The only possible way you Chiffers who are at Willie Week, teasing the majority of us who’ve been left behind with your reports of the weeks’ happenings can make things up to us, is to bring each and every member of the C&F community back one whistle each. Deal? 
~Larry
Yes, what Larry said!
Heya guyz,
Well what can I say, I think we’re all pretty much having a good time, beside maybe Eld as the music might be a little too “random” for his taste. Also, my life has been in great danger as I accidentally threw some Coke at Ava’s concertina. Well, that’s a long story!
I got to tape lotsa good music yesterday, with top musicians from around the country. Also, I had the chance to hear some story telling and joke telling from an old lady that lives around. She even told a story in Gaelic, and this is when everyone was laughing but me!
The thing is, I think that after one week, you just want things to get “back to normal”. It’s just crazy 'round here, it’s like downtown on friday night, but every night. I know that Miltown is going to be back to being a very quiet town after the week.
Well, I am going to meet Hammy Hamilton on monday or tuesday, to get my flute and hopefully play a few tunes. Also, I’m renting a car and will try to get to local sessions around Country Cork and Kerry. Hopefully the hunt will be great.
And yeah, MurphyStout has a new name: MurphyPolkaMan. He’s the Polka guy. He doesnt really play them, but you can be sure to end up with a fifteen minutes Polka set when he’s around. Crazy!
Martin is also a crazy and fun english man. He’s also my only drinking buddy, as the others don’t seem to enjoy the true pleasure of life: alcohol.
I got like tons of pictures and music, I’ll make sure to post a few things when I’m back, I’m sure many will enjoy the stuff.
Hmm can someone tell me how to delete a message? 
Az is working on his contribution to this on the library computer next to me and I could read over his shoulder what he was saying. It’s nearly over, fled the town last night for my usual place of music, was more or less expected to turn up which was fine.
It’s nearly over now and people are leaving already to avoid the mayhem that is the second saturdaynight of WIllie. The other boarders are pretty much as the impression you get, one is big time into nice women and playing tunes, ones is forever tryign to get freebies out of everybody, one is seriously serious about music and so on.
Heard some nice music, met soem nice people, another one gone. Maybe we’ll survive long enough to see the next, who knows.
You never asked for many stories, when I got in from Really Poorand Weak, Moon. 
Anyone else notice that Az and Peter both made no reference to my insistance that, in order to make it up to those of us not fortunate enough to be there with them, they should bring each and every one of us back our very own whistles?
~Larry
I don’t think I want to know how I was classified. 
Is there a fourth option? 
Classes are over now. We haven’t found Soin; Martin wore his Chiff shirt last night but no luck. Soin if you discover net access here, we are meeting at 6 PM in front of the Central Hotel. You can also get my phone number inside the Public Hall - there’s a notice board, with a yellow paper that says CHIFF and FIPPLE on it. Next to that is a Seeking Lift announcement, that’s mine, it’s got my number on it. Call if you are in town and see this.
Can’t think of anything else at the moment. Oh yes - TelegramSam, I sent your postcard today. Should take about a week, I think.
Bye all, after this it’s back to the often-crashing slow-as-molasses two-euro-for-ten-minutes computer at my school…
So what kind of free whistles are y’all bringing back for us?
That’s the spirit, janice! 
Now if we can get everyone else to post the same sort of question/reminder, we might actually shame them into doing it!!!
~Larry
Oh, and CD’s too. Don’t forget the free CD’s.
Yes, CD’s! How’d I forget them?
~Larry
I just managed to unlock my handcuffs and escape from the dank basement where I’ve been secured for the last ten days by my evil twin.
Watch out guys, that’s not the real Martin!
So, Martin, are the US-based Chiffers loaded down with CD’s and whistles for all of us who weren’t lucky enough to have been able to join you folks over there?
~Larry
The Chiffers: The Chiffy crew comprised Azalin, Avanutria, Eldarion, MurphyStout Peter Laban and myself. Az also had a couple of friends over from Montreal doing the fiddle classes, who were awarded honourary chiffy status for the week.
