There are so many things we choose to do to heal our hearts when they feel too much. Poetry has always been my way of making sense of the world. And music that makes my guts hurt, played too loud, always, in the car or through headphones.
I sang for years, all around the country. Competitions, radio, TV, eisteddfods. Part of a mass of beautiful voices. But I've never played, and I can't sight-read. Creating is creating, though, and surely I could learn, I thought. Even at my great age.
It has been a slow process, taking my daughter's lead and learning the piano. Hour after hour of practice, my brain struggling to do two separate things at once. Flying, then crashing to the earth again, my clumsy hands failing to co-ordinate. Then one piece will click, and I'm away. It is beautiful and hurtful and hard and rewarding, like all beautiful and hurtful things are. I still can't sight-read, though...
New Frontiers
More beautiful things: also taking my first small steps into play-writing, with a new theatrical venture with Ashley Burgoyne. Our New Frontiers Theatre Company is in development, with our own one-act plays in the early stages of production. Full details at New Frontiers Theatre Company
