It started quite slowly at first ~ a quick check of other harps when I saw them, a regular wander around the web looking for other designs, listening to other tones, a comparison of string types ~ and before I knew it, I had harp lust. This is a documented affliction experienced by most harp players at some point in their lives. The symptoms are typified by the uncontrollable urge to own more than one harp . . . .

I thought I could control it, after all I already owned one harp.

Chocolat is a beautiful Folk Harp from Clive Morley. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore her and feel really comfortable playing her, but Chocolat is a little big and heavy, and I really wanted to be able to have a harp that I could easily put in the back of my Smart Car. Once the harp lust seed starts to germinate, it's difficult to ignore . . .

At the time, I was not in a position to buy another harp. Harps are expensive, even the small ones ~ so I comforted myself with collecting the loose change from my purse and the knowledge that owning another harp was out of the question. I left it at that.

Then, in December 2003 a wonderful old lady died.

Great Aunt Annie had been part of my early years. My Grandmothers sister, she had always seemed elderly to me. Part of a generation of women who had never married, thanks to the loss of life during the war years and an unhappy experience at home. There was a sadness there which I was possibly aware of, but too young to enquire into. She loved the nieces and nephews of the large extended family though and was always happy to see me. I remember her listening patiently to my early efforts on the recorder as a young child. Her kindly words might have been forgotten over time, but the pride and encouragement she gave me left their mark. It seemed only right that the small amount of money that was promised to me should be used to buy what I really wanted, and would be used in memory of a patient and kindly old lady.

So began my journey into harp lust, and to document my antics what better way than a regular-ish journal here on the web site?