Sunday 31 October 2010

Playing the guitar


Once, my guitar came everywhere with me and sustained quite a few accidents in the process, the most notable being a crack sustained when the bus I was on jammed the brakes on as I was halfway down the stairs from the top deck. I have taken guitars to Spain and Turkey. I have left guitars behind in order to play next time I was there. One of my guitars has taken up residence in the Anatolian Nomadic carpet shop on the harbour in Fethiye, where I taught the owner his first few chords.

That was the last time I ever took a guitar on holiday. My fingers were falling prey to osteoarthritis and it was getting too painful to form a chord.

Nowadays I am limited to playing in certain keys, so as to avoid chords like F Major which I simply can't manage any more. But while I was up in the Lakes, I picked up my sister's guitar and had a go, and was transported back through the years, to when I had a manager and went on tour and was in the verge of a recording contract with Phonogram. (If only...)

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