The azaleas, camellias, magnolias and rhododendrons are nearly all out now in Richmond Park. Although most of the park is just green, there’s an enclosed park-within-a-park called the Isabella Plantation. Why is it called Isabella? It seems that ‘Isabel’ is an word from the Middle Ages meaning ‘dingy yellow’, possibly a reference to the colour [...]

I never used to follow contemporary dance, but a chance encounter with the Mark Morris Dance Group seems to have turned me into an Sadler’s Wells groupie. I’ve gone on to enjoy Pina Bausch, modern flamenco, and on Saturday we relished the last night of Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’s ‘Early Works’ retrospective.
Whenever I go to [...]

I can’t help feeling rather proud of this photo, taken yesterday, of the first tadpole I’ve seen this spring. He/she/it was resting on a lily leaf under the surface of the water. There was an item on the radio this morning about the big increase in the number of people in the UK who live [...]

I’ve been trying to prepare my mind for tomorrow’s BBC recording of a discussion between me and fellow pianist James Rhodes for Radio 4’s Between Ourselves programme (to be broadcast on April 26 at 9.00 and again at 21.30). James has found a way to bring classical piano music to large numbers of new listeners, [...]

Suddenly the weather is good, and for the first time this year we were able to have lunch outside. Here I am, out for a treat at the Covent Garden branch of Jamie Oliver’s restaurant chain, about to enjoy my antipasto plate of delicious Italian cured hams, pumpkin, peppers, mozzarella cheese and nice bread to dip [...]