Promoting Gramundus, play with Dafydd Saer, meet John Rodge and Gwenda Owen.
Join Edward Wyman Agency and get extra work on TV and films. Get regular work on the BBC’s ‘Pobl y Cwm’, ‘Lorna Doone’ and the award winning drama, ‘Care’.
Gigging all over and session work. Start to research Welsh music and history. Many visits to Aberystwyth and Cardiff. Spend time in Ireland - Carlow Kilkenny Galway and Dublin. Head of to the Fleadh in Enniscorthy to return to the carnival in Aberaeron, meet an Irish Bass player that I manage to insult good and proper through far too much falling over water.
Get introduced over the internet to Charlene Hutcheson.
Invited to join Swansea Branch committee of Musicians Union.
Go to the first ever TRAC public meeting
1999
Join Wild Welsh Women. Ask Danny to accompany me for a gig in Neath for the Musicians Union. Play at festivals all over with Wild Welsh Women - Peterborough, Reading, Monmouth, Orkney and Isle of Bute.
Go back to college to study Early Music and take up residence in Penarth.
2000
‘Cam Ymlaen’ (affectionately known as Riverclog recorded in HTV Cardiff). Play Estonia, Atlanta Celtic Festival. Meet face to face with Charlene Hutcheson Charlene visits Wales in August and invites me to Burns night in Roanoke 2001 and puts on a concert for me.
2001
Invited to join Musicians Union Committee Cardiff. Become member of Cardiff Branch and Committee with the Musicians' Union. Ask Danny to record a CD with me. Ask Danny if he'd ever been to the USA… did he want a gig?
July - record Jac to Bach. We both attend the Musicians' Union conference in Winchester and perform live spot.
September 10th, ventured to USA and the Shenandoah Valley for a six week tour. This was of course shadowed by a certain world changing event which made the American Nation realise how totally vulnerable they were.
Play with Rory Furlong and re-launch the Rowdies with him at a gig in the Castle Hotel in Barry, and gigs in Swansea. Make friends with Heather and Jock Skinner.
2002
Did the North American Folk Alliance Convention in Jacksonville, Florida, with Crasdant, Ffynnon and a load of folk musicians from Britain. Resigned from Wild Welsh Women. Prepared and researched new CD with Danny. Bad year for health… back problems.. etc etc. still managed to get around and get over to US a further two times playing the eastern board.
Play Sesiwn Fawr Dolgellau, North Wales. Record sound track for 'Dirgelwch yr Ogof' a film adaptation of a book by T Llew Jones, and end up on the film as a background musician with Eleri Darkin the Triple Harpist.
December Assist in the setting up of "Tunes Through on a Saturday Morning" workshops, in Narberth. Get asked to become a member of Celtish.
2003
Rehearse like mad for gigs with Celtish & play New Forest, Hoy and RMSM in Twickenham. Go out to my second Folk Alliance Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Decide that the American market is not ready for me! Find out some really nasty facts of life and get my drink spiked (didn’t know it at the time as everyone thought I was extremely drunk to the point of black out) – I’m then deemed to be an alcoholic in the eyes of some - Shame their eyes are shut!
Set up an Arts Council tour with Danny. Record some work in progress tracks with Danny for the possible next CD. Continue doing workshops in Pontardawe and for Tunes Through in Narberth.
March - I’m officially and Aunt to my brother, Dafydd’s daughter Senninha. Mother, Tanya doing fine. Visit Holland with Celtish. Record for the new Celtish CD. Play Wimbourne, Ceol Castle, Prema, Guildhall Gloucester
April - Get a part time job as PR Assistant to the Archbishop's Press Officer in the Church in Wales. Get put on training courses in PR Skills, Writing for Press and Crisis Management.
June - Perform in Rhaeadr and Ainsley turns up as one of the audience. Make it his gig! Play a liberal smattering of festivals with Danny, Celtish, and the Rowdies. Glynllifon, Anglesey Flower Festival, Crawley, Saul Canal Festival, Cnapan, including taking Mikey to Dolgellau Festival.
