birthday present

Well, it was over a month ago (life's been too busy for blogging), but definitely should get a mention here...

Having arranged for The Orchestra That Fell To Earth (former Penguin Cafe Orchestra players) to come and play a secret woodland gig the weekend before the solstice, I needed to find them a harmonium (so they could play "Music For a Found Harmonium" naturally). I put word out in various ways, and one was eventually sourced (from a friend of trombonist Annie Whitehead). But in the meantime, Libby had been looking on eBay and found a bargain on an old harmonium in Faversham. She and Dave presented it to me on my birthday. The one pictured here isn't it, but it's not too far off.

It has no stops, and the bellows need fixing (I need to put aside a day or two for that), but we've checked all the notes and it's perfectly functional and in tune. The fact that I don't even play keyboard instruments makes me no less excited by this present. I'm quite looking forward to experimenting with it, as well as using it for future woodland gigs (so bands with keyboards have something they can work with) and perhaps integrating it into the ensemble Miriam and I have been talking about forming soon...