Yesterday I attended my first WinterDrum event in High Wycombe. This was an opportunity to participate in workshops with some of the best drummers around. I was there for the African drumming, but there were also sessions for steel drums, Japanese Taiko, singing and dance. I did a session in the morning with Nansady Keita from Guinea. His English is limited, but his drumming was incredible. He really pushed me technically. Two hours of solid drumming was hard work, but I was smiling all the time. In the afternoon I was with Hans Sutton learning more about playing dunduns. These are the backline in African drumming. That was fun too. I just hope I can remember some of the rhythms I was taught.

In the evening there was a concert featuring many of the tutors, some with their pupils, although I did not perform. It was an amazing evening with some outstanding playing. You can see some pictures over on my Multiply site. That ended around 11:30, so I was pretty late getting home. It was a great day. I shall have to do more events like this.

On the web front I finally gave in to temptation and joined Twitter. This is a 'micro-blogging' service where you can let people know what you are up to right now. As opposed to here where it takes me a while to put together my thoughts. Twitter has some nice features like being able to update via Jabber. You can also tag messages as replied to what others have said. I have a few friends using it and have also connected with bassist Jeff Schmidt who I have been following on-line. There are other ways to post your status, such as in IM systems or on Facebook, but Twitter just seems more useful. It is another possible distraction, but I shall see if it is useful or entertaining.