I must say I felt sorry for the other artists who had to trek out in the snow this week and last, especially as I am working from my studio. As with other weeks, I�ve had correspondence with the other artists in advance of their day in the hospitals, in the hope that I can a) create something that will be of use to their creative activities and b) that I will be prepared for a themed link-up. I think it�s been working pretty well so far. At least when I know a theme in advance, I can get into character, both musically and as personalities! The snow has certainly suggested an early Christmas to a lot of us and today was no different. So, I�ve had a number of interesting things to do today.

First I spent a bit of time preparing my puppets to for a night out, as if they were attending a party, an International party in a castle, dare I say. Eszther in Hospital F was working on this very exciting theme with her group today. So, I decided I�d glam up my pair (of glove puppets that cover the keyboard-playing hands) and pretend that we were the band that were meant to travel to Cork (or whereever the castle might be) and play the music for the party. So, I set about modifying my glove puppets with some flares and glitter (70s band anyone?). Unfortunately we didn�t get to do the link-up and this, thankfully, is the first time that a scheduled link-up hasn�t gone ahead for me. We managed to salvage things as later in the afternoon, as Eszther was working with a little boy who was interested in doing a link-up. I used the glammed-up puppets and played some disco music for the little boy. I think he was a little shy and possibly too tired to interact. Nonetheless, my puppets were able to ask a good few questions and get answers back through Eszther. I think in these circumstances, it�s good for the child to be entertained somewhat so we jumped around a bit and talked a bit. It was fun, if short.

Inbetween preparation for Eszther�s theme and the link-up, I worked on some ideas for Siobh�n Clancy in Hospital A. In earlier correspondence, Siobh�n told me that she was working on a Christmas theme this week and next week as the hospital had specifically asked her to work on something for Santa�s arrival to the hospital. Siobh�n asked if I would create something that could be used for this and a show so I set about creating a soundscape and theme. The final piece is based around the tune Jingle Bells; the first half is more atmostpheric and abstract with some �Christmas� sound effects thrown in (church bells, sleigh bells), while the second part is more musical and upbeat. The first part could encourage children to create a little story while the second part is intended to get them singing and dancing along to the tune. I tend to select very well-known tunes as they are the best catch-all solution when one doesn�t know the audience. The age group can vary so much and therefore the ability and knowledge of various pieces, that it seems better to stick to very well-known pieces. The other really interesting idea that Siobh�n had was that she focus on getting the children to create puppets, stories and various objects around the idea of gifts. So, she asked if I would create short audio files that had the sound of paper unwrapping followed by a sound that might represent what was inside the wrapping. This is a really interesting idea, particularly because it is based around the audio suggestion. The sounds selected can suggest all sorts of interesting objects, ideas and stories for the children. I created about 15 different sound files, varying from cascading wind chimes to hairdryers to animal growls. Out of context, these sounds can suggest anything to the imagination and I�m curious to see the outcomes of this. The other interesting aspect is that because the sounds are preceded by the sound of paper rustling (suggesting the sound of a gift unwrapping), it will be quite interesting to see how the different context changes the outcome or imagined object. None of us expect a real animal to be wrapped up in paper! But you never know: these sounds may be interpreted quite literally OR suggest all sorts of ideas to the children. I think this idea of Siobh�n�s is a great way to engage the children and focus their attention on story and imagination. Looking forward to the results.

So, it�s been an interesting day incorporating live performance, soundscape and music composition and a story-game around audio. Great fun!