August - Billed to play with Ringo Starr, Moby and Hazel O Connor at the Eden Project Festival when it gets pulled because of no music license granted by council. Arriving at Pontardawe Festival I'm introduced, on stage, to Brian Stafford, then immediately play with him, as his band "Instruments of Torture" haven't turned up! Have a great weekend of tunes and similar sense of humour and get asked to put some tracks down on a CD that he's was doing.
Miss the Carnival in Aberaeron due to the Cardiff Harbour Festival. Nantwich and a wedding in Hereford. Go to an Alabama 3 Sound System gig and end up playing 3 gigs with them in South Wales.
September - Travel to Yorkshire to record with Brian and play at Otley Black Sheep Festival and meet Rob Truswell and form an offshoot from "Instruments of Torture" called "Divide by 3". Meet with Adrian Peregrin and do a few impromptu gigs with Crannog. Play with Calennig at Bromyard Festival. Play solo at Bridgend Festival.
October - Dublin for training and conference with the Church in Wales Communication Team. have a few tunes in a pub in Dublin, meet up with Aidan.
November - Holland with Celtish, on tour with Lunasa, Skolvan, Luar na Lubre, Llan de Cubel and Beggar’s Row.
Miss my birthday- slept through it
December - Start the month by making up for losing my birthday. Play with the Alabama 3 full band in Cardiff Bay.
2004
Tunes Though in its second year.
January - take two weeks off to recover a tonsilectomy. Then go straight into rehearsals to play gigs with Celtish in Cirencester and Spain, then back to the Gulbenkian Theatre Canterbury all before the first weekend in February.
February - Workshops in Narberth with Tunes Thru.
March - playing in schools for St David's Day with Pat Smith and Iolo Whelan, also deputise for Pat and Iolo with Calennig for 2 gigs. Play with the Rowdies twice in the Uplands Tavern, Swansea. St. Donat's with Celtish for St Patrick's day bash.
April - very quiet! Dep for Alan from Crannog with Adrian.
Get call to assist arranging the Pembroke Festival Fiddle Competition from David Hughes.
May - Meet someone from my past by complete and total coincidence! Jim the Piper who is part time Pipe Master at Eton college wanted some CDs of Welsh Fiddle music for a friend in NY. Decided to meet as he was gigging in Cardiff that coming weekend. Turns out we'd met 18 years ago in Brecon - strange things.
Gig with the Rowdies in Swansea. Gigs start back up with Celtish, Parkend, Ruskin Mill and a wedding with Redwing in Pembrokeshire!
June - Llangors music festival sees me jam with Sid Griffin and the Cole Porters. Do some support acting parts for a Channel 5 film trailer during the European Cup and some thing for Sky One's Terror Alert. Find a really good chiropractor too. Meet with David - Celtish play Lichfield and Galowan Festival, Penzance.
July - Fly out for a gig in Na Fir Bolg Festival, Vorselaar, Belgium, play Priddy, Sesiwn Fawr Dolgellau and Portcawl Pavillion. Start recording for the Celtish New Album. Another gig in the Tav with the Rowdies.
August - One day visit to the Eisteddfod and praise TRAC and CLERA for their great stopping place for tunes and somewhere to retreat from the oppressive heat! Pontardawe Festival was a blinder! Cardiff Bay festival saw Celtish play there - sans Dan Murphy! Thanks to Brian & Val Makinson for their kind gift of a Bridge Octave Violin - in purple!
September - Welsh Celtic Fiddle Competition in Pembroke Castle was a major success and starting point for new blood in this culture. The Competition was tough! David and I set about working out how to organise a weekend in the Stackpole Centre for the following year.
October - very quiet month gladly as the come down from the summer was quite hard.
November - Rowdies gig in Swansea and CLERA Workshops in Cardiff
December - another Rowdies gig and new Celtish line up, saying goodbye to Jonathon Shoreland and Dan Murphy and hello to Imogen O'Rourke (flute) and John Harries (Harp) - rehearsing madly for tour of Holland in January.
