hetty

melodeon player of some thirty years standing living in Gloucestershire where I run a barn dance/ceilidh band with my wife and old friend who is a Scotsman heavily into Irish music.
Started playing for Morris dancing then English dance music with a few Irish tunes in the repertoire but over years the Irish content and influence has grown greatly. My daughter has stopped dancing Irish because of her knees and no longer rides a Conemarra pony ( called Guiness). She then had an Irish sports horse called Donald (registered name being Rafferty II) which has now been sold. She delights in telling people that Michael McGoldrick is her favourite musician.
Although play D/G box mainly I now have a de-clubbed Hohner with 4 extra buttons giving me useful accidentals; a Hohner C/C# and a Paolo Soprani B/C/C#. Something to get my teeth into in ‘me old age’. Progress is being made and it is very effective especially with airs. Learning to play the B/C/C# has, I am sure, helped to develop skills on the D/G.