Is there a doctor in the house? The medical side of this intrigues me, since my partner Rika got encephalitis and lost all her music (and the left side of her body). She relearned how to sing, but the left side never came back, so her guitar was useless. She learned duet concertina and plays one side instead. Her loss of music reminded me of Oliver Sacks' accounts of music and brain damage - how some brain injuries completely buggered up speech but left the music alone. I wonder if music clubs are particularly good at attracting people with brain damage. I'm not speaking now of non-physical and non-chemical mental challenges (or maybe I am - I don't know how whether they are distinct or distinguishable from the aneurisms, etc.). In any event, if we've a neuro in our midste I'd love to hear more about the relationship.

Jon Bartlett