“Is there a park nearby?” I enquire in faultless French. “I want to go running.” “Yes of course, sir.” The man on the desk spins around and produces a map which he marks a series of lines, circles and arrows on. I study the map because that is what one does when...
The weeks of punishment that we have endured have been hard to take, and although the fifty shades of grey that we have been experiencing in London have no end in sight, I have to tell you that here in Aix-en-Provence the rain has been beaten into submission. As I write this,...
When the ghosts of music past are looking over your shoulder, the steely glare of silence falls upon the orchestra and the conductor makes a minute gesture for you alone begin the concert, this is the moment when the men are sorted from the boys. This time however, I am far from...
Brussels. The centre of European bureaucracy and, if you read the right newspapers, the enemy of our proud British traditions. Leaving the Euro debate alone for the moment, Brussels has been accused at various points in the last decade of trying to force UHT milk on us, dilute...
If an alien life form were to land unannounced backstage at a concert in 2012, they would make some basic assumptions about human behaviour which I once would have thought unfounded. Now I'm not so sure. One of the many changes I have seen in my time on the world touring...
I remember walking down the Nanjing Road in Shanghai a couple of years ago and being offered goods aplenty. This week however it seems worse than ever. As I get further down the road, I can always see people suddenly step out from beside the shops and walk alongside me asking me...
Walking around Beijing, I find it hard to tell whether my lips are numb because of the cold, snow-laden wind blowing in my face, or the Szechuan peppers which were liberally sprinkled on my lunch. If you've never had them before, their effect on your mouth is an exciting...
The cultural differences between nations are never more pronounced that when in transit. The British, being a nation of enthusiastic queuers, are left apoplectic with rage when confronted with a country full of people who do not understand this basic concept. I am told that...
From the comfort of the train speeding through the Spanish countryside, you could be forgiven for thinking that it is summer. The sun is high and the deep blue stretches far into the distance, the only clouds visible on the horizon look like chalk cliffs. But the thermometer...
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="75" caption="Kurt Weill"] I could find no glamour in running for a train at 5.45am and catching it by the skin of my teeth, arriving at Stansted at 7.30am, landing in Madrid and going straight to the hall to rehearse in the knowledge...
