Oh dear, I seem to be in the midst of a bit of things-aren’t-what-they-used-to-be grump. Not regarding the current political omnishambles (or rather, I have plenty to say about that too, but I’m not going to put you through it just at the moment). But about a concept that I
I went to a fantastic musical in Chichester on Saturday. It’s called Flowers for Mrs Harris, based on a novel by Paul Gallico, with the book and music by Rachel Wagstaff and Richard Taylor. It tells the tale of London charwoman Ada Harris, who falls in love with… no, not
One of the many reasons why I’m continually delighted by my freelance existence is the capacity it affords me to try new things. Usually (unless a would-be employer is feeling particularly kamikaze) the ‘new thing’ is in some way connected with a skill-set or knowledge basis that I already have:
A few days ago, a friend of mine posted a link on Facebook to a TED talk by the psychologist Guy Winch. It is, as with almost all TED Talks I’ve watched over the years, a compelling and entertaining presentation about the importance of what Winch calls ‘emotional hygiene’. He
Earlier this week, I came across a post by a performer-musicologist friend of mine who was having a ‘what’s it all for?’ moment. ‘Do we really need historical musicology?’ he asked his Facebook friends. ‘Suppose it all just stopped right now, and we just made do with what we know,
Happy 4th July, one and all! And to the staff and students at the Royal College of Music, where I have studied and worked for the last eight years, congratulations on reaching the end of another great adventure of an academic year. It’s been exhausting, exciting, challenging, fulfilling, and packed
