Monthly Roundup #30 - August '20

Welcome to August’s roundup! For the most part, it was some time off for my wife and I over the school summer holidays, but there were a few drumming things thrown in for good measure, of course - the most exciting of which was a return to live music and performing alongside other musicians for the first time since March, which was obviously a big highlight for me! I’ll fill you in on that - and the rest - below…

Despite it being the school summer holidays, there was a little bit of teaching going on to bridge the gap to September for those students who wanted to, although as mentioned, for the most part it was a bit of time off for my wife and I, which was wonderful, of course! I have been starting to plan my return to schools a little over the last few weeks, although I suspect I’ll have to play it by ear with how each school gets on once all their students are back in! My plan is to carry on doing the online lessons for September, giving the schools a chance to figure it all out, and I’m then hoping to return to visiting my schools in person from October… Watch this space!

How I was likely to be found enjoying the summer break!

Of course, we also had our virtual drum hang to look forward to! Since lockdown hit we’ve been doing it fortnightly (to keep us occupied while we were all cooped up at home!), but as things are relaxing and life gradually gets busier, we’ll be retuning to doing it monthly - generally the last Tuesday of the month, for anyone who might be interested! We’re also hoping that before too long we can gather together in larger numbers (relatively speaking!) again, as while doing it virtually has served a purpose, it’s wondering when we can all get together and bring things along to discuss over a cuppa! Again, watch this space for further updates, and hopefully before too long we’ll be able to get back to meeting in person!

A few of us catching up online for our virtual drum hang

Drumming-wise, the main highlight of the month for me was my return to live music - hurrah!! It marked the first time since early March for me, so it had been a very long break indeed! The occasion was a friend’s wedding, which was taking place in Tuscany - very nice! He’s a bassist from my area who has gone on to do wonderful things, and he had Tom Fitzpatrick (and co!) providing the evening entertainment. Ordinarily it’s his gig, so needless to say there were a few changes to the band lineup, but we were all folks who had played together plenty of times before - with the exception of the local, Italian string quartet who joined us for the first few tunes of the night, having done a fine job playing through the ceremony and some of the reception. With many of the wedding guests being fellow musicians too, there was such a great vibe for the evening, as it seemed that everyone had truly missed live music! Needless to say, I loved the whole experience and it really made me realise how much I had missed performing with other musicians. Fingers crossed that it won’t be too much longer before my next opportunity to go out and play again. There’s still a mighty long way to go before things resemble anything like “normal” in the world of gigs and shows etc, but it was so good to blow away the cobwebs and play with fellow musicians once again!

A still from the first dance, complete with strings!

That’s all for August with it being a fairly quiet month drumming-wise, but I’ll be getting back into more of a routine as term time starts in September with the online teaching returning, getting more practice done again, and making the most of the remaining down-time before I get back to schools by chipping away at my to-do list a little more! It’s been a lovely month to take some time out though and spend some quality time with my wife (who’s been much busier than I since lockdown etc!), so it was a well earned break for her, at least! Thanks again for checking in and catch you next time! All the best, Ed.