My first (proper) session tune proved to be The Butterfly, which I understand to be a conventional choice, but it’s a tune I enjoy playing and with which I have a fair competency. Being unfamiliar with Durty Nelly’s, I sat meekly at the bar (usually I sit in on The Whiskey Jar morning session and am more familiar with and to the folks there) until, halfway through, the session leader, half of the local duo Silo (I’ve seen them perform live at WTJU), sat beside me to order drinks. We talked for a bit, and I ended up moving into the circle once someone vacated their spot. I was pretty reticent, but I talked to the banjo player beside me about Lannigan’s Ball and people gradually joined in. The woman across from me extended her fiddle, overwhelming my attempts to politely decline with enthusiastic insistence-which is my experience with sessions: if it becomes known that you can play an instrument in any capacity and you do not have an instrument, an instrument will be pressed into your hands. A gorgeous instrument with a deep brunette stain and tone to match, the unfamiliarity of the fiddle/bow and my deep discomfort with performing publicly as a fiddler led a quivering start, but I eventually found some semblance of footing, even if that footing was suddenly incapable of tapping out the time. The tune went well enough-I forgot to signal the end and had nothing to follow with, so it ended a little abruptly, but everyone was complimentary and kind. I attempted Foxhunter’s to follow but couldn’t quite get it out on account of the profound anxiety riding from having just played an entire tune on a fiddle in a session. I’d intended to take Elsina to the Whiskey Jar this past Saturday to maintain momentum and hopefully be a little less profoundly uncomfortable with myself, but first-week-of-class-covid caught me and I was instead a feverish bed-ridden puddle. I’m still not in particularly good shape and will follow up my Monday absences with Wednesday absences due to still testing positive. It’s been difficult to focus on reading, but I managed today to work out part of the Suite Loudéac, which is a set of four Breton Tunes, so it wasn’t entirely a wash.