b'quickly, and it was a turning point, perhaps for bothThe newer artists and the older generation began of us. to meet andplay together, sometimes it is my fault, I had also made a guitar for The Welsh Tornado,and sometimes they meet up at our house. Gareth Pearson, whose family I have known forThere is a resurgence in acoustic guitar music, and years. Both he and John were booked to play ata lot of it is not based around song accompaniment.the Ullapool Guitar Festival, so Moira and I wentI used to listen intently to the songs. Now I watch along to see them and have a little holiday in thatthe fingers and think about guitar tone, and about wonderful part of the world. what I need to do next.It couldnt have happened at a better time.AsI started to make a few experiments, trying out we entered the hotel, we met Tristan Seume,new timbers and ideas. The Walnut Leonardo wandering around the foyer, playing guitar tomentioned earlier was followed by a Pink Ivory anyone who would listen. John Renbourn walkedMagician - imagine that! Then a Walnut Ariel. and a past and said Hi. Clive Carroll was there.It carriedBubinga Falstaff. I made sure that each time I had on like that all weekend, and every year since. Ian exhibition or festival to attend, I always had one had never met some of my earlier USA customersor two of these unique instruments, they always until they played at Ullapool, and over the followingsold very quickly, at good prices. They were my years we have made many new friends there. Personally Selected Guitars.It took me about thirty In some ways it was similar to the early 1970s,seconds to think of a name.meeting professional players, making guitars forThe idea evolved quickly, I could be completely free them, playing them at Pool and drinking whisky into make whatever I wanted. I can take inspiration the early hours.from a particular piece of wood, then put it together Just like the 1970s, knowing one artist leads towith other matching pieces and choose a shape meeting others. Tristan Seume introduced me tothat suits the grain and size of the timber. Having Will McNicol and David Buckingham. John Smithlarge stocks of about 100 different timbers gives me introduced me to Lisa Hannigan and Richardthat freedom and inspiration. I might have some Hawley. Everyone wanted a guitar, or two, or three. objective in mind while I am selecting the Lewis Rainer. The girl from the songThe Goodfellow used in the film is Lewiss own guitar. Lewis is a fan of Nic Jones, Dick Gaughan etc, and the guitar is still the most precious thing I own, paid for with the pay check from his firstThe Ullapool Pool Challenge Teamacting job in Grange Hill.You might also now Lewis from has parts in Hollyoaks,Open for challenge matches from any other guitar festival pool team, worldwide, and Casualty, Endeavour, Grange Hill,inviting sponsorship from any decent brewery. (dark ale please, none of this modern Dracula, Wasteland, and so many more gold rubbish). We are also looking for a supplier of matching team shirts. This picture is just some of the Ullapool first team, if we include the reserve team, management, fitness trainers, nutritionists, and all the groupies, we will need about thirty shirts. In a very wide variety of sizes.111'