Charles Valentin Alkan

I bet you haven't heard of this composer. Neither had I until this morning. But he is an eye-opener - or should I say ear-opener. He was a neighbour of Chopin and contemporary of Chopin and Liszt. Have a listen. His organ music should be interesting. He composed funeral music for a dead parrot 100 years before Monty Python! He sadly died pinned to the ground by a falling umbrella stand.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00k121z

Latin saying

I heard a Latin saying on the radio this morning: Solvitur ambulando, meaning "It is solved by walking".

Coast to Coast on BBC4 starts next Thursday

BBC4 are starting a new series following the success of the Wainwright Walks. Julia Bradbury is walking Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk (ref http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00jqp0m). The first episode of six starts next Thursday at 8.30pm. You must see it - or, better still, walk it!