b'on each stage and everything improves. If you wantand I am still in touch with many of them, but I the best fretboard on your guitar, then you need thecant name them all, sorry to those Ive missed out.guy who does fretboards all day everyday, not theAn aside: I mentioned the Rocky Horror Show chap who is filling in on fretboards because he hasabove, we had chance to see the latest live show just finished sweeping up.with one of my newer customers, Ade Edmondson, Most of the people I employed were friends whoin it, wearing fishnet tights. Just thought Id say.came to see me and didnt go away again. WhenThere were so many stories.We took it in turns I needed more help, I asked around, I didntto make the tea (my turn was on every third advertise. Tony Wilson was a car mechanic andChristmas Day with a z in the month).The guys classical guitarist who fancied a change. Eddiecompeted to see who could get the most sugar in Green came from British Aerospace. John Burnsmy tea before I complained.One day I said thats was an electrician. Neil Brook was a shipwright.a nice cup of tea to be greeted by a huge communal Bill Blackledge was a timber salesman; Bill Astleysigh; Roger, there are 13 spoons of sugar in that!was a bank clerk. Others came from abroad just toLovely. I needed the energy.work at Fylde, and they stayed at my house until they found their own place to live. Ray MercerIn many ways it worked well, I trained and came from New Zealand to join The Glitter Bandsupervised all of them, and we socialised together and Rocky Horror Show before coming to me, andall the time. Being a friend and an employer meant returned to NZ to become a repairer and localthat I had two relationships with each of them, I am politician. Later on a friend of his, Justin Stretch,a Gemini, but I still found a lot of that very difficult. followed a similar route, he came over to FyldeBeing the boss is always a rather lonely position, and then some years later took his new skills backand everybody else in the universe knew that to his home country. Jonathan Woolston went onemploying friends was asking for trouble. To be fair to become a highly regarded violin maker. Neilto myself, and to most of the team, some lifelong Brooke became a well known maker of Hurdybonds were built then, but inevitably there were Gurdys, Eddie is now spending his retirementsome memories that were not so good. making his own instruments. There were lots more Andy IrvineAn icon in music for as long as I can remember. Andy Irvine and his friend Donal Lunny were amongst the very first to use big mandolins in Celtic or folk music, and now nearly every band uses a bouzouki or a cittern. If you want to hear where this started to come together, listen to Planxtys Smetano Horo or The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba (in Galway). The combination of Uilleann pipes together with Bouzouki and Portuguese Gittarre was spine tingling. Still is.Although I didnt know it, Andy was playing a Goodfellow bodied guitarBeverley Martynbouzouki for quite a while, he borrowedBeverly recorded her first single aged it from a left handed customer of minesixteen, going on to work withBert who played a right handed instrumentJansch, Paul Simon, John Renbourn, the wrong way up, so they could swapJimmy Page, Ralph McTell, Davy Graham when needed. As well as a few otherand many others, but of course most things, Andy has bought two Octaviusfamouslywith John Martyn. Today, bouzoukis and two Touchstone mandolasBeverly uses an Ariel in her solo career.from me. Maybe he buys everything in twos.54'