I went to hear the Palladian Ensemble playing in Glasgow University Chapel yesterday lunchtime.  At the end of the concert, Bill got up and said 'we've got a short encore for you - normally people play to plug their own records, but we're going to plug someone else's', he told the audience about Mungrel Stuff, and then they played Clout the Caldron!  Made my day.  Marie had come to the concert as well, and she was to be seen immediately after this incident, presenting Bill with a cheque, but it was for the gig he did with us on the 15 November rather than the record promotion.  It was freezing cold in the chapel, so the Ensemble did the gig wrapped up in jumpers and scarves rather than in concert dress, which was rather nice.  Tremendous playing too.

Last night was the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra's Cecil Coles concert (see previous entry) - the dramatic cantata Fra Giacomo was great, though it's a shame Paul Whelan wasn't in better voice.  I hope the CD recording worked out OK.  It was wonderful to see Coles's daughter Penny, now in her eighties and very frail, sitting at the back in her wheelchair.  For decades she's fought and worked to get access to her father's music, and to get it performed, and now finally there will be a commercial recording out there.  I remember six years ago sitting in her flat playing her the cassette of a recording session we'd just done of some songs and piano music.  Some of the music survives only in a shrapnel-damaged notebook brought back from a trench - he didn't make it. 

There were a few SCO members dotted among the orchestra last night, having taking the week off from doing The Pirates of Penzance with Nicholas McGegan: sitting in the orchestra for that piece is not everyone's cup of tea.  I'm making a rare appearance with the SCO tomorrow (I haven't played in the orchestra for several months) in Dundee, but apart from that all my spare moments are being taken up with arranging Prefab Sprout tunes for January's sessions.  After a couple of months of ceaseless activity and organising of people, it's very nice to just sit at a computer manipulating dots on a screen and hearing the results in my head.