Since I wrote about attending a masterclass the other day, several people have told me about their own bruising experiences with ‘masters’ who specialised in devastating criticism. Years after the event they could still recall the words with searing clarity:
‘Shall I ask you to try again, or is there no point?’
‘You line the notes up [...]

To Cambridge for a dinner at my old college. In order to check what I wore last year at this event, I looked up some photos I’d taken at the time (just as well, as I was about to wear the same thing) and was surprised to see how much colder it was last year [...]

Although the clocks have gone back, the afternoons are growing dark between 4 and 5pm, and winter is clearly approaching, there are still roses blooming in the garden.
I’m particularly pleased about one rose, an Ena Harkness, which has taken ages to get established in our garden, and for the past few years has been producing flowers very [...]

When I was in Oxford the other day to give a masterclass at the university, I visited a friend who lives and teaches in one of the Oxford colleges. To reach his rooms, I had to pass through several interlocking courtyards, or Quads as they’re called in Oxford. Each courtyard took me further away from [...]

In our local park, there’s a pond where we’ve been watching the progress of a spectacular swan family with nine cygnets. Early on in their family life they perfected the art of moving about the lake in procession, their synchronised graceful  movements drawing the eyes of everyone out for a walk. Over a period of [...]