Dear Reader –
I remember Roy Keane giving out about a former teammate of his - he reckoned that the main reason this footballer showed up to every Ireland match was because he wanted to reach the milestone of 100 caps. Whether this was true or not, I was reminded of it today as I put the finishing touches to my 100th letter…
Last week’s answers:
Answer to the questions in last week’s letter: 1 - D. 2 - Bb, F.
**All hyperlinks in bold.
The Big Thing
Keane’s jibe was important (and possibly more cutting) because it questioned the motivation of his colleague. Because while milestones are important, they shouldn’t be the reason we do the work.
However any milestone - be it a significant birthday or the end of a year - can give us an opportunity to reflect. And today If I’m honest, while it’s nice to look back on the fun I have had writing these letters and the consistency in putting them out, what I’d really like to do today are three things.
Thank the people who made it possible.
Explore what the next 100 letters might look like.
Finally learn what a semi-colon is and try to include one!
So - firstly to the newly appointed MD of the Australian touring production of Moulin Rouge - Mr. Matthew Carey. Matthew inspired many of the thoughts behind this letter in an online workshop he ran in the Spring of 2021 - more power to you Matthew - and thanks!
And secondly - to you the reader - there would be no letter without you - so thanks for all your feedback and comments over the last 100 weeks, and please keep them coming!
In order to look ahead to the next 100 letters, I would love your help. I have put together this short online survey (anonymous) and would really appreciate it if you would take the time to fill it out.
Finally - see can you spot the semi-colon later in the letter and for the grammatically wise among you, please let me know if the context in which I used it was correct!
Where else but Sligo?
Speaking of doing the work, I got the chance to record something with vocalist Niamh Farrell recently.
We were asked by Mícheál O’Domhnaill (on behalf of Sligo County Council) to record a song for a video to showcase the newly launched Yeats Trail.
RTE’s Eileen Magnier explains the project below (using some of the beautiful footage used in Mícheál’s video).
And you can watch the video (and listen to our music) on Facebook here.
What’s New?
MILESTONES: It’s not that new (!), but I stole some of my above thoughts on milestones from this great (and short) podcast.
AN EVENING OF CHORAL MUSIC: The Theme Night Choir are flying the nest and doing their first non-Theme Night gig! Still under the steady baton of Dave Flynn however. As part of a brilliant line-up. Sun 16 April - details here.
IN THE LAMPLIGHT ROAD TRIP: Rory and I took a trip to Athenry last week to interview filmmaking brothers John and Paul Murphy for the podcast. John edited the recently Oscar-nominated An Cailín Ciúin; Rory was beyond himself with excitement. In all seriousness, it’s one of my favourite episodes, and features the return of the ITL House Band. Listen here.
Finally…
In my very first letter I told the story of another road trip - this time in Australia in 1998. I enjoyed reading it back today.
“Going back to that year in Australia, we spent a lot of time on buses. Especially that trip to Ayers Rock and beyond. 72 hours on a Greyhound bus to get back from Darwin to Sydney. A lot of time to think.
I had my walkman and cassette collection on the trip with me, and I listened to one song over and over again. It summed the whole thing up for me. Paul Simon’s America. The country may have been different, but the vastness of the land, the bus company (!) and the things you’d do to pass the time were the same.
“Laughing on the bus, playing games with the faces”. Counting kangaroos.
Because there was wonder to be found everywhere. If you looked for it.
Which was easy as a wide-eyed 18 year-old a long way from home. Not so easy when you get a bit older and a pandemic means you haven’t seen much new for over a year. But it’s still there, and hopefully we can help each other see it over the coming weeks and months”.
Thanks for reading today - and for the last 100 weeks!
Questions:
Difficulty Level 2 (non-musical) - How many of the 50 American States are mentioned in this song?
Difficulty Level 4 - At 1:49 there is a 6-note bass riff repeated twice. Using numbers (or solfa) describe these six notes. **Hint - it starts on 1 (doh).
Till next time - Kieran.
