The first Nonsuch weekend at Ascot Lodge, York, (21 - 23 Feb.2003), was a great success.  The person who travelled the furthest was newest club member, Christie Burns, who organised last year's fantastic dulcimer festival in Cork.  Here's Christie's feedback on the event -

 

"Ah!! A perfect weekend!  I am so glad I decided to come to York.  Such a pleasure to meet those new friends and see you and Tony again!  I'm sorry--- I forgot to give you my feedback form.  No complaints whatsoever.  Looking forward to similar weekends in the future... Would there be any way to arrange a dulcimer concert in York Minster for this weekend next year?  That would be outstanding.  I'll be in touch soon with a definite date on the Cork festival.

Thanks again!

-Christie"

 

Seventeen people attended, including a big contingent from make and play, for a relaxed weekend with a focus on MDs with Liz Law.  We were joined during the evening sessions by Ken and Sandie Hudson (our hosts who run Ascot Lodge).  Sandie on whistles and Ken on guitar and voice.  Sandie also joined in Liz Law's MD workshops, taking time out from her domestic duties for a while.  The sessions were taken at a friendly pace using tunes from the Easy Peasy tune book which everyone received as part of the weekend package.  This was a response to last year's Launde feedback which revealed that more members would like to join in sessions but felt that there was no opportunity for developing players to do so.  We played mostly individual tunes rather than sets, and repeated each tune many times - as recommended by the great John Kirkpatrick.  Ken and Sandie still hear dulcimers every time they go into their dining room!