Happy Birthday Toby 
But above all HNRGD …Resonator Day finally happens 
I like that one very much
Have a lot of fun with it ,Greetings
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Happy Birthday Toby. Great looking guitar. Have fun.
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Happy birthday fella.
We’re all orbiting, aging and creaking a little more. And we’re all still here and making a racket.
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Happy birthday Toby! 
And happy NGD as well. That one is a beauty and it looks as if the two of you will have loads of fun together. Glad your wife kept chasing you to get one.
Hope to hear this one soon.
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Stop it, Toby-
It’s not too late! 
Seriously, Happy birthday, Buddy and enjoy the sound of the swamp.
Looks a beaut!
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A bit late but Happy Birthday @TheMadman_tobyjenner !
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Orbit?….!
I always thought a Harley was a motorbike but it turns out it’s a spaceship! 
Happy new Resonator and happy birthday
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Happy 70th Toby, looks like it plays really well. I gotta say tho, I’d still want cake to go with it.
Happy birthday Toby and stop tempting me to buy a resonator 
!
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A belated thank you for all the birthday well wishes and nods to the new member of the stable. Been a bit manic here with one thing or another, plus grand daughter came over Sunday, solo for the first time for a Uni break.
There’s not been a lot of playing since my 69th kicked off but jeez there’s been plenty to make up for that since last June or even earlier but “Big Res” got a 40 minutes session today. Selected a couple of Finger Style Blues piece that are in consolidation mode. Quite an interesting experience, with adjustments needed in playing style to both pros and cons of a loud resonator. Sounds great, sounds loud but no palm muting or easy PM requiring a delicate thumb. Oh and be careful with the dynamics !!
Always something new to learn and experience.
Happy Days !
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Nice one Toby, no one ever needed an excuse to buy another music toy 
The Takamine looks mint, I’ve checked out a few in more recent months including their 3/4 size.
Enjoy
Oh! and welcome back to the OM nights
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Late End of 1Q25 Review and reworked schedule for rest of year. Just parking so therefore not looking for comments or feedback Tia.
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It took me a while, but I’ve finally read your LL from the beginning, so just a few desultory notes on things that stood out for me.
Your smokeburst LP is a beautiful guitar. I was never crazy about burst finishes, but that guitar changed my mind. Being a Telecaster kinda guy, though I’m rubbish at electric, the two you’ve ended up with are gorgeous. Lucky you.
Being a Jefferson Airplane aficionado from way back, your rendition of White Rabbit is delightful. I’ve always been fond of the original version by Grace Slick and the Great Society, which is raga-esque: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xhSdy7SNZ8
You posted a link of the Nice from Five Bridges, which is another blast from the past for me, as a Keith Emerson fan from my early teens. It’s always a sonic adventure hearing him beat the daylights out of that Hammond L100 overdriven through Leslies. Thanks for that.
As you probably know, Keith was a biker. There’s an anecdote about him riding his Harley into London with a friend, and stopping into Selfridges and sitting in front of a grand piano. He was nearly unknown then. One of the shop assistants, seeing him in motorcycle gear, was just telling him not to play, when Keith produced some thundering piece , to the amazement of everybody, including, of course, the shop assistant.
Anyhow, I’m hardly the first to say I find your guitar journey inspirational. I also agree never to say, or think, that you’ll never be able to play as well as so-and-so or will never wrap your mind around any piece or style. I think the desire to learn is the talent, because it’s what drives our practice.
Keep rocking!
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Jonathan thanks for your comments and for the fact you read this from the beginning ! That’s a long old haul for which you deserve a medal !! Delayed response will be explained in my next update but thank you for reading
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2025 Review
It all started so well.
Post BLIM (Class 1) consolidation
Refocus on Triads.
