Happy New Year 2023 - Waving "Goodbye" to 2022 with Auld Lang Syne

Hello, my Hiver friends!

I suppose many of you are getting ready for their New Year celebrations! 🍾🥂🍸
Today I'd like to play the classic New Year's Eve tune "Auld Lang Syne", which usually brings the old year to a close. Hope, you like it!

Note: I am a beginner player and do NOT have such long fingers, I wish I had.. 😂

If you'd like to know more about the song: Auld Lang Syne

I can't quite believe how quickly this year has gone by!

Our band Swing 42 has been busy all year swinging for dancers which was great fun and we shall continue to do so, with our next one already lined up on the 8th of January.

Source: @todayslight who recorded some of the fun in February.

We also held our usual fortnightly jam sessions where some of us sometimes try out new stuff on the others, poor sods.. 😄 We all love our group sessions, as they're very relaxed and it's a lot of fun joining in with others.

We always welcome new faces and our more recent addition has been Rod from the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. 😂 What a name!
Hope, I go that right, as I had never heard of them before, @steevc 😁
Rod plays his uke these days, he played sax in the band, and presents many of his originals during those sessions, always good for a laugh!

That's him there behind Steve, pondering on what next to play.

In early June there was the Jubilee weekend to celebrate the Queen's 70th anniversary on the throne, which was also going to be her last as it turns out.
We organised a concert with local musicians at a pub, where Swing 42 played as well.
I don't seem to have many pictures, so you just have to put up with me wearing a silly hat:

Also in June Swing 42 played as part of @purplesinger 's Alive and Singing concert at the Bedford Corn Exchange; you can see her here in action as well as our setup with my lovely Gretsch there in the background.

The year was also filled with loads and loads of open mics at pubs in our area and we hope to get back into our regular one in Arlesey in 2023, fingers crossed!
Two especially memorable events where the Best of Open Mic and being part of Balstock 2022
I will try to enter again next year; the atmosphere is amazing, so many nice people everywhere.

_Source

Finally a few non-musical things that took place:
After a longish absence I managed to jet over to Hamburg for a change, which pleased my Mum for sure 😄🛬

And in January it will be a year since I went to London to the German Embassy to get my German passport renewed; at the same time I finally applied for my British passport, which I received some time in March, more on that some other time.

Thanks, folks! Have a very Happy New Year!

_{All photos owned by @anna-newkey unless otherwise stated}