Well James,

What better way to start the morning than to have a waltz to fingerpick to and I am afraid that I too have had a relationship or two like this in the past. All part of the rich tapestry of life. It plays well and is easy to follow so I hope there will shortly be a recording to follow, well done.

Thank you,

Roger

Hi Molay,

Yes please, you and anyone else who has a song that wants putting on on FoC please send it to my e-mail address: roger4songs@yahoo.co.uk  Preferably in MP3 format but I can usually convert it if not and I will let you know when it is on FoC so that you can make the announcement and post the lyrics and chords on the Forum.

Roger

Great song,

However as I am very much a 'hands on, have a go' type of person I missed not having the lyrics and chords to play along with it.

Thank you,

roger

Wonderful James,

I love the sound of your autoharp and this song, and the chord sequence, really does it justice.

Well done,

Roger

Another member has joined the campaign,

Remember Jeff's "Down at the Crawdad Hole" posted in August well he has now recorded it and asked for it to go on FoC for your enjoyment.  http://www.myspace.com/friendsofchordie

Thank you Jeff, just one to go now.

Roger

Hi Rebel,

A very good start to this one although I agree that it could do with an extra verse.

How about a verse reflecting that maybe if he had read the song and had the answers that things would be different.

Alternatively now he has gone and is so far away he never will have a chance to hear the answers he wanted.

Incidedntally I found, when playing it that I automatically put a C at the start of the second line of the chorus but that may be just be due the melody line that I put to your song.

Well done and thank you,

Roger

Hi Les,

If you do go down the road of getting a quality vocal microphone they generally have a 3-pin XLR or a 1/4" jack plug for connecting to a mixer or amp, so you will need an adapter to suit.

I would however suggest the cautious approach and start with an inexpensive one. Even if the audio quality is not brilliant it will get you started and will be fine for you to let your Chordie friends hear you. Then later, if you want to improve the quality of your recordings, you can invest in better equipment.

Good luck,

Roger

I had a very embarrassing moment last night that will be with me for a day or two.

I was cooking my evening meal, baked jacket potato, in my oven and had just grated some cheese to top it with. As I had opened a new pack of cheese I needed some cling film to wrap it in. This is kept in a small cupboard alongside the oven but on opening it I found that I had visitors - ants.

Now in Portugal there are two types of ant, one is about 6 or 7 mm long and is quite a friendly type that will wander in one's place and nod his head or wave a leg as he passes by but most of the time he is outdoors. He is usually on his own unless he has come to take one of the cat's biscuits to feed the youngsters and then he will bring two mates to help carry the load, which is fine.

The other type of ant is less than 1 mm and is a different kettle of fish altogether. When he comes it is mob handed with several thousand of his mates and is most unwelcome and this was what I had been invaded with. Prepared for such an eventuality I have a very large aerosol of insect spray which not only clobbers the little blighters it prevents others from following after the initial attack.

Armed with my trusty weapon I went into battle and was spraying the invaders left right and centre and pulling shelves out at the same time to take better aim. I was definitely gaining the upper hand when I sprung the surprise attack (well it certainly was a surprise to me). The spray's propellant and oxygen had reached critical mass and was ignited my the oven. There was an explosion and a flash fire and suddenly I had a flame thrower in my hand which was rapidly discarded.

The upshot is, apart from some superficial burns, I now have no hair on my arm and legs, my eyebrows are practically none existant and my thining hair is even thiner and shorter. I will probably have to stay at home for a day or two until the hair has recovered somewhat.

I do not have any ants any longer though.

Hi James,

You already know that I like this chord progression too. The lyrics, well they bring Utopia to mind which is a lovely thought.

Thank you,

Roger

Hi Jeff,

I am so pleased that you have recorded this song. I was pretty sure that my re-work would be radically different to your original and it is. I can also hear now how you handled the twin triplet verses which I was struggling with. Thank you.

My relationship with Donna is vastly different to yours with Aya. Because my marriage to Sue floundered, we parted and eventually they had to move to the other side of the country. Problems within my new marriage, shortage of cash and the distance involved all meant that I missed out on all the little experiences, the laughter and the tears in her growing up. I am rather envious of you, and all fathers, who have been able to share life's ups and downs with their own child.

A lovely song and at least two daughters well pleased.

Thank you my friend,

Roger

Rebel, that is great well done.

All that remains now is for you to record it so we can hear it as it should be including the little slide thingy in the intro. (Look you cannot blame a guy for trying).

Thank you,

Roger