In my early teens during WW2, I was allowed to play on a piano owned by a neighbour as a reward for walking her dog - until it died. Later, I played Flugalhorn in a local silver band until the practice hall was demolished by a bomb. This was followed by a spell as a snare drum player in a youth Marching Band. I did not own a musical instrument until I retired and was indulged by my sons who bought me a Casio Keyboard for £100 for Xmas 1995. This was followed by several other keyboards - the last being a Yamaha 3000. I was an average performer but enjoyed playing.


Unfortunately, during the 90s I contracted an illness which caused muscular problems so severe that all activities were curtailed. Ablutions, getting in or out of bed, bathing and walking became extremely difficult. I couldn't play the Keyboard so I sold it and used the proceeds to upgrade my computer and PG software to continue my musical adventure.

Finally, last year, I was diagnosed with an Immune Disease called Polymyalgea (Many Muscle Pains). The treatment was Steriod tablets which have their own risks.

Fifteen months on and I am now virtually pain free and my various complaints are under control. The main problem with this disease was the damage done to the automotive brain responses. It took me a month, walking each day to retrain my legs to work automatically. A friend compared my early progress to that of a drunken sailor.

Last week I was attempting to enter notation via my computer keyboard and, exasperated, I thought "I can do this faster with a keyboard".

So another Xmas and I bought an M-Audio Oxygen 49 Midi Controller and am having fun. The problem is a repeat of the walking saga - fingers feel like sausages and I need to practice to get some fluency in to my keying. The latency between my brain and fingers needs vast improvment, but I do now own a musical instrument - unless having no sounds of it's own disqualifies it from consideration