Started learning more Arpegios triads and 7ths, plus Hybrid Picking
Started a 6 Week Blues Bootcamp Course in February, which dovetailed nicely with BLIM
And restarted my Acoustic Blues studies that had been shelved along with everything during BLIM
By April I done a drains up evaluation and drew up my current objectives,
Leading to “Baldricks New Plan” and by June I’d spec’ed out a new Practice schedule for the next 6 months and beyond. The focus being to keep consolidating Blues and evolving my Blues Rock, which has always been my ultimate aim, supported by the requisite skills and knowledge.
So bright eyed and bushy tailed I bounced into the second half of the year and fell flat on my face.
Some much needed branch lopping was undertaken way too enthusiastically and I ended up goosing a few fingers. The dreaded trigger fingers had returned. Knowing it would likely take 6-8 weeks to settle and if not would need cortisone shots, I took holistic approach and all bar my left index and right middle/ring recovered. But that index pretty much put a kybosh on playing but I tried the odd thing to keep my hand in, just to keep going.
Then mid August my wife was seriously ill and spent 3 months in one hospital or another. I won’t go into details but would like to thank those community members who picked up on the breadcrumbs I dropped here and there and reached out via DM and of course the JGC OM Steering Group (I stood down from all involvement having regrouped post BLIM) and my Blues buddies in the BBP Study Group (yep we are still together !!). My mojo evaporated overnight and the guitars were left to gather dust.
By mid October there was some light at the end of the tunnel recovery wise, so I sorted out a appointment with the hand surgeon as the 2 trigger fingers were still buggered. Picked up tried some slide barres and power chords but things were still difficult but the mojo was surfacing.
Then my wife got a discharge date for the end of October . . . . the same day as my Consultant rdv, So that was canned and rescheduled.
Eventually had my cortisone injections on December 1st and 12 or so days later I was back to playing cautiously but comfortable, however I am not pushing it.
Due to my wife’s on going long term recovery and needs, we are just about settling into a routine. So at the moment I have not got around to see where playing and practice fit in during the day. One thing I know is that I won’t be able to dedicate the same amount time as I did during BLIM and at the start of the year. So I pick up when I can. Also started doing some keyboards YT lesson on our old Casio over the last few weeks.
There have been another couple of ED dashes since she got back home and as I type this, having dropped her off at the hospital this morning without the drama of blues n twos !! Hoping she won’t be admitted again but we will see.
Unlike previous years, I am not dropping the 2026 schedule just yet. It will likely be close to the framework I had in June but need to factor in a Creative Soloing course I was hoping to start in the New Year. So I need to take a hard look at the content and prioritise what is most important.
And that’s about it for 2025. It may explain my absence and low profile here, plus it also being the leanest year for community recordings, since I started posting songs in 2014. This year none, which I guess sums it all up.
In the words of those well known Manc bros “Don’t look back in anger”,
I’ll stick with P.O.D. and the opening words of their song ALIVE “every day is a new day !”
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Thanks for the update, Toby 
Sometimes, life gets in the way of things. Would send sunshine, but here is none. So, the odd steadily burning candle will have to do.
Thinking of you and your wife. Hopefully you can enjoy Christmas together with your wife at home.
Don’t forget to take care of yourself as well. Hopefully things will look brighter in 2026. If that includes recovered fingers and being able to play guitar - all the better.
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Hi Toby,
Illness of a loved one is the most dreaded thing that can happen to us and fortunately I have no knowledge of it myself, but as far as I can make something of it in my head it is terrible enough and I wish you all the best now and for the coming period .
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Thank you for the update Toby 
Thinking of you and your family, and sending metta and sunshine (it’s mid-summer over here - sending some sunshine to Nicole too 
@JokuMuu )
I hope things keep on improving and wishing you and your family a beautiful holiday season and a much better 2026!
Also, have fun on the keyboards. I find that to be rather therapeutic too 
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I can empathise, my friend (even if my practice has never been a patch on yours). Hope the coming year is a healthy one, for you and your good wife. Will be good to catch a few Madman’s Diary entries '26
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Toby @TheMadman_tobyjenner
Sorry to hear about your troubled year, but loved ones must come first.
Michael
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