mandolin-george

This is one of my prize possessions.

A rare steel resonator mandola -

one of only 150 made in the world by

this company formerly based in England who have now moved to New Zealand

Thanks to Elham for the opportunity of seeing Marcel Khalife play live with his sons at the Beiteddine Festival last August

This year promises to be a good one – the 25th anniversary year

Check it out – what a stunning location!

http://www.beiteddine.org/Festivals2010/

the latest addition on the “tsiftitelli” range – 11 strings of unfretted delight. Wish I hadn’t left it in Lebanon!

see you there – usual spot – in the corner of the magic tent (you know the one I mean)

I should have been devastated on that warm afternoon I stepped out of the conservatory balancing my A5 on  chair loaded with strings, pliers cutters, straw hat, radio  and a cold drink to enjoy a warm sunny afternoon as I restrung my mandolin prior to our planned recording session. The sound of wood hitting stone and the slow motion replay of the fingerboard parting company with the body after all these years was accompanied with a serene sense of acceptability and inevitability. It’s possible demise opened up new possibilities as I stood at the crossroads musically, developmentally and geographically  (more another time)

After a long break – finally back online – a new start in 2010 – from 1 September onwards there will be more music, pictures and video from around the world over one calendar year