As Peter said in his post, people came across in real life much as they do on the board.
Az is a very good whistler who mostly plays reels and jigs, so he joined in most in sessions.
MurphyStout and Eld were both on the flute, Eld being an absolute practise merchant, frequently vanishing after supper to get back to his flute, while MurphyStout blows a beautiful flute and whistle, but has fewer tunes then Az and prefers to listen to the sessions.
Avanutria has being playing her concertina for only a couple of months, but has already mastered several tunes, and I could never get my head round the idea that one button produces two notes depending on whether you pull or push.
Peter Laban plays his pipes beautifully. I heard him in one session out of town and later on at a lunchtime recital, and enjoyed both occasions immensely. He also played his Sindt whistle a fair few times in sessions, and was also busy with his renowned camera taking shots of various players throughout the week. Peter came across to me as quite shy at first but knowledgeable, and he probably hears and plays more live IT music in an evening than most of us do in a month.
I was not surprised to find that everyone had more tunes and played them better than I did, but I’m happy to say I was the biggest fathead there, and that counts for something.
The Whistles: What did I see played? At first I saw a lot of Sindt whistles, but then I realised only one of these was in the hands of a non-Chiffer. Generally in sessions and classes, Feadog, Walton and Generation whistles were most in evidence. Susatos were generally frowned upon for students because they are so loud they drown out the other whistles, and are considered loud even in sessions, though the teachers played them occasionally. Peter Phelan, one of the teachers and great player, had a Desi Seery handmade whistle.
The Classes: The main reason for going to this particular week, at first I found the organisation to be chaotic. I was shuffled into a class on the basis of a few bars of music played in the school playground, then moved again, so it took half the first lesson to get settled. Then on day 2 I moved again, and on day 3 back again before I murdered the child who kept moving around and playing with his lunchbox while I was listening or playing.
Generally, the aim was to learn some tunes and then smarten them up with ornamentation, better rhythm etc, and to develop one’s ear for picking up tunes. From what Jack and Beth told me, this was much the same for their classes. Adults are generally separated from pre-teens, though one or two slipped through the net somehow. The higher classes will be quicker to pick up the tunes, and better at throwing in their own ornamentation, so they get through more tunes. It’s hard to say whether I’d go again on this basis. My main problem is that I’m too lazy to practise regularly and too easily distracted, rather than having any particular playing problems the teachers could iron out for me.
The Sessions: There were sessions springing up and dying down in every pub in town, and that covers about 20 venues. One or two were for singing only, but most were mainly music, with maybe a smattering of songs. As the week wore on the newbies like myself found out which sessions or venues we preferred and then stuck to them. There are also sessions in several pubs outside the town, but without my own wheels I stuck to the Miltown sessions and was very happy with that.
The Ceili: Every day there was a Ceili from 3-6pm and again from 9 till 1am, both in town and in two other venues further afield. I stuck to the Ceili in The Mill Theatre, where several big name Ceili bands played and managed to join in several sets even as a beginner.
Set dancing is similar to barn dancing or Scottish Country dancing, but the dances are in sets of 4-7 separate dances. The dances are constructed from standard moves, e.g. house around & ladies’ chain, so generally after watching for a while you get the idea. Top couples go first, then side couples, so beginners are advised to be a side couple so you see the dance before you have to do it. Great fun, good exercise, and a great way to make friends.
The Recitals: Each weekday evening there was a recital by teachers and big name players in the Community Hall. I enjoyed the first two, fiddle and flute/whistle, but each lasted 2/12 hours which is a long time to sit in one place. The acoustics in the hall weren’t the best, though the playing was wonderful. I’d have preferred a briefer programme, as some of the later players had to cut their performances short, and when that included players like Sean Ryan, Joannie Madden and Cathal McConnell that seems a shame.
