I agree! Even a sharp pencil makes me go ARGGGH!!! A nice soft pencil will do the trick!

Aarrgh! Why do people keep asking me questions that they should know the answers to themselves?

I've enough to do to answer my own questions about life, the universe and everything.

Just seen this, heslop1. I do hope your sister is OK now.

Hope all is well

My music teacher teaches from his house in the UK. During the school holiday (i.e. not teaching time), he has a house abroad that he lives in.

I have just had an email from him. To say he is moving to that house abroad. Now. This afternoon. For the foreseeable future

He apologises profusely, says that no exam entries have been made, but his wife (piano teacher and exam accompanist and, by inference, not moving abroad this afternoon) may be able to help anyone who wants to enter (closing date for this term is Friday).


So...
i) oh no, really sad. I assume the circumstances to be something pretty dreadful, so I'm sorry for whatever those circumstances are (it's not specified in the email, beyond 'personal cicumstances'; I wouldn't ask, and I wouldn't share here even if I did know!)
ii) what do I do about G7 that I was going to do this term? I will probably talk to his wife later in the week - see if she'll be available for some rehearsals or alternatively if nobody else is entering for anything and there will be no exam session in which case obviously I won't bother.
iii) argh argh argh argh argh so now I need to find a real recorder teacher again...was so hard last time.
iv) need to keep playing music anyway, my piece for Egham is one of my putative G7 pieces, but can't see me being in the mood this afternoon (at least Egham is a few weeks away...gives me time to have a trough and then get back in gear!)

Filling in HMRC self assessment on-line. Poorly designed software. Broken links. Misconnected links. Some features seem permanently directed to a "sorry this service is currently unavailable" page (and have been for several years, in my experience). Lots of boxes for you to enter what you owe them but nothing at all to claim what they owe you (e.g. tax overpaid in previous years)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHH!

My impression is that if you messed them around this much they would fine you!

Sorry to hear this Maizie - I know how upsetting it can be. Sonny Jim's guitar teacher did this sort of thing, but with a little more notice - and he left his wife (and small child) behind too. Took a while to get over it.

Dad(91) in hospital. But hopefully nothing too serious

Wishing your dad a speedy recovery, fsharpminor.



Sympathies to you, Maizie. It is a nightmare being forced to change teachers when you don't want to. I hope you are able to find someone soon.

Poor Aged P was burgled a couple of nights ago - thankfully only things from an outside shed rather than the house, but not what an 83 year old needs...

Then he found out this morning that a good friend of his was found dead yesterday - a seemingly very 'young' and fit 70-something..

Oh dear how awful!!!

Burglaries are very distressing in many ways



My Aaaaaaggghh is just health related and a complete nuisance although the GOOD news is that my MRI showed nothing serious. Don't know whether to laugh or cry

Two not nice things

I have a very low opinion of burglars. If it's not yours, leave it alone

Really sorry to hear that Maizie. Very strange though. Strange he's leaving his wife behind. If it's ABRSM exams I think the entry date was last Friday, though I might be wrong.

F# & Cyrilla - very sorry to hear about your dads.

TG exams - so entry date varies by centre Our centre is this Friday.
I'm almost certainly decided not to enter - though I might still just hold out to talk to accompanist/teacher's wife tomorrow, just on the off chance she has any news (such as 'oh, he does this every five years or so, he'll be back next month'. Yes, ludicrously unlikely, but still...) To be honest, I think without someone to help me polish, force me to sightread, teach me how to identify a modulation to the subdominant minor, etc, it's probably not going to work out. But there will be other chances - that's the main thing, if I don't take this exam Right Now, it's really not a problem - other exams, other exam sessions, time will bring other chances.

Mostly now I'm just trying to work out the social niceties - I'm going to reply to my teacher's email, just once I've worked out what to say. Essentially I just want to say "all the best, don't forget me if you do return to teaching in the UK ever!" but I've just got to work out how to word it - you know, do I ignore what's going on or make any reference to it?
I'm also wondering slightly about payment. I pay half-termly, at the end of the half term. So I owe for the two lessons I've had this term. I pay by bank transfer. So, do I just send a transfer? Do I wait for an invoice? If I send an email, do I mention the money - and if so, how, because if I say "shall I wait for an invoice?" it sounds like I'm querying whether or not I have to pay. And I'm happy to pay.
Of course, whatever has happened to make someone move countries in a hurry probably puts doing invoices at the bottom of their list...

