Our next Concert: Saturday 15 November: Handel's MESSIAH 7.30pm at St. Mary's Church, Reigate (RH2 7RN) Reigate & Redhill Choral Society is excited to present, for the first time in a decade, Handel's classical favourite, MESSIAH. Tickets available online via www.rrcs.org.uk

Am glad I’m not the only research scientist to come up with their best ideas in the shower!

Composers! This is going to be a wonderful project.

This is a complete and utter scandal. It will be an outrage if the university that made me redundant can profit financially from my publications. I always thought publishing prolifically would be the thing that saved me. Turns out they can have my publications without paying me.

🔈 Calling musicians in Cardiff! Musicians, students and alumni will be gathering tomorrow in a mass protest against the proposed plan to close Cardiff University School of Music ✊ Every young person in Wales should have the chance to benefit from arts education

“I’ve watered down the ‘assisted dying safeguards,’ grandma” From the new Private Eye, out now.

Hey! HEY!! Don't tell anyone but we just released more £30 tickets for our opening show #DasRheingold this Sunday at #Yorkhalla (Bethnal Green, London) there will also be a small number of £25 rush tickets on the day, but we're very nearly full don't miss it! Www.ticketsource.co.uk/regents-opera

Station bosses: "We can't say the platform till 5 mins before departure in case ppl go to the platform early, but we'll hide departure time 3 mins before departure in case ppl go too late" Train geeks: have a permanent RealTimeTrains tab in their phone's browser www.theguardian.com/business/202...

The new UK eurostar terminal in Amsterdam opens on Monday. Direct trains to London return. Sneak preview here ⬇️

Tonight, Angel Blue debuts with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá in the opening concert of their 2025 season. Full details here: https://buff.ly/4hfN84d

We are thrilled to announce we have been shortlisted for the 2025 #RPSAwards in the Impact category for our Re:Discover Festival, along with the amazing Ex Cathedra - Singing Medicine and @worldheartbeat.bsky.social! 🎉 Find out more at streetwiseopera.org/2025-rps-awa... @royalphilsoc.bsky.social

Horsted Keynes, Bluebell Railway, 6.5.1989 #HorstedKeynes #BluebellRailway #HeritageRailway #1980s A chance encounter at Horsted Keynes, the North London tank is working an engineering train, back when the Bluebell was 100% steam worked and not connected to the Network.

SNCF Réseau orders lower emission steel rails https://www.railwaygazette.com/infrastructure/sncf-reseau-orders-lower-emission-steel-rails/68200.article

Thanks to @yolandabrown for the shout out on Magic Classical @scalaradiouk 📻 for our concert this coming Saturday at Holy Trinity, Sloane Square. Tickets... tinyurl.com/CEFCWorldOWo...

People in the UK, if you have a problem with the likes of Elon Musk donating £100,000 to the Reform Party, please sign this Parliamentary Petition: Tighten the rules on political donations, and please share it widely petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...

One year ago. A sight we thought we’d never see again! Celebrating great work by @gordon3417.bsky.social who care for this unit on behalf of the bluebell. Please donate to help 3417 achieve even greater things this year!! #BSMRGUK #TMRGUK #BritishRail

As part of our follow up on misogyny in the music industry, we're hearing from: Laura Snapes | Black Lives in Music | Lucy Cox | Independent Society of Musicians | @wearethemu.bsky.social | Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority Watch on Parliament Live at 2.20pm, Tuesday 28 January.

Amazing to think it was a year ago! It had been a huge effort to get it to Waterloo in January, and still more to make it fit to carry passengers on the Bluebell Railway last September. Further maintenance and enhancement work is currently in progress to prepare it for several outings this year.

To mark #HolocaustRemembranceDay, here's my website on Jewish Viennese pianist & Clara Schumann student Emilie Goldberger (1858–1942)–teacher of Émile Zuckerkandl–, whom I rediscovered by chance in February 2023 & whose life I was able to (roughly) reconstruct. goldberger.susanne-wosnitzka.de/en/

Have you ever wondered what happens at the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, over Winter, when the trains aren't running? We take an exclusive behind the scenes tour at Woody Bay showing what it takes to get the railway ready for the 2025 season. youtu.be/lAbd4JoxKXM

During our open rehearsal on Tuesday we were joined by this beautiful Peacock butterfly. It took great interest in the music we were rehearsing (Britten's St. Nicholas)! If you're interested in singing with us, just flutter in to next Tuesday's rehearsal! More details here: rrcs.org.uk

“Serenity (O Magnum Mysterium)” with the CWU Chamber Choir, John Michel & Gary Weidenaar.

Eleven children singing Choral #Evensong with the adults tonight. Three months ago, that would have been unexpected. Two years ago it would have been a dream. Four years ago it would have been inconceivable. Just do it. Bit by bit. You can rebuild children’s involvement in church #music. Keep on.

