Reading the newspaper and watching the news lately. The problems around the world the civil war in Syria, the shootings in Newtown and the assaults of young women in Pakistan and India are tragic. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Pickeri.

I have come to realise that there are five different ways to compose. The first is having the composition fully realized in your head before you set anything down on paper or in the studio. For me this renders the best musical composition and is usually the result of a happy, focussed and inspired mind. This is the most traditional method and is encouraged by classical music institutions.

And then a freak winter storm arrives in August! August 26, 2009. Nearly the end of summer.

A rather fishy account of the run-up to our wedding. Wednesday, May 31, 2006. Several weeks ago, we were being even more rubbish at the weekly pubquiz than normal, so we started making a list of all the fish we could think of. In the last 30 hours, we have done our very best to eat as many of the fish on the list as we could. So far we have eaten.