Back to School

Wow!    Back in college after seven weeks away - and at 66 and a half today too. I’m happy to say that all is now familiar here now and I have some idea of what’s ahead for the next three months or so.    This is in contrast to the first semester where, for the first two months I floated about the place, enjoying every minute though not realising that I should be relying on more than just my memory for assignments that seemed to sneak up on me. If it wasn’t for the fact that I make up half of the cohort on the course - and that our course director, Carl Corcoran, is such a fine and supportive gentleman - I might well have baled out in mid-November.    I just felt that I wasn’t cut out to be an academic.    After a very dark weekend, I rearranged my thinking and decided that I could only do my best and that regardless of whether or not I end up with a certificate at the end of the year, there was a lot to be gained. Last week, when I to...

I’ve probably said it before but it’s worth saying again.   Children are a buskers best friend   They have a curiosity and an interest in what’s going on around them that fades with many as they get used to the work, eat, sleep, buy stuff at the weekend routine of being a ‘grown up’.   Buskers are often the first experience that kids have with art in a live situation.   They don’t judge by ‘what’s cool’ and openly show appreciation.   The Market Tent and  Brian blowing This weekend, after the ravages of ‘ex-hurricane’ Ophelia and with the imminent arrival of storm Brian, I wondered if I’d get any busking done at all. Since moving to Limerick, the weather has generally not been so good for playing on the street and many planned busking sessions had to be called off - or at least cut short. I’d heard that they allowed busking at Limerick’s Milk Market and that Saturday was the really busy day and so, on Friday, I called in to speak with the ma...

Wednesday is usually a busy one with a songwriter spending the day with us discussing their approach, playing some songs and us in turn playing some of ours - some finished songs and also perhaps something we’re working on or maybe starting on something from scratch.   Having had a visit earlier in the week from Chris Wood, and with the visit on Thursday from Jake Clemons, we had a free day this Wednesday. I did go in for a couple of hours and went to a workshop on critical writing and after that, thought about trying out another pitch for busking - between the college and home.   Not good.  When I pulled into the car park, there was a very loud continuous noise which turned out to be emanating from a generator outside the chip shop.  There were still many power outages following the hurricane Ophelia. I checked the weather forecast for Killaloe - about 12 miles the other side of where I’m staying and it looked okay so, after stopping by the house f...

From my point of view There’s a small shopping centre just up the road from where I’m staying while in college.   I’d been in Limerick for a couple of weeks when I first came across it and, as I was on the way back from busking somewhere else, I just pulled in to have a look at it to see if it looked like it would be a potential busking site. I called into the butcher shop - butchers usually know everything about everything and I asked if anybody busked there.   They said they’d never seen anybody - just in the city centre.   I asked if they’d mind if I tried playing outside their shop some evening after college and they said they’d be delighted if I did, ‘It’d bring a bit of life to the place’ A few days later, I went there again, with my guitar and, of course my friendly dog.   It was just before six in the evening and on a Wednesday so probably not the busiest day of the week. At first, I felt a little self conscious about singing where appar...

My year in college began on the 4th of September and my busking in Limerick got off to a very slow start, mainly for two reasons.  Firstly, finding suitable places for me to play - quiet streets with a reasonable footfall and a good acoustic, and with parking not too far away - takes a bit of research.  I don’t mind walking but nowadays Clara’s hip problem is much worse and anything more than a few hundred yards is out of the question.  Secondly, while September in Ireland is often among the best months of the year weather-wise, somebody must have forgotten to remind it this year and we’ve had a phenomenal amount of rain. I’m hoping that October through to next July will be better. Today was one of the sunniest days since I arrived and around noon, I went to a small shopping centre where, since finding it - only about a kilometre out from my Limerick accommodation - I’ve been welcomed by the shop-keepers and their customers, with smiles, positive comments as we...