8th July. We finally met Jaqui and Lawrence in person. They are the couple, resident in Malta, who organised sanity-saving online sessions during lockdown. We ate at Kathleen’s and then played a few tunes. Lawrence played his GDAE-tuned ukulele and Jaqui the harp.
I knew ukes had different kinds of tuning, but I wasn’t expecting GDAE. Lawrence also told me that there is a very good bass ukulele on the market. That caught my attention because one of our musicians had to give up mandolin and guitar as he suffers from multifocal motor neuropathy. (Getting old is a bitch.) He recently said he might be able to play bass guitar. On the assumption that a bass uke would be easier, I sent him the details on Viber. He’ll meet Lawrence tomorrow, who will enlighten him further.
14th July. Well, the session got off to a flying start on Sunday. A big thank-you to the thirteen musicians and their friends who came. It was a truly wonderful experience. I previously emailed participants to inform them that it would be a rare chance to hear a harp played in a session environment. And, indeed, it was special. What was unique, however, was hearing the Greek hammer dulcimer (σαντούρι = sandouri) being played by one of our youngest musicians. Not only did he play with us, but on three or four occasions he introduced the sets and set the rhythm and pace.
Special thanks again to Lawrence and Jaqui who travelled from Malta on Ryanair with a harp! A special medal of courage is deserved for that. With a harp as part of their luggage, it is surprising that Ryanair’s Gestapo ground staff didn’t send them to the passenger cabin in their underwear! Jaqui and Lawrence’s presence really added to the day’s enjoyment.
We seem to have a core of between eleven and fifteen musicians who come to most sessions. More importantly, it is obvious we are a friendly and supportive group. I have also said previously that these sessions would not survive without the support and participation of our Greek musicians to the point that maybe we should call them the “Dubliner Greco-Irish Sessions!! Sunday was a little different, though. For the first time, there were more non-Greeks than Greeks (7 to 6). It was the first time, too, that we had more than two Irish citizens. There were four of us!
A session cannot thrive without a home. We have found the ideal home in the Dubliner. From experience I know that most bar owners “tolerate” a session. They might occasionally treat the players to a drink, but they don’t come round with shots (σφηνάκια) for the musicians and other customers the way Ken did. So, a big thank-you to Ken for his continuing support.
We are taking a break in August. Our next session will be at 4:30pm on Sunday, 11th September.
Finally, here is a flavour of Sunday’s session: https://fb.watch/edbp6WTKIE/