Last night I didn't practise, was feeling very unsettled (didn't help that my mother phoned in the evening with some slightly unsettling news that isn't really unsettiling but not what was needed when already unsettled. Then I had to phone my father and ask him to phone my mother so she could brighten his day as well!!)
Just as I was going to bed, I glanced at the music stand (it's in the bedroom) and there was The English Nightingale staring back at me. I got very angry (not at teacher, just at life in general), on the grounds that here I am, learning The English Nightingale (OK, it's hardly the pinnacle of achievement, but it's fairly iconic in the recorder world!), and nobody is going to be forced to listen to it So I decided that I will continue to work on it, record it and see how I'm doing, and when I am feeling happy, I shall force my husband to listen to it And possibly some people at Egham in the social bit in the morning may find themselves forced to admire me

Anyway I've had a potentially Very Helpful PM with some Good Ideas in it

Sorry that's all very long but very useful to get it written down and out of my head - thank you forum for having this thread



me too

Oh Maize, that is such a shame. I've been really enjoying reading about your growing enthusiam and confidence over the time you've been working with this teacher. It does sound as if something quite drastic has occured for him to move so quickly.

As it is obviously something that is bothering you it's probably best to ask about the money you owe - checking that given his changed circumstances he wants it paid into the bank account you've paid it to before is a valid question.

It might also be worth asking him for advice about other teachers he'd recommend, or if he might be in a position to continue to give you guidance over Skype?

I'm sure your natural determination will see you through this set-back. See it as the start of the next chapter in your recorder adventure.

Just heard that Dad is released from hospital this afternoon, I will visit him tonight at home.
Thanks for your good wishes.

Good news!

very good news

Have just come downstairs after screaming myself hoarse at 9 year old daughter who refuses to pick anything up in her room and is happy just wading through the piles of clothes, books, CDs, hair things etc etc. Just poured myself a glass of red wine and am going to put feet up and hopefully find something to watch on TV. (after finishing with daughter had to threaten son2 if he doesn't want same treatment he needs to pick things up in morning). Why can't children co-operate? I refuse to be their slave. Then when, as inevitably happens, they can't find something and its another screaming session. Wine will help, off I go..!

Aaargh people getting annoyed with me for things that aren't my fault, and agreeing to me being helpful then getting at me for doing so.

As for the girl who decided to assert her authority for no other reason than to assert her authority - had she crossed me once more I'd have pointed out that whilst she may be a slightly higher level leader than me, she would have just left the group itself when I started leading it (she was never part of it but still...) I was not impressed!

Then my brother signals at the end of the session to let me know my dad was outside, I nodded back and he did it again, resulting in me having to fight through a massive pile of parents/children/leaders, just to go outside and point out the obvious - I can't really leave when there's still a room full of children to see off!!

Too many people have got on the wrong side of me tonight, and I'm that tired that I don't really have a right side any more!

Aaaand breathe!

Families. grrrrrrr.



Fed up of them.

Dr says words like "worry" and "refer", but have been offered appointment 2 months away. Anything could happen in that time!

Now I'm not normally given to 'brooding' and I'm normally a very laid-back person but I'm still grumbling and sulking angrily about last night's family event.

Going for an energetic stomp with the dogs now to see if it will blow the cobwebs away or I'm going to end up turning this particularly unpleasant mole-hill into a mountain of resentment. Grrrrr

Life is too short

Hope you're okay, inigo - it's not good to have health concerns hanging over you like that.

Thanks, I've decided to believe that this means it's not important. If it was I'd be seen sooner.

If you're in doubt ask your gp if that appointment is ok, or should it be earlier.

On the other hand, when I needed something doing quickly, it did all happen rather quickly - so I think you're probably right.

hmmm I don't know whether or not to sell my Triumph Stag for an XJ-S or XJ12, I fancied a V12 Jag for a long time... So...

This -

OR something like this -

Nope, prefer the stag!!

Me Too !

Back from Tesco, unloading. Plastic bag broke, bottle of quality claret smashed over drive
Bends down to pick out biggest pieces of glass. Cuts the vey end of right index finger, bleeds profusely. No piAno today.

hehe I love my Stag too ... I'm craving another Jag so much at the moment though, in reality I can see the Stag staying.

In the words of my mum "the world could be falling apart but it's OK, if your behind the wheel of an E-type!" We were talking about finances etc. I was saying my partner is sensible and she was saying I'm (like my parents) the opposite - hence the comment about the E (my favourite car).

There is no feeling in the world like the feeling you get driving a real luxury car around, lording it up in your own little palace, whilst bankrupting yourself over the cost of running it! Hahaha, spent my teenage years driving Porsches that ... I couldn't really afford...



- hope you are better soon.

