I thought bratsche summer was last year

The hand is intended for conducting the choir - there's a lever in the organ loft to move it up and down. Not sure if it's ever used these days!

You probably know that one way of saying 'a fellow' in French is 'un bonhomme', so perhaps you could style yourself Mollie Bonbonhomme for the purposes

My brother @andrewwyld.bsky.social's song on the subject (I played the synthy bits, it was always so fun to perform this at gigs too)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttfZ...

Weird to see this as I was playing it (well, the fourth line down) at Sadlers Wells just over two hours ago. It's definitely one of those moments where I have to take care not to listen too closely for fear of not being able to read my part properly through the mist.

Nor me (never have)! The consequences of that choice do feel increasingly acute, although in my case (no kids, non-driver, niche career) those aren't yet deal-breakers. I do wonder what is round the corner that might be.

There should be a series called 'People Doing Things Properly', each episode featuring a different livelihood, the first one being tv programme-making

I seem to remember hearing that he used to play the oboe (and not being completely surprised to learn that).

This got me wondering what the summer equivalent of Sleigh Ride might be and it's so obviously Soul Limbo

And very hard to unsay! I've always enjoyed Beethoven's indication for the Kyrie in his Mass in C: Andante con moto assai vivace quasi allegretto ma non troppo

I'd been meaning to say thanks for introducing me a few issues back to that Devon Sproule lyric ('Dress sharp, play well etc...') as it really resonated and I have been passing it on since, myself. But thanks for all the insights; I really enjoyed your column and I'm sorry to se you go.

Or theoretically an unsuitable pool of big unwieldy men

4. See if you can get to a live performance - I believe Opera North and the Royal Opera are staging it in early 2026, for instance. There are moments, heard live in particular, that will chill your spine!