A walk round the block

It's been a quiet but pleasant day with plenty of sunshine. I've not had much energy to spare but I managed a short walk round the block with my son, who also has CFS.

I got out my clarinets to do some playing around with them: my old Bb still smells of sulphur where it's disintegrating slowly. The smell starts as a faint whiff but it gets in your mouth when you're playing. I really should bin it.

My little C clarinet is playing well. It gets neglected but it's so useful for playing anything written for a C instrument or a voice. 

Then for my current Bb clarinet I tried using my Vandoren mouthpiece again. I like the sound better than with the mouthpiece that came with the horn, but it's easier to make it squeak or get a nasty vibrato sound. I'm going to see if I can master it for the sake of the better tone.

Meanwhile, my husband Neil took part in a mixed doubles tennis tournament at his tennis club - and his partner and he won! No one was more surprised than him, and he is now completely exhausted.

Being retired does seem to suit him though.