Isabel Oakeshott (went to same school as King Charles) has moved to tax haven Dubai, such is her love of UK. Give me strength Boyfriend Tice's family built skyscrapers there Reform UK Ltd aka RICH KIDS fooling those who have nothing...but filling them with hatred of others who have nothing either

✈️ The ability to travel and work freely and easily in the UK is essential for musicians Thanks to #ESNS25 for a vital panel on the ongoing barriers for artists and engagers in the UK and EU, featuring MU Head of International Dave Webster We've won the argument, now it's time to fix the problem ✊

Tories will consider means testing pension triple-lock, Badenoch says. UK state pension is one of the lowest in OECD countries. It is the only/main source of income for majority of pensioners. Tory plan to impoverish/kill pensioners; won't tax the rich. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

CONSULTANCY UPDATE: Far from living a quiet life, I have been busy of late. I am developing some major projects with 3 national organisations, one launching at the London Transport Museum, about which I will be able to share more at the beginning of February so watch this space.

“internal DWP documents revealed at the judicial review hearing that suggested the proposals were at least as much about the Tories’ determination to cut benefits spending as they were about helping disabled people into work.”

The MU is fighting to save the Northern Ballet orchestra and negotiate a fair deal for every musician who works with them

This looks like good news and I really hope that it is. We need some. www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

Not only that, but a modest rise in inflation this autumn was inevitable, as I predicted back in April, due to temporary price reductions last autumn falling out of the figures, as the country suffered the pain of recovering from the 10.5% inflation caused by Liz Truss “not crashing the economy”.

New lines like this avoiding congestion through cities, providing additional capacity on rail, are one of the best ways to decarbonise surface transport to help make the world sustainable. We in the UK are a long way behind Spain.

Holy shit this filing update is wild! It states that: 1. Zuckerberg gave the ok to train off copyrighted works 2. Engineers wrote scripts to remove copyright info 3. Meta downloaded illegal torrents to train models of GenAi is a house of cards, I swear. techcrunch.com/2025/01/09/m...

Toi toi toi to Ailyn Pérez who opens at Staatsoper Berlin tonight singing the title role in Tosca. Performances until 17 January. Full details here: https://buff.ly/4gL6f5Q

Tomorrow, Sir Simon Rattle's 70th birthday celebration continues with the world premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage's new guitar concerto, Sco, performed by the legendary John Scofield. 🎸✨ Hear Mark-Anthony share insights about the piece and his bond with Sir Simon and John Scofield. 🙌

PMLL has been a vital resource for our Choral Society over the last few years. It enables us to legally photocopy copyright music for rehearsals and performances. If it is potentially useful to you too, please provide them with feedback.

We are gravely concerned about Stirling Council's proposed budget cuts These include cuts to the music service of around £250k, and the reduction of 5 full time equivalent teachers This will have a resounding impact on both jobs and the children who use the service 🧵👇 #MusicTeachers

Reeves Eyes Spending Cuts If UK Bond Slump Eats Up Headroom. Wrong choice. Govt can create money -found £895bn of QE for speculators. Can levy windfall taxes on banks, levy wealth tax, tax capital gains and dividends at the same rate as wages. Must rebuild social infrastructure. archive.ph/NIgoo

“I’m sorry Lancelot but I think you’re a traitor” #TheTraitors From the new Private Eye, in shops now.

It takes not only time and effort to keep 3417 in this condition, it takes supplies and parts and money - you can help 4417 by making a one-off or regular donations. Everything, not matter how small, helps. #Thankyou www.setg.org.uk/donate

And yet still more jobs addressed, as the Woodwork Minion fitted one of the replacement door thresholds on 62236. Beautiful work :)

When the Classic FM Hall of Fame opens for votes in January, make sure to vote for this piece! Campaign is being coordinated by @quiresandplaces.com

In this year's Hall of Fame we managed to pull together and bring in the highest new entry in the charts, with Byrd's Ne Irascaris getting in at No. 41. (www.classicfm.com/composers/by...)

Our last BBCSC concert is on Radio 3 tonight. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m... Our next one is on Friday in the Barbican. 😃

Turns out that a tenon saw is a good tool to use to cut a tenon! (Joint to go into end pillar for SR Restaurant Car 7864)

ILLUSIONS OF THE RULE OF LAW. 2009/10 -2022-23: Tory Govt cut Justice budget in England & Wales by 22% in real terms. Backlog: 370,700 magistrates courts cases; 71,000 Crown Court cases; 2,786 adult rape cases awaiting trial. Legal-aid non-existent for most. leftfootforward.org/2024/11/what...

Road to the next UK financial crash. Bank stress tests to be run every 2 yrs, not yearly. No regulation of shadow banks. Capital adequacy of banks, insurance companies reduced. No cap on bankers' bonuses. Regulators to promote growth and competitiveness of finance industry What could go wrong?

@topdeckcat.bsky.social You should meet our new cat, Scooty, who has taken over running the Carriage & Wagon department at the Bluebell Railway.

Incredible performance by @streetwiseopera.bsky.social at tonight’s Shelter Christmas Concert at St Martin-in-the-Fields, alongside the brilliant Suggs. We need help to continue our work in London, Nottingham and Manchester - please #StandWithStreetwise - lnkd.in/egjTZYFY