Surrender to the Brinsleys
IF EVER a group got off to a bad start, that group would be Brinsley Schwarz. While still unknown to the British press and public, in April 1970 they were … Continue readingSurrender to the Brinsleys
Recent Posts
Peake of perfection
ALTHOUGH not normally an admirer of fantasy fiction, I make an exception for Mervyn Peake’s remarkable novels Titus Groan and Gormenghast. They contain some of the most vivid description and … Continue readingPeake of perfection
Why do we call it Boxing Day?
LIKE most traditions, the origin of Boxing Day is unclear. The prevalent theory is that the day after Christmas used to be when tradesmen and servants received a ‘Christmas box’ … Continue readingWhy do we call it Boxing Day?
The Carols Collection
IT’S been a lot of fun putting together these carols day by day, and the readers and I have been down some interesting byways, such as the debate about the … Continue readingThe Carols Collection
A Christmas selection box (guaranteed Slade-free)
IT must have been in December 1975, two years after its release, that I declared: ‘If I hear that bloody Slade Christmas record again I will kill somebody.’ Since then … Continue readingA Christmas selection box (guaranteed Slade-free)
A Christmas serenade
ROAMING around YouTube for my series on Christmas carols, I came across the charming custom of the choral scholars at King’s College, Cambridge, serenading those in the queue for the … Continue readingA Christmas serenade
Three Kings from Persian Lands Afar
I FIRST encountered our last carol, Three Kings from Persian Lands Afar, when it was sung by the senior choir at my girls’ grammar school in about 1960, and I … Continue readingThree Kings from Persian Lands Afar
Lo! He Comes With Clouds Descending
OUR penultimate carol, like Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, is by the great hymn-writer Charles Wesley. But while Hark! The Herald Angels was a Wesley original revised (and greatly improved) … Continue readingLo! He Comes With Clouds Descending
See Amid the Winter’s Snow
LIKE In the Bleak Midwinter, this carol is set in a fantasy Bethlehem with a British climate, instead of the mild Mediterranean temperatures the village actually enjoys. The singer Aled … Continue readingSee Amid the Winter’s Snow
In Dulci Jubilo
I AM pretty sure that In Dulci Jubilo has the distinction of being the only Christmas carol to reach the top ten in the UK pop charts. Bing Crosby had … Continue readingIn Dulci Jubilo