Hmmm.
I'm not going to say any of my friends/family, because they're not in my possession. I'm lucky enough to have an amazing family and a wonderful Mr BobFossil, but I'm not going to claim that I own them.

Don't get me wrong, I like having stuff. Possessions are lovely. However, they're not the most important thing in life. Every birthday and christmas, my brother asks me what I want from him. And every year, I can honestly never think of anything I want or need. So I ask him to surprise me. I'd rather get something that has been specifically thought about and chosen for me, than a random DVD that could have come from anyone. Possessions just don't bother me too much.

That said, there is one thing that I would be heartbroken to lose. My flute. It was made by the Haynes company for me (to my exact measurements and specifications) in 1999. I went to Boston to order it. It's the best flute I have ever played. I call it "Beryl" after my Grandma, who left me the money in her will to go towards getting myself a proper, professional-standard flute that would last me the rest of my life. It's beautiful. I actually feel like I have an emotional connection to it, even though it's an inanimate object made out of metal. Having spent at least 4 hours a day playing it, growing as a musician whilst making the parallel journey into womanhood (whilst at a rugger-bugger school full of idiots that bullied me, and looked down on me for being a musician), it felt like my best friend.

Less than a year after bringing it back to the UK, I broke my ring finger. Well, ripped it open, to be honest. The end joint was shattered into over 30 tiny shards of bone, the artery cut, and the nerves severed. It took months to heal (it's weirdly bulbous at the end these days), partially because the nurse at the hospital couldn't stitch it back together, it was so pulped. The nail has grown back. The shards of bone have fused back together. However, the nerves could not mend, and the joint itself is buggered. Whilst I have a top joint in that finger, there is little to no sensation in it, and movement is extremely stiff. I cannot move it anywhere near as fast as I'd need to, to be professional. Essentially, my dreams of being a top-flight professional flautist were as shattered as my finger.

I'm still in music: I'm a semi-pro singer, I work in the classical music industry, and I'm perfectly happy. However, that flute is there to remind me what could have been. It's there to remind me that my Grandma had enough faith in me to leave me money for a proper flute. And mostly, it's there to remind me not to dick around on my bike ever again.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Mon 12 May 2008, 14:43, 11 replies)

*click*
I have to say that losing the ability to play my instruments is probably my greatest fear. That or losing my hearing so I couldn't even listen to music.

But at least you've had the opportunity to play on a really top class flute. Having a great instrument makes such a massive difference.
(Bazongaloid, Mon 12 May 2008, 14:53, closed)

*clicks*
Well-written, and a nice change to the "I got injured and it fucked everything up, blah blah blah *crying*" kind of stories.

I'm rubbish at playing bass, and singing, but I enjoy it so much that I'd really miss it if I suddenly couldn't.
( Cawl, Mon 12 May 2008, 15:05, closed)

You are Sting!
AICMFP

*is thrilled he has finally had the chance to use that acronym*
(Bazongaloid, Mon 12 May 2008, 15:18, closed)

AICMFP?
What's that?
( Cawl, Mon 12 May 2008, 15:19, closed)

I think
(I hope) it's "And I Claim My Five Pounds" meaning that due to your rubbish bass playing and singing comment I am inferring that you are Sting (I am humorously implying that his bass playing and singing abilities are rubbish) and therefore can claim the five pounds prize money for guessing it right.

At least that is how I understand that particular internet meme. I could of course be wrong.
(Bazongaloid, Mon 12 May 2008, 15:24, closed)

Oh.
Fuck off.
Sting is better than me :(
( Cawl, Mon 12 May 2008, 15:33, closed)

maybe
but you're definitely less of a cunt.
(Bazongaloid, Mon 12 May 2008, 15:40, closed)

You say that
...

But how do you know I'm not Sting?
( Cawl, Mon 12 May 2008, 15:43, closed)

Hmmmmmm
very true.

You cunt, you ruined Money for Nothing (just in case you are sting).

I feel like we have drifted away from the point of Bob's story. It's not the first time we've done this. So sorry again Bob!
(Bazongaloid, Mon 12 May 2008, 15:46, closed)

I wish I was musical
Unfortunately, I'm not. I have (to quote Billy Connolly) a voice like a goose farting in the fog, and the musical ability of a monkey in a guitar shop. I can't even play the triangle in tune, for fuck's sake...*


*Last sentence mey not be strictly true, but you get the gist
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Mon 12 May 2008, 15:58, closed)

as soon as i work out how to become a fan on this palaver
your it

x
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Wed 14 May 2008, 22:52, closed)