Derek Hasted? Who?

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Derek Hasted? Who's He?

A Quick Hello

Hello. I'm Derek Hasted.

Most people get the name wrong. Phonetically, it's nearer Dairy Custard than anything else.

I got really worried when I picked up a prescription in the Chemists a few years back. I mean, I know Doctors' handwriting is bad, but when the tablets had a computer label marked DIERDRE HAYSTEED, I did wonder whether the pharmaceutical content had the same degree of care and attention. Or indeed, whether I would indeed become a Dierdre if I kept taking the tablets.

Safe to say, I haven't...

 

I play Guitar. Well, you've guessed that!

I also play Penny Whistle, Banjo, Mandolin, Bass Guitar - hang on, senior son has borrowed that - Eb Tuba, Piano, Synthesiser and (as you've perhaps seen, my crowning achievement) I play the fool.

I have a wicked sense of humour, provided it's not at anyone's expense. I like a sense of fair play and I'm usually on the side of the underdog. I'm pleased I've helped to raise many thousands of pounds for local charities, and I'm pleased to help give others a sense of joy for being on this planet.

I've a wife, Pam, and two boys, Colin and Simon. Boys? They're like barn doors!
I'm proud of them. I suspect the feeling isn't mutual....

I've written jingles for cassette-based magazines which have been circulated as widely as Australia and Canada, and I won a really ugly Cup once for Composition. Yuk, I'd forgotten just how ugly it was till I started typing this!

I've two goals in life (apart from the usual ones of helping ensure World Peace, opening a Donkey Sanctuary and winning the Miss World competition - of which only the middle one looks remotely possible), and they are that ...

• I'm remembered when I'm gone, and
• I've not been a total waste of space.

I'm not sure that being remembered for being a total waste of space is a suitable half-way point....

These are my pages, but, the Staffroom apart, they're not about me - they're about how I can show you how much enjoyment can be had from Guitar, and in particular from Ensemble Guitar.

You can find more about my teaching philosophy if you study my Lessons.

You can find out a little more about me in the next page of the Staffroom.