Hello - yes I've been at TOP since February, an R3 listener since the 1960's and a discontented one for the last 2 or 3 years. I'm 59. KittyBriton has it - my nom de guerre is that of QE1's favourite comic actor and the real Yorick. I play the classical guitar (including a lot of lute transcriptions), and had a brief affair with a lute. Dowland's "Tarleton's Resurrection" is either a lament or a jig, depending on how fast you play it - as there are no tempo markings in lute tablature you can never be entirely sure. There's a metaphor in there somewhere.

I have broad musical tastes, from the 16th to the 20th centuries, including lots of opera, and go to as much live music as possible. I work for a conservation body, speak reasonable Spanish, and team up with two old friends to walk in the Alps or similar every year.

I am still getting the measure of this site, so probably won't be rushing into anything, but appreciate the welcome (thank you all) and look forward to taking part.

Kitty - three different tunings, depending on the transcription  - standard guitar, standard renaissance lute (with the G tuned down to F#) and a few transcriptions in D with the bottom string tuned down to D. My best party pieces are in lute tuning, hence it was quite easy to pick up a lute and play it, and I hired one for a few months to try. It was fun for a while but like so many affairs started to make me miserable - impossible to tune accurately, and I was not prepared to cut my fingernails because I wanted to go on playing the guitar as well (I like the rest of the repertoire). Also I found trying to keep my little finger anchored to the soundboard, not to mention using your right thumb "inside" your fingers, impossible. Plus I find tablature deeply counter-intuitive. The affair was really doomed from the start. The lute world much more PC these days than when I used to see Julian Bream play guitar and lute on successive nights or in the same concert. So I listen to lutenists (lots of CD's, and I've seen Jakob Lindberg twice in the last 15 months), absorb performing style, phrasing etc., but play it on the guitar.

Do you play?

That's impressive. I expect you've come across this lot? Very friendly and helpful people.

http://www.lutesoc.co.uk/