Dear Reader –
The full spectrum of emotions in today’s letter…
All hyperlinks in bold.
The Big Thing
Moment of the year (so far) took place in the Liberty Hall Theatre in Dublin last Wednesday night. Legendary commentator George Hamilton was one of the guests on that night’s Second Captains live show, and we were hoping he might sing his party piece at the end of the interview.
We had heard that he liked to sing Piano Man (in C), but it was only when he arrived just before the show that he confirmed he was going to do it. Thankfully Luke Devaney and I had stopped into Kevin Flannery in the Record Room on the way up to get a C harmonica, and once we got the go-ahead, the four of us in the band (Luke, Ken McDonald, James Blennerhassett and I - see pic below) huddled around my phone ten minutes before showtime listening to the various intricacies of this song.
It’s not that the chords are that difficult, but Billy varies the structure of each verse slightly. Not by much, but just enough to be annoying!
Anyway, off we went. George had the crowd nicely warmed up with a series of anecdotes about his time with the Irish soccer team, but nothing could have prepared any of us for what was about to happen when he stood up to sing.
I won’t try and describe it, because you can watch what happened here, or better still, sign up (just €5 a month) and listen to the full interview and song here.
What a moment, but what an overall experience too. Second Captains produce brilliant (and funny) sports journalism, but also do things the right way and the lads couldn’t have been more welcoming to us over the few weeks.
Where else but Sligo?
In sadder news, only a few weeks after I wrote a column about our dog Olaf, (pictured below with his buddy Cookie) he was killed last week. The column tells you all you need to know about him, including an unfortunate prediction of the cause of his death.
He was a much-loved dog. Although he demanded his comforts, was a bit stupid, sometimes peed and pooed where he shouldn’t, you couldn’t but like him. His enthusiasm was infectious and he’ll have the place well warned when any new dogs arrive to doggy heaven - that’s for sure!
Our house is quiet and sad this week, as anyone who has lost a pet will know, but our neighbours, friends and the people of Sligo have been amazing since it happened.
What’s New?
THEME NIGHT #29: Thanks so much for all your suggestions in response to last week’s letter. The setlist is nearly complete, but I still have a small bit of room if anyone has some last-minute ideas!
PIANO DAY: Today is the 88th day of the year, so it’s World Piano Day. This tradition goes all the way back to 2015 (!) when German pianist and composer Nils Frahm declared it so. So show the piano in your life some love today!
FOUR THOUSAND WEEKS: I’m enjoying this book by Oliver Burkeman at the moment, and one rather dry line from it stuck with me after the events of the week. You’ll have to have watched the Piano Man video to know what I mean.
“The extraordinary psychological benefits of community singing are not reduced when the vocal instrument is of mediocre quality”. No offence meant to our brilliant audience last week!
Finally…
This song was also sung on stage in the Liberty Hall Theatre last week, and there’s a great bounce to it. I have been singing it since!
Till next time - Kieran.
