Seven years on, I am taking up the Grade One challenge again, this time on the double bass, to raise money for the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA).  The event has been set up by a local musician, Guy Llewellyn, who took part in the last Cambridge Grade-one-a-thon, and who was paralysed in an accident at home last year.  Guy has chosen SIA as the very worthy beneficiary of the latest Grade One Challenge. 

The plan is this: on 3 January 2011, along with 149 other Cambridge musicians, I will be having a group lesson, after which I have eight short weeks to practise for my Grade 1 exam on the double bass on 27 February.  There will also be a concert in the evening of the exam day, to which my brave and long-suffering friends and family are cordially invited (details to follow). 

If last time's challenge is anything to go by, it's going to be infuriating, fun, hard work, hilarious, exhilarating and nerve-wracking in equal measure.  Please sponsor me!  The money raised will all go to the Spinal Injuries Association which offers help and support to people with spinal cord injuries and their families.   www.spinal.co.uk

Celia

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