TODAY'S UPDATE is to thank everyone who has responded to my request for unwanted guitars. The Fenland Citizen and the Wisbech Standard were good enough to publish my letter, and I have spent the last few days motoring around Fenland picking up instruments from some really generous people.
I have been busy re-stringing,polishing, adjusting and repairing where necessary, and we now have enough instruments not only to run the classes at the Rosmini Centre, but to loan instruments out to youngsters so that they can practice between lessons.
I made this point in my letters to the papers, but will emphasise it again now. These lessons are open to any young person, no matter what their personal circumstances are, or where in the world they come from. All we are asking is that they are willing to learn and work hard at acquiring a valuable musical skill.
THE INSTRUMENTS WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN range from cheap, cheerful but playable guitars, to a really beautiful Brazilian Di Giorgio from the 1970s with a wonderful bookmatched back. For the uninitiated, this is where a piece of wood is split down the middle, and the two halves opened out beside each other so that the grain gives a mirror-image appearance. How lovely is this just to look at, never mind the warmth of the sound?
The gentleman who gave us this guitar also provided a real 'lump in the throat moment'. He had been a musician all his life, but as he showed me his hands, gnarled and lumpy with arthritis, he said, "I can't play it any more, but I'd be delighted if someone else could."
IF ANYONE HAS ANY FURTHER HELP TO OFFER, or wants their child to be considered for lessons, these are the contacts. The Youth Worker at the Centre is Daina Zagurskiene, and her email is dainazagurskiene.rcw@gmail.com
The Centre phone number is 01945 474 422
