Moods of the Moment - elation and blazing anger

On Tuesday Richard and I entertained a group of 40 members of the all women J-Club in Annan with our 'Introduction to the Music and Instruments of the Renaissance' show - using our large collection of early instruments and our repertoire of 16th century music, dressed for the part in all our finery. These evenings remind me of how much we and our audiences enjoy the sharing of our interest/obsession with Renaissance arts - our audience could not have been more attentive or enthusiastic and I like to think that we rose to the occasion with our performance. Certainly the Q & A afterwards was prolonged and focussed. Every year amongst the castles and stately homes we do two or three shows for groups like the J-Club - and lately I've done writing workshops for similar groups  - people who consider themselves to be 'ordinary' but on the contrary, I think they are extraordinary, mostly in the second half of their lives, they maintain an interest in life outside their homes and in the people around them, love to discover things they haven't experienced before and continue to be curious about life and learning. They are such a resource in any community.

One lady in our Tuesday audience approached me after the show and asked might I consider returning to give a history lesson on James IV because she'd no knowledge of this best of renaissance kings - she might well have been in her seventies.

our local community group is restoring the Bowling Green hut

I feel this is somehow connected to my blazing anger about all the talk about closing, combining or restricting museum, gallery and particularly, library hours as a gesture towards the local economy - please use the link below to hear  a masterly exposition on the place of profit in education by writer Philip Pullman and if you agree with him, make sure your MP, MSP and local councillors know what you think. This government shows every sign of caving in under public pressure - eg: today's abandonment of the plan to sell off  large parts of England's forests - so if we all push..... 

Don't forget World Book Night is on Saturday 5th March. The Ewart Library in Dumfries is celebrating with a party from 5.00 -7.00 pm with a series of short readings, a musical break and a great give-away of books - those reading will be Rab Wilson, Gwen Kirkwood, Giancarlo Rinaldi and me - it's a great chance to celebrate your library, writers and the place that books continue to have in our lives.  See you there !