It all started when I decided to help my 11 year old son with a school music project. His task was to select any folk song and to play (with the help of 3 class mates) at least one instrument from the song's country of origin.

Selecting the song was easy enough - Crooked Jack - and apart from the fact that I am not really sure of its exact origins, he was happy to accept the Irish roots of the tune and to teach himself and/or one other member of the budding folk group to play tin whistle.

"Dad, can you please buy a bodhran for me", asks my son.

"They cost about $120, how about I make one for you" replies the great white hunter, father-provider and rugged bronzed ANZAC. "I've seen some instructions on the Bodhran Home Page on the Web. Rather than waste the money on buying one, I'll buy a couple of green goat skins and treat and stretch the hides. It doesn't look that hard".

Buying the fresh hides was surprisingly easy, and at $6 (AUS) each I decided to buy two - that way my two kids could both have a drum each. The skins were a wee bit pongy, but had been salted and were only a few days old. (They are a by product of slaughtering feral goats in Western Queensland for human consumption in S.E. Asia).

Both goat skins had a goodly crop of hair, and because bodhrans require a bald finish, I consulted the instructions. My chosen path was to place them in a barrel of water to which lime was added. I presume that they meant garden lime rather than the tropical citrus fruit, and because the recipe was silent on the quantity I added about 1kg of the lime powder to about 50 litres of water. At the end of 'a few days' the theory is that the hair should be then loose enough to easily pull out.

The next day I left for interstate.

If you have never been to Brisbane, just a brief note about the climate. It is sub-tropical, and while technically at the start of autumn, temperatures are still warm enough. Day time max is about 35C (say 95F for our non metric friends) down to about 22C (72F) overnight, and most days Naturally enough given sufficient moisture Mother Nature is quite bountiful in this climate.

I didn't believe my wife's claims while I was absent that thw whole hide barrel was threatening western civilisation until my return a week later. The fact that it was a Sunday probably saved my neighbours from calling the local council to complain about the smell, but I have to admit it was pretty potent, was generating some minor effervescence and had a crop of maggots on top that were a sight to behold.

I may never know, but I think that it was my decision to add chlorine powder to the barrel - in order to neutralise the odour and the wildlife - that may have caused the final end. It foamed immediately like a witch's brew out of some B grade movie and spewed forth a foul DNA concoction of hide scraps, fatty deposits, goat hair, maggots and sundry unmentionables.

Could anyone please advise where in Australia I can source a ready prepared skin for a bodhran?

Happy Paddy's Day John