The Shopping: I’ve added several CDs to my collection, six of fiddle playing, two of tin whistle playing, and a couple that have accompanying books, where tunes are played in sets for practise. I didn’t buy any new whistles, though the Cillian O’Briain improved whistles sold out twice in the week or I might have got one, until I got to the airport on the way back and added a spare black Feadog to my collection. I also bought two books about set dancing (Toss the Feathers & The Flowing Tide), and a book called “A Trip to Sligo” with lots of sheet music and brief biographies of the various flute and fiddle players who play the tunes.
Overall: I’ve had a great nine day week, the most enjoyable I’ve had in years, thanks to my fellow chiffers, new found friends, the organisers of the Festival, chill out strolls round town with Beth when the music got too much even for us, and my drinking buddy Azalin stopping me from felling like a lush in the company of teetotallers. I would never have even thought of going without Beth’s influence, so a big thank you to Avanutria.
I’m certainly planning on going again next year, I have my landlady on a promise to hold my room, though I’m hoping to develop my fiddle playing to a level where I can join those classes instead. That means a year of dedicated practise – but with Willie Week to look forward to at the end, I hope to stay focussed and get a lot more tunes in my fingers.
Just returned from Willie Week, posted some photos online:
http://www.pbase.com/eskin/willie_clancy_2003
Enjoy!
Michael
Outstanding pics, Michael!!
~Larry
In Mike’s picture of the high street, my B&B was the blue house, third on the right with the windowboxes. Very convenient for poppoing in and out during the day, shame about the nightclub going every night until 2:30am every night.
The Chiffers met everyday at 6pm outside the Central Hotel, the building on the left, to decide where to go for supper and what to do each evening (sessions, recital, ceili etc).
Shame you didn’t make yourself known to us sooner Michael! An online pic of the Chiffy Crew is in the pipeline, but not until Azalin gets a chance to download his digipics.
Glad at least Martin liked the piping, I was very unhappy at the lunchtime recital but that’s the way I suppsoe. All’s quiet again, more or less. Most people have gone as has teh weather. ELD phoned last night to say he ahs returned to town, disappointed about Tubbercurry so I’ll try meet him tonight [am very busy trying to catch up with everythings that didn’t get done during Willie].
I saw a very different week from the one Eskin snapped but that’s the way too, everybody gets something different out of it.
Hey hey wait a minute! From everyone’s reports it almost sounds like I was having a totally crappy time in Ireland! Its true that Tubbercurry was not so nice though. The flute teachers seem largely Molloy influenced (big no no for myself) and they seem to be proud of a fluting tradition thats almost extinct in the area with the exception of a few players. Jack and I managed to catch Peter Horan playing a couple of tunes, and sit in a few sessions with Seamus Tansey though. The sessions in Tubber weren’t that good, with only two bars in town with music. Food variety was also rather limited - even for rural Ireland.
We got our refunds on the second day. It was probably a good thing that we left Tubbercurry though, cos that gave us time to visit the Cliffs of Moher and do other stuff. The trip to the cliffs was well worth it as the weather was clear and the tide was in when we arrived. Very lovely view. We headed back to Miltown Malbay to check out the place after the Week (that was when I gave Peter a call) and it was totally transformed. We headed to this very nice session with Kevin O’Reilly, who’s a really good fiddle player, and this concertina player called Dale Fox or something like that, with her piper friend. The pub wasnt too crowded and the music was very good.
On the whole I’d say I benefitted a lot from the Week. Marcas O Murchu helped me a lot with my embouchure problems and my tone is noticibly more pleasant now. I also got to spend most of my week in the class of my favourite flute player Catherine McEvoy - I have never heard sweeter flute playing. I absolutely love her style and she is every bit of a great teacher she is reputed to be. It was really an eye opener to see Miltown Malbay at Willie Clancy, with every pub packed to the brim with people and sessions going on round the clock. “Big names” everywhere too! It was also great to be able to put faces to the names of the Chiffy gang at last! I’ll probably head to Willie Week again but I’ll make sure that I’ll be a wicked flute player by then.