I rarely look forward to birthdays, not because I'm another year older but I am usually more relieved to be at the end of the school year. This year was no different and Friday 22 July was my first free day in a long while. It was also predicted to be one of the busiest days on the roads so I set off early and made it down to Pilgrims before lunch. I met Naomi who was expecting me and she went and got my harp. It was a lovely dark wood, almost a shock as most harps I've seen have been lighter but I was quickly taken with the classy colour. I said I liked it and Naomi seemed relieved. I also have a smart new case with pockets for the legs. Naomi had a quick look over the old harp and gave me the necessary paperwork. Another worker, John, carried the new harp to my car and I asked if it might be possible to have a tour of the workshops, as advised by Anne and Rohan. John happily showed me around and we went into the first room. I saw harps and parts of harps at all stages of construction and John explained quite extensively the various processes from choice of wood (from trees grown at the top of a mountain), to cutting according to how the grain lies (strength one way and flexibility the other) and how the wood is cut then left three years to settle before being used. I saw the mechanism for pedal harps and these instruments have over 1000* seperate parts (* I think I remember this figure correctly but it may get amended if I'm way out). One worker showed the block of wood that is attached to the pillar and shaped and smoothed by hand as machines would not be able to do this sort of delicate work. Some harps were being decorated with intricate carvings, beautiful patterns featuring leaves and animals, again all by hand. There were three rooms with one up some rickety stairs. Some machinery is necessary but much of the work is time consuming and requires a super level of skill so it became much clearer why harps cost as much as they do. There are four main workers at Pilgrims and they are quite busy at the moment so it was good to see a British business doing well. A final room was set aside for restoration had a couple of much older harps waiting for some repair work and Anne's pedal harp that she bought from Rohan will have been through here. John was so welcoming and I was grateful for his time.
After roaming Surrey and Kent for much of the afternoon I went to visit mum's cousin Chris and family in Birchington. After treating me to tea and a birthday cake I treated Chris, Pat and Catherine to the first performance on the new harp playing my grade 2 pieces and The Old Windmill. They were very appreciative asking lots of questions and Chris had a go. His builders hands made some quite nice sounds!
Saturday was spent in Deal with Caroline and Charles, along with Palace Band members Barbara, Margaret, David and Ziggy the dog, all of whom were mentioned during the grade-1-a-thon. I played my latest recital programme which went down well. Mozart's flute and harp concerto was mentioned as Caroline has played this several times with BBC Symphony Orchestra harpist Soined Williams and I let her know my intention to learn the middle (slow) movement, and arrange the orchestral parts for the band. While it was Caroline who jokingly put the idea in my head the seed was sown and she is now coming round to the idea that it could be a reality. Performance date would be November 2012 so I've got a little time to learn it. Last word for today goes to Margaret who quoted a line from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice which reads, "You have delighted us long enough". I take that as a compliment indeed to my playing!
No comments:
Post a Comment