Much excitement today; in the middle of the festival we popped off to Devon Strings Workshop to collect Anna’s cello, henceforth to be known as Klaudia, which I hope is a German enough name!
Anna didn’t really need good luck yesterday. Steve dumped her at the door and drove off, as he couldn’t park anywhere (also unsurprising!), so she sorted herself out, and got on fine.
She came home with three lots of homework – one of which is going to test her as it’s revising a whole load of science that she hasn’t done, but no matter!
She also arrived back with a planner full of days to remember instruments; Wind Orchestra one day, String Chamber Orchestra another – and a couple more groups besides. Thinking about it, she hasn’t mentioned choir yet! I suspect all of these groups have lots more pupils in them, and aren’t just a mish-mash of other random instrumentalists who happen to be in the school 
The friend she made yesterday apparently is also taking Grade 6 piano soon so at dinnertime they went and practised together.
All of these things are exactly the reasons we wanted to make a change, so Steve and I are happy. She got home and whipped through homework and music practice so that she could go out to the local youth club, where she still sees most of her best friends from Pinhoe, so I think she was happy too 
A post about love for Valentine’s Day. Worryingly there’s a gender change involved here, so let’s not take it too far!!
Jim is Anna’s 3/4 size cello. Over the past couple of years (she insisted it was longer but I only picked up the cello in July 07, I know because I blogged it!) she has obviously spent quite some time with this cello and become very emotionally attached to it! So much so that she wanted to keep it when she moved up to a full size, but I said no, and callously sold it before she’d even finished with it!! No, seriously, it is going to a good home with the Puddles tomorrow so she’s happy really.
As an aside – is it odd to name one’s instruments? I thought so, but on questioning a few of the kids at orchestra it seems quite common! The most amusing one I’ve discovered so far is a bass clarinet named U-bend
Anyway. Anna’s new cello is over 100 years old, German, and was totally beaten up when we first bought it. I should have taken a photo but I forgot. It had a couple of really big cracks on each side at the front, a lot of the edging around the body was missing, the pegs (and holes) needed replacing – and so the list went on!
Devon Strings are currently working their magic, and restoring it beautifully, putting the best strings on it and setting it up properly, etc. At great personal expense! I’m very much looking forward to seeing it (and hearing it!), by the end of the month if all goes well. And hopefully Anna will love it just as much if not more than poor old Jim.
I dunno, you always have a special place in your heart for your first love, though, don’t you?