Catching Up……..

I have tried to write a post about the pandemic many times over the past few of months but every time it has turned into an almighty rant. I have been absolutely dismayed by the world’s response as a whole. From mismanagement by government leaders to members of the public declaring the whole thing a hoax. It is absolutely staggering to me that people are talking of their civil liberties being taken from them and refusing to wear a something simple as a damn mask in public places. Some countries like New Zealand and Vietnam have managed to get the virus under control but countries like the US and the UK (my country) are currently showing record numbers of daily cases and are waiting too long to take appropriate action. I appreciate the effects that lockdowns have on the economy especially in the short term but if the UK had controlled the virus early on, our economy would have had the chance to recover now. The UK government has wasted £10bn on a private track and trace system which has been shown to be useless when they could have used the infrastructure of the NHS already in place. This wasted money could have been used to support people and businesses through an extended lockdown and we wouldn’t be in this mess. The delays in controlling the number of infections has created the opportunity for the virus to mutate into a more infectious form making it even more difficult to control. Ok rant over!

On to more pleasant things. I started to have piano lessons again in July and have progressed well. It turns out that consistent practice really does pay off. I am going to take my ABRSM Grade 5 exam at Easter (pandemic allowing). I managed to sell almost all of my reborning kits which gave me enough money to invest in a lovely Yamaha U1 piano which is my pride and joy. I still find sitting at the piano uncomfortable but I’ve learned to pace myself and split my practice up. My main weakness is sight-reading; I hate it with a passion. I can’t bear to hear mistakes in music and no one sight-reads perfectly. I’ve got 3 months to improve the situation.

I’ve always doubted my ability to progress beyond Grade 4 but if the past few months have shown me anything it’s that I can do anything I want to as long as I set my mind to it. I’ve always loved Chopin’s posthumous nocturne in C# minor but never thought I’d be able to play it. I still can’t play it as it should be played but I can fudge my way through the first third of it; even managing to play triplets over quavers (for those of you musically minded). This has shown me that with perseverance many more pieces are open to me. I didn’t realise just how much I missed my music until I got it back.