Blog Posts

  • Nine Lessons and Carols 9

    I Wish it Could be Christmas Every Day. You know the song. Even as I child I knew that if it were Christmas every day…

  • Nine Lessons and Carols 8

    Eight lessons in. Where are the carols? I’ve been playing carols every day in December. I’ve played them in churches and chapels; in school halls,…

  • Nine Lessons and Carols 7

    I separated from someone this year after a relationship that had lasted several years. My baritone partner moved to playing tenor horn. I’ll miss sharing…

  • Nine Lessons and Carols 6

    A friend of mine wrote the following in response to the first post in this series. She wishes to remain anonymous. I think this is…

  • Nine Lessons and Carols 5

    One of my favourite concert performances this year was that given by András Schiff at the BBC proms. He sat down at a piano and…

  • Nine Lessons and Carols 4

    I’ve played the organ for quite a few church services this year. I can’t say that I’ve enjoyed it. I’m still finding my way around…

  • Nine Lessons and Carols 3

    I got a Christmas card from a friend this morning with a picture of a steam train on the front. No surprises there, my friend…

  • Nine Lessons and Carols 2

    Here’s one of my favourite lyrics, one that you’ll hear at this time of year "There’s a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy,…

  • Nine Lessons and Carols

    Tonight I played as part of a nine piece band at an event in a Methodist Church. I’m not sure what to call the evening,…

  • Tagging #3: My Tagging System

    Some of the tags I’ve evolved to help me organize and retrieve my writing notes.

  • Death and The Maiden

    My friend, Chris Beckett, suggested writing down what I thought about whilst listening to a piece of music… I’m writing this listening to Schubert’s String…

  • How Writers Write: Anne Charnock

    How Writers Write is a monthly series of guest posts where established writers invite you into their workspaces, reveal their work habits and share their…