Chiff and Fipple Forums

Someone (NorcalWhistler/IdaWHOa, I think) brought a Xaphoon to one of Tony Higgins' C & F parties a few years back. As I recall, he had the same complaint about the upper register being hard, but he admitted to not having much experience with reed instruments. I didn't have a chance to try it ou...

Your castle is very cool, Tootler. I didn't beat anything because it's not a contest. It's just a bunch of us having fun sharing the experience of whistling in fun places. I travel a lot and photography is a hobby of mine, and I carry a whistle in my backpack, so it's only natural for me to say to ...

Why is it that Irish dairy products are consistently far superior to their US equivalents? Because they don't have the volume to achieve the kind of mega-dairies that feed most Americans. The products, therefore, retain a bit of their native character. I know, I know. That was more of a lament than...

Tony Higgins, of Clips and Snips archive fame, has made a point of requesting guests at his house sessions to refrain from asking his mother to repeat the phrase "They're always after my Lucky Charms". Apparently, her Irish accent makes this almost irresistible to some (is this a crossover...

Whistle in a different room with a closed door would be the best solution, but it sounds like that's out. Do you have an enclosed garage that you (or the cats) could use? Or maybe you could try to make a whistle mute, or get a really quiet whistle (Hoover, maybe?) for indoors practice. Pet reactions...

Cheese? Britain has many fine cheeses, and a few slices of wholemeal bread or crackers (savory biscuits in the UK, I think) and a good cheese makes a decent hearty snack or light meal (isn't this essentially the ploughman's lunch on offer in pubs?). Of course, that depends on how she feels about che...

Gnocchi. Or possibly ravioli. If you insist on the list, rotini.

Our local county park (Almaden Quicksilver County Park, in SW San Jose) is home to several flocks. Their range seems to vary by season and time of day - sometimes we see them almost every day, sometimes it's weeks between sightings (though the flock that hangs around the park's SE entrance rarely st...

The Plough and Stars website currently lists shows at 9 PM on the 4th (Tuesday), 6th (Thursday), and 9th (Sunday) of November, but gives no information other than names and times. Are the teaching sessions part of the scheduled shows, after, or other times entirely? Dunno if my skill level is high e...

Dixons aren't bad whistles at all, though a bit quiet. It may take you a while to get a solid low D since it's rather easy to pop into the 2nd octave D. I have medium-sized male hands, and find the Dixon easy to play. That being said, since I started playing flute my Dixon doesn't get used much. I c...

I will usually read a new book front-to-back. But I sometimes skip around, too. It depends on the book, my familiarity with it, and my state of mind. Books with complex plots are much harder to skip through randomly. On the other extreme, approaching an encyclopedia that way is a lot of fun - you pi...

Something that might work for you (once you've established the correct setting) is to measure the distance between the end of the cork and the cap on your headjoint (if you have one). I cut a strip of cardboard to that width and about 6 inches long, then rolled it up and inserted the roll between co...

Saw a couple of urban beaver. Man, those suckers are big. I thought at first one was a log. Dunno where their lodge would be, but I'm pretty sure they've long ago given up trying to dam the Mississippi. Thanks you for an absolutely wonderful mental image, and an accompanying laugh. Yeah, I guess th...

My mother still likes to tell the story of my granddad naming a cow after my grandma, who was not pleased. Granddad was baffled because he'd meant it as a compliment; the cow in question was his best milk cow. He ended up giving that cow a different name. My maternal grandparents had an older cow t...

My niece went there about 10 years back, along with some of her high school friends. After a single semester, she returned home. She didn't like the party scene, and her friends/roommates had jumped in headfirst. She said it was too hard to concentrate in the constant party atmosphere (worked out OK...