The Highs Lows Of Anna Esslemont (Uiscedwr)

2007 has been a year of two halves for me - the first being spent at home recovering from my bone marrow transplant, the second getting back on the road with Uiscedwr and I can definitely say that the latter has been much more fun!! We started touring in June and were completely overwhelmed by the amount of support we had from the audiences.

Summer was fab despite the weather, and we really enjoyed playing at Sidmouth again, our first time back since 2003. We got to see Baka Beyond In Ireland in July which was unbelievably good - those guys really rock!

I met the gorgeous and incredibly inspiring Karen Tweed earlier this year and she has become a big part of my life, and Uiscedwr also - Karen will be joining Cormac and I for the Uiscedwr Big Band, a really exciting project that we're putting together for Celtic Connections next year, can't wait! Karen invited me to be a part of Circa Compania in the autumn, a song and dance show featuring 14 women!!! It was a fantastic experience and as much as I love the lads in Uiscedwr it was heavenly to work with just ladies for once! We never ran out of chocolate or lip gloss!

As for the lows of 2007, there haven't been any worthy of a mention - I'm still amazed just to actually be here and able to play my fiddle and sing again. Every single day seems a little more special now. Finger's crossed things will continue to go well with my new marrow and 2008 will be better than ever!

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