FORTY PLUS YEARS ON THE FIDDLE

Why this title?

Well, it was inspired by a chap I met about a year ago in our lovely little local pub. We were chatting about our dogs and various other things and we got on to what we do for a living, why Norfolk is such a wonderful place to live and so on.

When I told him I was a violinist by profession, his immediate reaction was "Haha, she's on the fiddle!"

I told him I was going to use it as a book title. Then I realised I was unlikely to ever actually write a book but that a series of articles wasn't an impossibility as after decades of life as a performer I certainly have a few stories to tell.

Then a while back I stumbled across the note I had made and realised then that "Forty Plus Years On The Fiddle" not only had the necessary light-heartedness, but also describes extremely well the feeling that so many of us as performers, or indeed anyone who has reached a high level in a profession feel - that which makes us feel as though we are swindlers, Great Pretenders who have no business doing what we do, let alone being paid good money for it.

I shall save these thoughts and questions for another post sometime, but thus, the name was decided.

I hope there might be some snippets of wisdom or advice; maybe it will provoke the odd thoughtful exchange or even disagreement, but above all I hope it will be a source of enjoyment for the few people who decide it's worth a read.

It's basically a series of reflections, as honest as it can be, about navigating a life in music. Its ups and downs, traps I have fallen into, times I might have considered jacking the whole thing in and the reasons why in the end I just couldn't.

Be gentle with me: I am neither a writer nor a great speaker.

Music is my preferred means of communication always.

But do consider this a personal invitation to join me on this voyage of discovery.