Oh 'tis a passionate Work! - yet wise and well;
Well chosen is the spirit that is here;
That Hulk which labours in the deadly swell,
This rueful sky, this pageantry of fear!
And this huge Castle, standing here sublime,
I love to see the look with which it braves,
Cased in the unfeeling armour of old time,
The light'ning, the fierce wind, and trampling waves.
William WordsworthWritten May-June 1806
Published 1807
SingStar - The Blind Fiddler' - Paul Conneally 2012
A visitor to Paul Conneally's Singstar Sitting Room installation in The Blind Fiddler Home Entertainment 1806-2012 exhibition at Snibston Discovery Museum chooses a song to sing.
Then sings it....
Who do / did you play Happy Families with?
Which was / is your favourite character and why?
What new family could be featured in a new Happy Families pack?
Send your answers to littleonion1@googlemail.com or comment below.
He was King of Jumpers.
Val is sure to be represented in an original artwork by Paul Conneally in The Blind Fiddler Home Entertainment 1806 - 2012 exhibition at Snibston Discovery Museum, Coalville, Leicestershire.
Here we have Empty Hats with their version of the song Blind Fiddler - an all together more upbeat and positive version lyrically than traditionally known. This versionis set in England rather than in America. I'd like to think that our Coleorton Blind Fiddler, as portayed in Wilkie's painting, felt as positive about his role as the Blind Fiddler in this exhilarating version by Empty Hats - its probably time to dance!
Blind Fiddler by Empty Hats
You know I lost my eyes in a blacksmith shop
in the year of forty eight
so I picked up a fiddle and I began to play
I am not sad and lonely, content am I to roam
'cause I am a blind fiddler and the world it is my home
Cultural Forager for Transform Snibston artist, Paul Conneally, discovered that The Blind Fiddler was painted in the kitchen of Coleorton Hall Farm in 1806 - the same farm that the great poet William Wordsworth lived in with his familly. The picture was commissioned by Sir George Beaumont and given by him to the nation. It now forms part of the TATE collection.
The picture depicts a family gathered together being entertained by an itinerant musician - the Blind Fiddler. Conneally began to ask questions about what families do for home entertainment together. From January 2012 through Spring Conneally will curate an exhibition The Blind Fiddler - Home Entertainment 1806 to 2012 exploring now how home entertainment indulged in as a family has changed through the years since 1806.
The exhibition will draw on artefacts, selected by Conneally, already held in Leicestershire Mueum and Galleries collections and new works by Conneally, artists asked by him to make their own interpretations of The Blind Fiddler theme, and works created with Conneally by and with communities local to where the picture was originally painted.
Here's a commercial from Wii - is the Wii today's Blind Fiddler? We shall explore!
