Earworm. This, I am told, is the correct name for that annoying scrap of music that insists on ringing in the ears and round and round the brain from the moment you wake in the morning until you fall asleep at night. You cannot stop it. One November morning in 1983 I woke to find […]
This index is frequently updated. The word CHORAL beside a title indicates a work that is unsuited to congregational singing. See also Composers and Collections. NB: Many of these pieces are included on The Jubilate Group website. Registering on The Jubilate Group, which is free, will enable you not only to see the whole text, but also […]
One reader is interested to know how I began writing verse. It began close to the onset of adolescence, that grim time of pink spots and sudden urges. The family was on holiday in Port Isaac, Cornwall. It had been a favourite place for many years. While waiting one morning for my parents to get […]
Ever heard of it? Elstree? In 1937 it was a village a couple of miles east of Watford, Herts. It had a golf club and an airfield – and a batch of film studios, where many internationally famous titles were produced. Heard of ‘Star Wars’? Yes, the studios are still very much in Elstree – […]
Back in 1982 I decided I just had to meet John Betjeman. I wondered how I might achieve this. Then I discovered that Lady Penelope was giving one of her lectures on Hindu temples at Lacock Abbey. It seemed the perfect opportunity. So I went, and took with me a small gift for him – […]