Tim Ashley

Wondering whether to change my name to Ebeneezer by deed poll. I've never felt less Christmassy than I do this year, so totally stressed by it all .......

YouTube video by Randy Rainbow RFK! - A Randy Rainbow Song Parody

Brilliant adaptation of 'Cabaret' to 'RFK' shows Randy hasn't lost his touch. You have to wait a bit for the song, but it's worth it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDHp...

Very handsome ........

Très beau, comme toujours ..........

YouTube video by otterhouse Teresa Stich-Randall unearthly beautiful Telemann aria

Teresa Stich-Randall singing Jesu, komm in meine Seele from Machet die Tore weit, Telemann's cantata for the first Sunday in Advent.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t0M...

YouTube video by In Fernem Land Il Principe Gualtiero (Suor Angelica-Puccini): Ewa Podles

Puccini died on this day in 1924. So here are Ewa Podles and Patricia Racette as the Zia Principessa and Angelica in the great confrontation scene from Suor Angelica, in San Francisco in 2009, conducted by Patrick Summers.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF5b...

Enjoy, Dennis!

Thank you so much, David. That's very kind.

That would be lovely!! I shall give it some thought!! ☺️

Thanks so much, Dennis. You're very kind. 🙏 It wasn't easy, to be honest, but it's absolutely the right decision for me now. And I'm looking forward to where things take me next, I have to say! ❤️

That's so kind of you, Andrew. Thank you!!

Enjoy it, Mark! And keep warm!!

YouTube video by Elly Ameling - Topic Schubert: Im Abendrot, D. 799

Franz Schubert died on this day in 1828. Elly Ameling sings Im Abendrot with Danton Baldwin at the piano.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkhu...

I shall, Mark. Have no fear. And thank you. And I shall see you very soon x

Thank you so much, Mark!

Thanks, Hugh! You're very kind!!

Simon, that's very kind. Thank you so much!!

I'm not giving up writing by any means. I'll still be very much writing for Gramophone as well as exploring new projects and possibilities. And I shall still be posting about it all here.Thanks for reading, though. It's been a privilege to write for the paper for more than thirty years. 4

As some of you may know, however, health concerns prevented my travelling this summer. They are now resolved, but having reached an effective stopping point for a while, it strikes me that the time is right to move on and let others carry the paper's classical coverage forward 3.

I've felt for some time now that I've exhausted the possibilities of what I can achieve on the paper within its specific format. More, I fear, runs the risk of staleness. I did not intend, meanwhile, to continue for more than two years when I came off contract and reduced my quota last year. 2

Good friends, I have some news in that I have now stepped down permanently from the Guardian. This has not been a decision taken lightly, but I believe it to be right for me now. 1.

Glorious.

Never deride someone else's phobia. You might find it daft or ridiculous, but please remember that phobias can ruin lives.

YouTube video by incontrario motu Wolf - So lasst mich scheinen - Seefried / Werba Salzburg 1957

God, how I love Hugo Wolf sometimes. That ability to lay bare a human soul in three minutes. Unique and utterly astonishing.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5PB...

First recording of it I ever bought, and I've always loved it.

If you're English and my age you won't have been able to avoid it. As canned soup goes, it's better than many. I used to love it as a kid, in fact..... 🍲

Well, you can certainly still get Campbell's soup here, lol ..... 🥫

It's a great review, Mark.

Having a terrible time with my mobile at the moment, as I've just (yesterday) transferred from pay as you go to a contract and for whatever reason now can't make or receive calls. Doesn't help that I'm completely technophobic and haven't the first clue what I'm doing ...... 😳

YouTube video by judith booth POB 1992 Swan Lake cho Bourmeister Patrick Dupond Marie Claude Pietragalla Oliver Patey

Tchaikovsky died on this day in 1893. So here are Patrick Dupond and Marie Claude Pietragalla as Siegfried and Odile In Swan Lake in Paris in 1992. Just astonishing, the pair of them
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ0n...