I’m no Acker Bilk

How do you blip a clarinet interestingly? Perhaps it’s not possible. Why a blip of a clarinet I hear you call?

It’s a long story. One for a winter’s night. I learned the instrument at school, playing for about 4 years joining the Shropshire Youth Orchestra for a while and taking part in performances at school prize giving evenings.

My abiding memory is playing When I’m Sixty Four at such an event. I’m well past that now. Unimaginable to a 15 year old. For some reason I stopped and thought no more about it.

Oh! And I did play Acker’s signature tune, “Stranger on the Shore” at a scout gang show at this time. Suitably attired with bowler hat and striped shirt (or was it waistcoat)

Cue a break-in at the school where I was deputy head. Musical instruments were stolen including this clarinet. It was later found and I took ownership, had it serviced, bought new reeds. Then put it in a drawer for 20 years.

Until this week when I learned that my great nephew had begun to learn the saxophone. His nanna erroneously informed his mum that I used to play the sax. So she contacted me.

I understand that in certain circumstances the fingering for clarinet and sax are the same. I also learned that some clarinet players think a sax is too easy to play as all the holes are covered by pads and don’t rely on getting the fingers exactly over a hole.

That spurred me in to buying some new reeds and searching for simple songs for the clarinet so that the great nephew and I can make a noise together.

Perhaps it’s a flash in the pan? And it’ll go back in the drawer after Christmas.

Thank you for all the stars and hearts for yesterday’s blip of Leeds Castle. I’m delighted to see it’s put me on the first page of Most Popular. A rare occurrence and greatly valued when you see the esteemed personages that are regularly on the first page