A master class in style and punctuation

The New Yorker's Mary Norris led a fascinating discussion in the use of punctuation on either side of the pond. Together with my friend and fellow writer Carole Seawert, I was part of the audience at a select gathering at the Vogue academy in Soho.

    Carole's alter-ego is The Apostrophe Woman (left, with her apostrophe on a stick) and she knows her stuff when it comes to punctuation. Nevertheless, we both found Norris's presentation interesting.

    Just as there are differences between UK and US spelling (largely, according to Norris, as an act of rebellion led by Noah Webster), so there are differences in punctuation. There was much debate on the use of single and double speech marks: ' vs ". Similarly on the use of single and double dashes: - and --.

    Of course, it's all not helped, as Norris pointed out, by the fact that The New Yorker would say "red, white, and blue" while the New York Times prefers "red, white and blue". Oh, the joys of the Oxford comma!

    Who even knew that hyphenation and word breaks could be so different. The US version would be En-gland and En-glish, whereas the UK would always use Eng-land and Eng-lish.

    I particularly liked a rule that Norris reproduced:

    Muphry's law: If you write anything criticizing editing or proofreading, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written.

Music, music, music

The last few days has been all about the music and it's proved the truth behind a famous Quincy Jones quote - "The only music I don't like is bad music."
    I've been listening to a lot of music: jazz on Saturday (Rob Luft at Club85); classical for Rubato #3 on North Herts FM on Sunday afternoon, then watching the stadium spectacular of Take That.
    The surprise came from tabla player Kuljit Bhamra, who excelled in an intimate performance at the West End's Radio Rooftop bar. Bhamra is exceptional both in talking about his life and music, and in the actual performance.
    I'm left feeling inspired.

Rob on the 'Riser'

Rob Luft wasn't actually on a riser, but he's used to being a few inches above the stage than in the studio recording his own tunes. Luckily for us, he released Riser in 2017 and is now set to record a new album.
    Luft appeared at Club85 with his brilliant band - Joe Wright (tenor sax), Tom McCredie (bass) and Corrie Dick (drums) - and clearly enjoyed the experience nearly as much as the audience did.
    His first solo album, Riser was released in 2017 but the tunes still sound fresh in the hands of this great band.
    Alongside some of the old favourites, Luft also debuted tracks the band are recording soon, for release in early 2020.
    Moving off the riser obviously sits well with Luft's creativity.

Getting in the swing of Rubato

 My new venture as a radio presenter on North Herts FM continues apace.
    Bringing classical music to the airwaves at 3pm every Sunday is a joy.
    Recording in advance works for me at the moment, but hopefully it won’t be long before I present live.
    Please listen in if you can - feedback would be great.

Back in the musical saddle

My baritone sax had an outing. Appearing with a local big band in Baldock.
    It’s so nice to be playing and I still wish I could do more.
    It’s three years now since my last stomach operation and I’m getting much stronger. Onwards and upwards!

Arthur Miller - as relevant today as ever

The recent National Theatre production of All My Sons stars Sally Field and Bill Pullman and outstanding performances by the whole cast.

    Streamed into Letchworth’s Broadway Cinema, this was a delightful evening. Thought-provoking and fascinating, this is a play about responsibility, family and truth. The denouement is shocking and yet somehow unsurprising. Miller builds the tension and the performances today make this as relevant as it must have been in the years after the Second World War.

    Once again, NT Live delivers.

Today’s the day! My first solo radio show

When I agreed to begin broadcasting a classical music radio show, I didn’t really imagine this day coming round.
    Now here we are. Today at 3pm, Rubato will be broadcast on North Herts FM. It’s the first show, so I apologize in advance for the errors, slips and fluffs.
    I am cheating to start with, so the show was recorded in advance and edited by our brilliant station manager, Becky Phillips.

    I hope you will listen in and then it would be great if you could let me know what you think.
    And send me a request for the next show!

The outstanding Kandace Springs - live at Ronnie Scott's

This was a proper night out. Meeting friends for early drinks (well, peppermint tea) at Bar Italia on Frith Street. Then a spot of supper (chips and the best mushy peas) before piling into Ronnie Scott's.
    For some reason, we ended up with excellent seats. A perfect view of the stage and - of course - outstanding acoustics for both the support and main acts.
    Ronnie's always books the finest acts and Ms Springs was simply outstanding. She had the funkiest, coolest bass player and drummer I've heard in a long time and her piano playing is better in the flesh than recorded.
    What's equally important is that she's the consummate performer, so she wowed the audience. If there was any criticism, it would be that she played to the crowd, with more standards than originals. I'd have liked to hear more from Indigo, but she teased us with a number of two from her forthcoming album, which was excellent.
    A fabulous night out.