May Day has arrived. It is one month one from the open mic testimonial in my name. I would like to take a moment to revisit that special and treasured event and the incredible effort and generosity around it.
I was, I remain, truly humbled at the gift provided by the good people of this community.
A dozen and more performers. Over three times that number in the audience and / or ‘sponsoring’ the event.
@brianlarsen @DavidP @KevinKevan @tRONd @grayal @adi_mrok @iainism @Rossco01 @pikeamus @liaty @TheMadman_tobyjenner @Mari63 @Rod58 @CT @LievenDV @batwoman @bigbird @ChasetheDream @crocodile1 @DarrellW @Digger72 @glpguitar @Gregba @J.W.C @John_in_Dot @Jozsef @JustinGuitar @kontenda @LBro @Majik @max_mue @MikeSebastianP @pkboo3 @R.F.W @redrhodie @roger_holland @Rumil @sairfingers @SandyMusic @Sarahsus2 @RomanS @sclay @SgtColon @skinnyt @Socio @SS7 @stitch @Strummer_of_69 @Thejoechoi @theoldman66 @Tom_B @Willsie01
I hope I have not missed anyone with an @ tag.
Brian made the fundraiser announcement at the start of the evening and when he mentioned the total amount … Holy cow. Just wow. That is a whole lot of people putting their hands in their pockets and gifting some hard-earned £ or $ or € or ₽ or kr and whatever currency people use in their homelands.
To those who have known me for a long, long time, dating back years in the old forum, to people who have just recently joined here, I say once more, a large and heartfelt thanks. I was moved to tears before, during and after the open mic night itself. The video Brian posted from The Burning Hell brought more tears to my eyes multiple times whenever I viewed it and showed it to family and friends.
I would like to provide you all with a little of the back story. Much of this is already known by some folks here.
I first registered on the JustinGuitar Forum December 27, 2008. At that time I was on the cusp of discovering the fact that the internet was home to people across the globe sharing lessons and tutorials for guitar. A new world opened to me and I had a new purpose to brush up my skills and learn some new tricks. I found JustinGuitar soon into that journey of discovery and have been hanging around ever since. I found a home and friends in the forum and hung out there regularly, daily. I was made a moderator over ten years ago and increased my involvement in the ‘pay-it-forward’ stakes. I would spend hours each week helping others, writing helpful comment, supportive critque and more. By the time the forum closed I had written over 16,000 posts, more than 3 / day. Many friends moved on (as is the way with forums), others came along. I greeted each new face with what I hoped was the same welcoming and positive spirit of friendship and encouragement. I never did it for the pay back, just for the gift of giving and the satisfaction of being able to offer something to others.
This voluntary moderator role was something I did in my spare time. My full-time work was as a school Maths teacher. In November 2017 that all changed. I succumbed to an acute and extreme laryngitis. Within the space of one afternoon I lost the ability to speak altogether. I was off work and undergoing speech therapy for several months. My employer lost patience and managed me out with an NDA tightly wrapped and signed.
In May 2018 I decided never to set foot in another classroom as a school teacher. I was convinced stress had caused my condition - the job was putting too much pressure on my mental and physical wellbeing.
I put my health and happiness ahead of remuneration. I took a massive pay cut and loss of employment rights to teach children in care through a local authority. This was done via an agency on a zero-hours contract basis with no holiday pay, no sickness pay, no security of tenure and an income that was about 40% below my pay as a teacher. And given that teacher salaries were never amazing and have been effectively frozen since 2010 in England, that meant a rather modest income indeed. But I loved my work, I was good at it and I was making a massive difference to many vulnerable and deprived children. I supplemented my earnings by teaching private students on evenings (Maths and some guitar).
Then, a few months ago, due to complicated reasons including funding, my work was terminated and I was given just a few days notice to leave. I mentioned it to some friends here in the community. That prompted a hairy fella and a few other hairy folk to exchange messages and hatch a plan for a fundraiser - in my honour, to help me through a financial difficulty and to give me a celebratory event to mark the occasion.
At the open mic, when the mic was handed to me to speak (and perform) I almost made a crass remark about the monies raised which would probably not have been funny, and most certainly would not have been respectful. Some comment about the money being sufficient to pay my gas & electricity bill this month crossed my mind. Borne of being quite taken aback and lost for words I am sure. I am glad I kept the words within. I feel it is okay to mention them now and hope no-one is offended at the cheap gag.
For context, energy prices for domestic consumers rocketed by about 50% in the UK on the 1st of April.
What the money has done and will do, is provide a buffer for the weeks that I struggle to find paid work. I did have an immediate loss when the old job ended. Fortunately I have pieced together enough paid hours from multiple sources to earn money week by week for the time being. I still have some private Maths students. I gained online Maths teaching through a national covid-catch-up tuition scheme. I have acquired some guitar students thanks to Justin’s Approved Teacher scheme. And, thanks to the enormous and kind spirit of Justin himself, I have some paid ‘behind-the-scenes’ work in the Justinguitar team too. Four jobs and I’m okay. When June / July come round and the school year ends, I need to reassess. Then, beyond that is more uncertain. I’m coming up 57 years-old. I don’t want to be filling in application forms and going for interviews. So, if I can I will continue to do freelance work such as I have been these last couple of months, working from home and setting my own agenda. And having a cuppa whenever I want! haha
Gosh, I seem to have rambled on somewhat. If you made it to here, I thank you all over again.
And I shall close by directing you to this, recorded courtesy of Brian.
Love, hugs, gratitude and more. Richard