I'm going off out to work on one of the cars now the Land Rover has gone to a new home

I had a similar feeling, but for only 1 month between seeing a doctor and having a scan. The Doctor said she was not worried, so I believed her. It's a horrible time, but if it doesn't affect your day to day routine, then you can live with it.

I hope it's nothing

Been there (wine, driveway, finger, the lot....)

Started studying at 11am, it's been a productive day and I've enjoyed it but it's 7pm on saturday night and I'm on campus. EUUUURGHHHHH still got stuff to do!

Hope you will be better soon, f#minor!

At ELCC, I got LADEN by the first clarinet part (I skipped the schehe remix altogether ) Nearly broke clarinet by nearly knocking it over (which has NEVER happened to me before!), had a paper cut, music stand won't fold... clarinet thumb rest came off in the middle of a piece.... (Rach123 knows!) And that's just today! ARGGGGGHHHHHHHH But APART from all of that I'm okay... and it was a good (musical) day!

I am sure you managed to play the first clarinet part brilliantly!

Sorry I didn't get to say hi.

I think it would have involved a good deal of spectator sport for me.

Looked at Louise's 1st clarinet pad : you'd have been fine on the vast majority of it, sbhoa - it was much easier than last year's Manchester pad. There was just the one work with extreme notes.

Poor f#m .

For me - the struggle of trying to teach when feeling distinctly under the weather, and having a group being spectacularly dense when I had Quite An Important Person watching lessons today . Fortunately the last group made up for this previous one...

Hope you can relax and recover today Cyrilla.

Not withstanding the above, glad you had a good day VCQ : was good to meet you!

Sadly, no - BKA Trustees' meeting all day - and I'm late...

*scoots*

Hope you get to play your piano soon f#minor

VCQ, there were a few people leaving clarinets standing up but not on a stand sorry that I didn't get to say hello as well.

I managed ok on 1st sbhoa apart from a couple of twiddly bits and a nasty bit in the last piece, you'd have been fine. The Schehe-remix took me a while to count it, swapping from 3/4 to 2/4 to 4/4 on numerous occasions but the majority of the rest I could either play or would be able to play without too much more practice

I don't even know where to start on the saga of the last 24 hours. I got locked out last night. I had nothing on me - just the clothes I was wearing, and fortunately my slippers. Adventures ensue. It took 18 hours before I could get in again. I had a load of friends who were over to celebrate my birthday, and had to walk up to the restaurant in my slippers. I had to sleep at my grandparents, who live 40 mins away. The locksmith wanted to drill out the lock. The letting agency wouldn't give me the spare key. The landlord had to come to my rescue today.

I'm just glad its all over! Have a rotten tension headache now, and am ready to turn into a sobbing heap at any second, despite maintaining my sense of humour and not loosing my temper over the whole palava. It all seems a bit of a blur.

It's over with now, Misti. Have a deep breath, a cup of tea, a chocolate biscuit and a good cry. You'll feel better for it, I promise. And if you want something to help you smile your way out of the doldrums, on the one occasion I managed to lock myself out all I was wearing was a short coat and a pair of high heels

Ouch. Best thing as noted, deep breath, cup of whatever you fancy, favourite choccie bic and f o r g e t about it. There's no point in getting over wrought - it's happened and it's now fortunately over and resolved, and in the past.

If it's any consolation as a gauche teenager, in mixed (much) older company I had a malapropism and used the word "e r o t i c" and "angle" instead of "exotic angle" I really wanted the ground to open up

Feeling much better now. Opened all my birthday cards and presents, and caught up on some of the sleep I skipped last night. I think I was just over-tired.

Think I might make myself some fairy cakes now, and put up all my cards, so I can start feeling properly birthdayish. As one of my friends said, at least this one will be memorable!

Glad to hear you're recovering. Apart from the oops, have a very happy birthday

Fell in a bog on walk in the snow on Dartmoor today - now waiting for the water to warm up enough for me to shower to remove bog from my person, and then from my expensive walking boots (they're allowed to "leak" when the water comes in through the same hole as my feet).

Hoping the shower poltergeist will have the decency to grant me two warmish showers in 1 day, preferably without being near boiling - according to the plumber there should be "no" hot water with the boiler thermostat where it is, but it's 45/45/10 whether you get boiling, freezing or more or less ok, so new thermostat on order!

Worse thing was, the snow wasn't bad enough to be an excuse for misjudging my step over the bog - felt where I was putting my foot down, thought it felt "ok" then sunk to mid thigh on that food. Managed to dive forward to faceplant on solid ground with the rest of me though, so no "stuck in the mud" drama, just cold, wet feet and legs (and about 3 miles still to walk before getting back to car!)