Joseph Joachim Raff (1822-1882) On my chronological journey through the history of Western Classical music, I have mostly come down on the side of the established greats. The journalist and writer Bernard Levin said, wisely, that often posterity is the…
I suppose it’s fair enough that we are all laughing at poor Ryan Fogle the American diplomat who is accused of spying for the CIA by Russia after being “caught” wearing a silly wig under his baseball cap by Russian…
The British Conservative Party So the braying anti-European section of Britain’s Conservative party are out for their leader again. Poor old Dave Cameron, a decent enough bloke for a Conservative grandee but it looks as if they’ll tear him to…
Chris Hadfield – Space Oddity He looks like any other dad who can play a bit of guitar and sing along to a few golden oldies but in Chris Hadfield’s he gave air guitar a whole new meaning by playing…
When I was a child, my parents took me and my two brothers on holiday to the Lake District in the North of England where we lived an exciting few weeks experiencing camping life in a touring caravan. It was…
Colin Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) It was remiss of me not to have marked the passing of the great English conductor Colin Davis last month. I was away from my blogging duties and the moment slipt…
Here are few more of my recently discovered family photographs. Old photos are always evocative and somehow poignant but ones that you come across for the first time many years later have a particular power. Here is a group of…
Well, OK, it rained and it was necessary to look where I sat if I wanted to spend some time in the sunshine that followed on after this shower. It was worth it though. Nothing like raindrops on blossom petals…
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain “opened” Parliament today with the traditional ceremony of being driven through the streets of London in a carriage before arriving at the Houses of Parliament to a military band’s rousing performance of her song:…
Most people in the UK had a drink or two over this sunny May bank holiday weekend, I hope there aren’t too many queasy hang-overs today. I’m sure that pint tasted good for Nigel Farage, the jovial leader of the…