleased with how that went. It is the piece I use as a barometer of how I'm progressing with my levels of technique and control, so to me it has connotations of 'a test'. It is  interesting to be asked to perform it - I found that unexpected things had happened to the way I play it. There's a big difference to how you play when you are practising - even when you try to do a 'test performance' - and how you play when an audience is listening. I had a wonderful time. I wish I'd thought to organise a photo or two to share but I didn't.
The squash is slightly more tragic however. I have pulled a muscle or twisted a ligament or whatever and the calf pain from that means I haven't been able to play until today. Today I am going to have a go (if the team needs me) so wish me luck. (Good luck, me). I am sure that the pleasant evening I spent last night out and about in Edinburgh will have helped!