2005
Tour of Holland -13th to 24th January
Folkclub HARD Times Vlaardingen, Theater Landgraaf - De Bolder Zwolle folkclub de fookhook Sevenum, Cafe Fagot Ingelmunster (Belgium) In de Klaver - Nieberg, Hotel Lindeboom Den Burg, First Ram folk club Wateringen, Party Centrum van de Wal - Sneek, Arsenaaltheater Vlissingen. We had an amazing time even with Imogen being 6 months pregnant.
From February to June - Celts in the Cotswolds Festival, Red Lion Folk Club, Labadoux Festival Belgium, et als…
I’m an Aunt again to Morgan (Moc!) Named after my brother’s first headmaster when he started school. He did threaten to call the baby Kermit, but Tanya had serious words with him and I think the words “over my dead body” were used! Dafydd having been a little under the weather to drive called a taxi and both Tanya and he were driven to Bronglais hospital – with a diversion down to the Kebab house to pick up some food for my brother… Tanya admitted to Maternity: Dafydd finds comfy chair and passes out – “Wake me if you need me” being his final words. I think his job had been done!
“La-ba-doo-doo-doo, and another Kriek for me!” – Imogen is depped by Rachel on Flute – We are the Folk equivalent of Charlies Angels!!! Gwyneth and I have and Ab-Fab night of excess and end up having cups of tea on the Levellers tour bus a 7.30am. The rest of the band drive over and pour us into the car so that we can suffer the ferry journey back. Tired and emotional, we put it down to seasickness!
Imogen gives birth to Isobel and returns to the band a few months later.
June to August - Wychwood Festival Cheltenham (Gwyneth Keen Band), Musikaire Tola Jauregian Elorrio. Spain, Bryngarw Country Park. Bridgend (Sian Phillips and Gordon Taylor)
Work as stage manager on Pontardawe Festival.
August/September Welsh Celtic Fiddle Workshop Weekend and Competition – kicks off with over 15 workshops and the Welsh Celtic Fiddle Competition. Pete Cooper, Sille Ilves, Iolo Jones, Gareth Westacott, John Carpenter, Pat Smith and myself give workshops. With an attendance of 35 people, its going to grow! Many fiddlers promise to come back next year.
Pembroke Festival, Ysceifiog Hall (Gwyneth Keen Band) Prema Arts Centre (Uley)
I am made redundant from the Church in Wales Press Office. I could say loads of things but I shan’t, ok then – megalomaniacs!!! On an even more personal note – I have a breakdown, visit some very dark places and am helped by my friends and family. Thank you all who were there for me. Wow isn’t Prozac a wonderful ‘life softener’. Time to rebuild – time to move on. Discover some real truths about my time in America – predatory lesbians, spiked drinks and false accusations. No bloody wonder I had some unnecessary things persecuting my conscience.
2006
Sundial Theatre Cirencester College, Queens Hall Narberth, Newbury Spring Festival, Forest Arts Centre, Ashcroft Arts Centre, Saul Canal Festival.
Rowdies are disbanded and the singer will not honour any gigs – sorry folks.
June - Move to Oxfordshire for work that doesn’t pan out. I’m living in Fairport country and make loads of new friends. The White Cottage was my home for the next six months. Pete the ‘At and Paula live in the cottage with Richard in the garret above the garage when he returns from Australia, where he works on the Woodford Festival. Pete sings/plays with Leatherat. Rick Sanders lives here – and we chat regulalry over a pint in our local – The Ele. Made a really great friend here – Ginny, ex of the White Cottage but now of the Thatched Cottage.
July - North Atlantic Fiddle Convention in Aberdeen – represent Wales with Patrick Rimes and have a fantastic time. Make some new friends, party til dawn, accidentally set the fire alarms off cooking sausages, lose some newly made friends… Introduce Anghoas Grant to Penderyn Welsh Single Malt, paddling in the North Sea at 6am, Concerts, sessions and workshops Bacon and Brie sandwiches with Liz Doherty and Michael. All these wonderful fiddling personalities – and I want all of them to come to my festival!
