Hilary Seabrook - writer, podcaster, musician

It’s always a pleasure to appear on the Showbiz panel on our local BBC radio station. This time was live from The Galleria, Hatfield.

My first few shows on North Herts FM have all been recorded - getting used to the technology has been hard enough, without the added pressure of knowing people might actually be listening at the time. But this weekend, I went live as we covered Todd in the Hole Festival.     This was the view from the outside broadcast studio just before the event - and my show - began. It was a great experience once we actually went live and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.     In fact, I will be doing it again in August for the next festival we're covering.     This wasn't my usual classical music programme, but great fun!

I'm still processing much of what I heard from Adam Phillips in a fascinating talk at Notting Hill's The Tabernacle.     Phillips' new book - Attention Seeking  - has already gripped my own attention and I particularly love what he has to say about finding inspiration in literature.     He quoted Camus' The Fall  with a definition of charisma - "When people say yes before you've asked anything". He has a lot to say about James Baldwin, which will take me back to my bookshelves and some of the American literature I studied 35 years ago.     I particularly like his use of Freud's version of the Sufi proverb: "Don't learn, listen."

  Telemann has never really featured in my musical education - until Trio Da Camera appeared at Benslow Music.     In a concert full of humour and variety, this highly entertaining trio (Emma Murphy, recorders, Susanna Pell, viols and Steven Devine on harpsichord) took a full audience back to the 18th century.     Telemann's trios were energetic and performed beautifully. As were two of his Fantasies for solo harpsichord. Devine has a skill and dexterity that is utterly musical and artistic.     I'm looking forward to listening to Devine's CDs of Franz Danzi - another composer I know too little about.