Wednesday 2 April 2008

Speedtyping, rumbling sounds and a bouzouki

The bloke who was sat next to me for a while has to be the fastest one finger typist I have ever seen. I can't decide if his skill with the his right index finger is to be admired, or whether he should be ridiculed for not learning to type properly.

An Underground line must go under here, it's very loud indeed, and it still smells of dog. Still, £1 for an hour of Internet access on a reasonably decent computer isn't bad, especially as the hotel charges £3.50 for half an hour of access to their wi-fi.

One thing I saw today was one of the Hobgoblin music shops which specialises in mainly acoustic folky instruments. There were the usual acoustic guitars, mandolins, ukuleles, etc, but they had bouzoukis, several of those bandurria things from Spain and those weird giant guitar like things. They even a couple of one-string objects that looked almost like a Whamola but with a giant trumpet thing sticking out. No idea what on earth they were but they looked interesting.

I had a quick go on a Blue Moon Diamond Bouzouki which proved the point that I should have got a bouzouki instead of a mandolin. The scale length was just right and it was nice to play but still had that interesting dual-string sound. If I'd had the £100 it cost and had some way of getting it home which didn't involve underground trains and things, I might have bought it. I think I'll sell the mandolin, I never really play it as it's too small and fiddly after the bass.

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