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Many of you will know that I was born in Coventry and becoming a chorister at the cathedral there set me up to become the musician that I am. Before then, I remember having aspirations to become a fireman, but after a year of two as a chorister, all that was forgotten and all I wanted was to become a cathedral organist. I lived in Coventry until I went to university, and apart from returning for holidays as a student, I’ve only been back a handful of times in the last 40 years; my parents even moved away when they retired. Coventry has over thoseRead More →

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On Thursday 19 March, 108 days ago, Robin and I sat down to a game of Scrabble and decided we would do a ‘lockdown challenge’. Since then we’ve played each evening and thus consumed a lot of wine and too many accompanying crisps and ‘snacks’. Robin pulled quickly ahead, which I think is as it should be – her being a bit of a wordsmith an’ all. But soon we evened up and it’s been neck and neck since. So it seemed appropriate to call a halt yesterday, Saturday 4th July ‘Independence from lockdown Day’ with Robin winning the final game making it 54/54. That’sRead More →

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Hello again. We’re now in the 4th week of lockdown. This week the sun has shone and it’s been lovely to spend some time in the garden and start working on my tan! This is the week leading up to Easter. Is that Easter Week or is that next week? I’ve never been too sure. I know that last Saturday – the day before Palm Sunday, I should have been playing organ continuo for Eastbourne Choral Society’s performance of J.S.Bach: St John Passion. I think they plan to postpone that till next year. As organist at St Michaels Church in Lewes, I play a voluntaryRead More →

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I know that we’ve all been told that it’s important to do daily exercise in these ‘lockdown’ days. If you can tear yourself away from Tom Daley’s 10 minute home workout, here’s what I’m doing to exercise my fingers. A daily dose of Hanon may annoy the neighbours, but it’s very good for strengthening all five fingers. I was introduced to these exercises when I was about 14 or 15 and although my practice of them has been intermittent, currently I try to do them every day. They are quite boring, but it’s only 10 minutes and they work! First published in 1873, Wikipedia tellsRead More →