Dave the Cave

My poem 'Dave was a Caveman' came second in the Hounslow Poetry Competition and was also featured in my college magazine. I wrote it when I was fifteen about the teenage boys I was encountering at home and at school.

Dave was a Caveman by Lorna Wadge

Dave was a caveman in disguise
He wore dark glasses to hide his eyes
He was such a poor, pathetic sight
That people would ask 'Are you all right?'

Dave felt he was a slave to everyday matters,
With his hair uncombed and greasy
And his clothes in fading tatters,
Dave lit his cigarette and took a drag,
He sighed a sigh of deep depression
Which gave the impression
That he had brain-fag

Dave thought he could be a politician,
An artist, a poet or a rock musician
Dave thought he could act, he thought he could sing
But Dave you can't do anything

Dave thought he was important,
All knowing and all seeing
His mother said, 'Hey Dave,
Act more like a human being.
The neighbours will think there's something wrong.'
Of course they would have been right,
There was something wrong with everyone,
Dave had seen the light.

Dave was a cavemen, Dave was deep,
Dave was only happy when he was asleep,
He lived at the bottom of a dead end street,
Dave was a cavemen, Dave was a creep

Dave coud be defiant
When he was so incliend,
He fierecly made bold statements,
He stood up for his kind,
For forgotten adolescents
The world had left behind,
He spoke with fire and passion
And then he changed his mind.

Some people think he's civilised
Which cames as a surprise,
Considering that Dave
Was a caveman in disguise

Me and my Piano Diploma

This is a story of slow education.

I started learning the piano in 1975. Mum and I were never in a rush for me to get my grades and so, with various breaks for O'levels, A'levels, a degree, various jobs, travelling abroad, buying a house and marriage, I finally passed my Grade 8 in 1998.

After another break of 10 years, while I was busy as a working mum with a small child, and spurred on by my daughter's young friends wishing to learn the piano, I decided to return to piano education and try for a DipABRSM in piano teaching. It took me another year to get the prerequisite Grade 6 Music Theory and in February 2010 I started studying for the diploma. I didn't know it was going to take me four years to do it, but I am quite a busy working mum so I think it's quite understandable.

The first year was spent reading books, making notes and working on my Written Submission. Years two to three were spent working on the Grade 6 pieces I needed to teach, collecting relevant tutor books, working on answers to possible questions and producing a set of hand-out notes for each of the grades.

The day of the exam was a very strange day as I felt very far out of my comfort zone. The Viva Voce was one of the hardest exams I've done, I thought it would be like an interview, but I now know that it is far more objective than that. I received my first set of results in February 2013 and was pleased with my Written Submission result, they'd given me a distinction, relieved I'd got through the Viva Voce and not too disappointed that I'd failed the Quick Study, as, looking back, I hadn't really given this part of the exam enough time or thought.

I decided not to retake the Quick Study straight away but spend a lot of 2013 improving my piano playing with the help of my music teacher and working out what was required in the Quick Study. I had a good day, the day of the Quick Study retake, although I didn't like the piece they'd given me to play. I had a feeling I'd done enough to pass, but they are very strict when it comes to the DipABRSM so I wasn't sure.

I was really happy, February 2014, when I received the big white envelope with my DipABRSM certificate inside it and the letter saying I was now entitled to append the letters DipABRSM to my name.

The best thing about playing the piano is playing the piano, regardless of what exams you manage to pass. It has been a source of comfort and joy to me in my life and I'm glad I could pass that enjoyment on to a few of my daughter's friends. For the record, my daughter is not into the piano, she likes singing.

Audrey & Sylvia

I made these two dolls for my mum and my aunt who are identical twins. Sadly my aunt died last year which has been a great loss and caused much sadness for my family. The thirteenth of February is their birthday.

On The Ice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyvF4RnpFgM

'On the ice' is an ALF animation featuring pictures based on a set of Amy's drawings inspired by the 'Dancing on Ice' TV show as well as a few precarious experiences with ice skating in real life. The backgrounds are based on photographs of the Northern Lights. The animation is set to one of my songs called 'Alive at Last'. The song came to me on one singers night at the Cabbage Patch, Twickenham and was once used at a friend's baptism service.