I started learning to play the mandolin last summer at the Celtic College in Goderich, and have made so much progress that I'm confident of being able to play in sessions at this year's college, in August. My fingers seem to know what to do most of the time, and tunes just seem to bubble along with remarkably little effort. I never learned to play the guitar with a plectrum, but have absolutely no trouble using one to play the mandolin. Most days, I can't wait to get home from work and start practising.

Looking back on my long years of not entirely satisfactory effort on the guitar, I'm beginning to wonder if I have finally, at the age of 50, discovered the instrument I should have been playing all along. Have any of you had a similar experience?