Here it is! The first FiddleBop newsletter since July 2019! A surprise, we’re sure! And we hope that it is a good one.

So… after a gap of nearly two years, how have you been? Whatever your story, here’s hoping that things have been OK for you. And that right now, you are well and happy.

OK. Maybe you’re not exactly thriving, and maybe you’re not exactly riotously mirthful (tho’ we’re pleased if you are). Because who is feeling great and who is doing brilliantly right now? (Excuse me while I turn off the lights and write this in the dark to save electricity. Also so that I can avert my eyes from UK and world news…).

Enough gloom! Let’s catch up with the FiddleBop news.

And you’ll surely recall that FiddleBop version 1 — very sadly — came to an end shortly after we moved to Wales. Boo-hoo!

Yet just as the glorious phoenix rises from its own ashes, FiddleBop version 2 arose! Glittering in the sun and better than ever! Still comprising Jo and Dave, but now with keyboard wizard Paul Stevens and superb fretless bassist Graeme Lamble. (Don’t worry if you can’t remember all this. We won’t be testing you.)

So FiddleBop v2 got ready. We built up our new repertoire, got to know each other better, then did some local gigs and began work on a recording. All was looking good. And then along came Covid!!!.

We in FiddleBop all survived, which is the main thing. But the recording which we had started (in the very capable hands of friend Baze) ground to a locked-down halt. And – of course – we could not do any gigs. Which is a problem for an improvising band like FiddleBop, which thrives and grows from the excitement and interaction of live performances. So whenever we safely could, we kept our spirits up with the occasional socially-distanced practice. Some indoors and some outdoors, amongst those glorious green hills that I mentioned earlier. One of the best things about living here!

Also it was time for some musical rethinking. Nothing too profound! But some thoughts re what could we categorise ourselves as? (“Gypsy jazz-folk” maybe? Hah, too clumsy probably! Got any ideas?) And more thoughts (my head hurts!) about the future musical directions for FiddleBop. There was time too, to patch up some of our battered, much-gigged equipment. And to tinker with the FiddleBop website. Like it?

Jo and Dave started learning Welsh, too. Dyn ni’n mwynhau dysgu Cymraeg, ond mae hi’n yn araf…

Oh, and Dave cheered himself up by getting a new fiddle. Well, not exactly new. This is the acoustic violin (German?) that Dave had played for many years, as far back as the Rollright Stones and Mortlock and Underwood. (This fiddle has had a hard life. The neck fell off it once: fellow fiddler Chris Leslie very kindly glued it back on.) During lockdown, Richard (“Titch”) from Sonic Violins converted this violin to an electric instrument. All done in a socially-distanced way, using emails and delivery services! Dave is very happy with his new toy.

So eventually, at last, in late summer 2021 we were once again able to play a few gigs. Yaaay! What a relief!

Later in the year, Paul the keyboard had his beard (an impressive one, grown throughout lockdown) and his hair shaved for charity. Take a look at the video! Then came the winter, and the resurgence of Covid. We all hunkered down again — Paul feeling a bit chilly, minus hair — and waited for spring.

And here we are now, in April 2022, once more crawling out from under our stone! We’ve moved on with our recording so expect to hear more about that “real soon now”. In the next FiddleBop newsletter, probably.

Right now our calendar holds three festival gigs for FiddleBop during the coming summer: one (almost) in Wales, two in England.

If you can get get to Hay-on-Wye, Herefordshire, on Thursday 2 June, we are playing at 5.15 pm on The Stage venue in the “HowTheLightGetsIn” festival. This is “the world’s largest Music and Philosophy Festival on the idyllic bank of the River Wye”. World-class speakers and great music (including FiddleBop!) make this a fascinating weekend, one that you won’t forget. So why not treat yourself and come along? Festival tickets are available here.

Next in line, on Saturday 11 June, is the “Party in the Park” Festival in Adderbury, Oxfordshire. FiddleBop are playing at 7.30 pm in the Acoustic Tent. We’ve played here before, a couple of times, with FiddleBop v1. Always a great atmosphere and some really good music too! “Party in the Park” starts at 1.30 pm. Adult tickets are £15 (£20 on the day), age 5-16 are £8, under 5s are free. See you there?

And our third festival this year – so far, anyway – is Hook Norton’s “Music at the Crossroads” on Sunday 3 July. We love playing “jazz with Gypsy zing” at MAC! We’ve made music here many times over the years (again, with FiddleBop v1) and it has always been oodles of fun! This year, for the first time, there is an “acoustic day” on the Sunday, which is free entry. And Pete Watkins has some fine music planned! FiddleBop are on stage at 2 pm. We’d love to see you at MAC 2022!

Finally, if you are nearer the Welsh end of things, you might be interested in FiddleBop’s occasional experimental mini-gigs (or should that be “public practices”?) in the back room of the Brecon Tap pub. (Which is in Brecon: yes, you guessed it!) So far, we haven’t publicised these, but in future, look out for details on FiddleBop’s Facebook page.

Thank you! And OK, that’s the lot for now. Stay well, and all the best! And don’t get too gloomy:

“Receive what cheer you may; the night is long that never finds the day.” (Will Shakespeare: Macbeth)

Dave

“Many millions have been grateful to know what Jesus and his family went through – what Ukrainian refugees now endure. God PERMITS the Herods and the Putins victories only to bring a greater good.

“No Anxiety” – that does not mean ‘Be Stoic’ – no feeling. It means enduring the feeling and the sense of panic, like anyone in danger but never surrendering. Finding ways to combat the panic. Joseph is the obvious example here. He was sitting pretty. All the anxieties about how to deal with a miraculous conception behind him, he had a home with Mary installed, her parents nearby, all set for the coming of the child.

“He never knew that a Dictator some 2000 miles away had sent orders about a “Poll Tax”! Joseph and Mary had to get down fast to Bethlehem or the soldiers would want to know why. All Joseph’s peace was shattered – Jesus born more or less in a ditch, like a tinker’s child. Then the order came not to go home but to become an overnight refugee in a desert and another country. To find a job and lodgings. Sounds familiar?
To say “Don’t Worry” to Joseph would have been stupid and callous.

“Since then many millions have been grateful to know what Jesus and his family had gone through – what Ukrainian refugees are now enduring. But “No Anxiety” means awareness that God PERMITS the Herods (and the Putins) victories only to bring about a greater good – even in this life – and most certainly in the ‘FOREVER LIFE’ to which the only condition is “Were you kind to anybody in need”?

“We face the possibility of war – and a likely financial collapse, where people in your neighbourhood could have to choose between food or heat. Covid hasn’t gone away.

“Was Christ anxious? As we approach Holy Week, ponder on the suffering Christ, who died on the Cross and rose in triumph.
Hang on to the fact of the Resurrection.”

YouTube courtesy of John Petters (Drums), Richard Exall (Clarinet, Sax),
Pete Rudeforth (Trumpet), Keith Donald (Bass), plus Ace Harlem Stride Pianist, Dave Browning.