Sesiwn Fawr Dolgellau, Pontardawe Festival, Bournemouth Folk Festival, Gloucester Guildhall, Llancaiach Fawr, Nelson (Owain Glyndwr Celebration),
Mantlefest sees me working as Stage Manager for the weekend.
Welsh Celtic Fiddle Workshop Weekend and Competition – gets an attendance of over 60 fiddlers. Pete Cooper, Sille Ilves, Lauren MacColl, Iolo Jones, Gareth Westacott, John Carpenter, Pat Smith and myself give workshops. Time to expand and have a rethink about next year!
Officially co-opted onto Pontardawe Festival Executive Committee.
October – have a minor op on my back and decide that the scar left will be known as ‘chopper Harris’.. my doctor and only man to legitimately stick a knife in my back!! :D
November – Danu founder member and early musical influence finally succomes to throat cancer. I will miss him.
Find a new niche, teaching Theory of Music, one of my stronger talents.
Finish recording ‘Centrifusion’ with Celtish
2007
January – April: Hoy at Anchor Folk Club, Cheltenham Folk Festival.
January sees me move out of the White Cottage to my own pad in beautiful Bloxham.
Gren the cartoonist dies. I send a letter of condolence and Darryl contacts me after.
Thanks to Diskwassocks who not only cock up the pressing of ‘Centrifusion’ (one in every fifty being playable!) but also supply us with poor quality printing, finishing and potentially lethally sharp CD cases in the wrong colour, we have no new albums for sale just yet.
March – April – Liz Doherty invites me to play at Ar Ais Aris, (ar ash areesh) Buncrana Donegal. John Harris accompanies me on the harp. Fantastic time had – more dawn chorus sessions and don’t miss breakfast for the three days! The Beach House Restaurant is a place to visit! Maybe she’ll come to FfoW 2008?
May - Wales Millenium Centre Foyer gig. One of the biggest audiences in attendance for a lunchtime gig. Meet with Darryl, Caroline and family – wow they’re still together 23 years on!
Work with Ruth Exell on the Small Nations Festival in Cilycwm. Great little festival and end up on stage for an hour when a band don’t show!!!
In preparation for the newly titled Fiddle Festival of Wales, and gearing up for a fantastic series of events this year. Pete Cooper, Lauren MacColl, John Carpenter, Iolo and Pat are coming back – YAY! This year’s new tutor list includes Jeff Hughes, Arne Anderdal and Majella Bartley.
Small Nations Festival, and the Pontardawe Festival were, in no certain terms, a washout. The difference between the two is that one of them was a sell-out!
At Aberaeron Carnival, I meet the Irish Bass player who I managed to insult all those years ago – and I’m reminded how I put him down (Which today, I’m bloody proud to have come out with that line!). Donal is a regular visitor to North Oxfordshire now.
The Fiddle Festival of Wales (FFoW) was a huge success and ran pretty smoothly. FFoW 2008 has already been planned, and all we have to do is tinker and streamlining. I have a real surprise/treat for next year’s fifth festival. I’m not releasing the name of the guest performer until the new year. ;-)
Mantlefest in Banbury sees me working with Isobel and Paula as stage management, in between Celtish gigs in Bath and Gloucester!
‘Centrifusion’ is finally out. I look forward to bumper sales! It looks fantastic too.
Ray Gravell (Grav) passed away. He was a second cousin to my mother and was a big supporter of trad music.
My 40th Birthday celebrated in Los Montesinos, Torrevieja, Spain. Met with session guitarist Paul Falcon whilst playing and singing with Heather skinner in my father’s local bar.
Christmas spent with my family in Aberaeron and heavily pregnant sister in law with the third on the way. I’m a doting aunt and need all my energies to play with my nephew and niece.