On the Lighter Side

Christmas for the Bannatyne-Scott family was very enjoyable. The children were both back from University, and we had a delightful family time, of much eating and drinking. The drinking was enhanced by the fact that Kat celebrated her 18th birthday on 17th December, allowing her to order her first legal cocktails at the bar of the Living Room in Edinburgh where we celebrated the great occasion. Donald turned 20 in November, allowing him to say goodbye to Teenage, and look forward to life without angst???!!!??? Our favourite tipple at Christmas was our oldest bottle of wine from the cellar, a 1978 Vouvray Moelleux which, thankfully, was still alive and well, and proved to have an ethereal sweetness of nose and depth of flavour. We had been nervous, since its close relation, a Vouvray Doux 1975, had been a disaster on Millennium Eve in 1999, being corked and undrinkable. A vintage Hermitage, bought to mature at Kat's 18th in Tain, proved to be a perfect match for the turkey.

Now that we are through the Festive Season, thoughts turn to what 2012 will bring. It is still looking terrible for Europe economically, and when money is tight, the Arts inevitably suffer. Companies are booking artists later, and fees are lower, but Brian's diary is reasonably full and there are intriguing prospects for 2013 and 2014. The tour of "Thanks to my Eyes" begins in Paris in late February, with performances to follow in Brussels, Lisbon, Madrid and Strasbourg/Mulhouse. After that, there is the pleasant contract in Geneva for "Samson et Dalilah" in October/ November. Various friends and family have indicated they will come to see "Thanks to my Eyes" on tour, so it should be a success both musically and socially.

Life in Scotland at the moment is dominated by thoughts of the coming referendum on independence from the UK. It will most likely take place in late 2014, but the media is already obsessed with the prospect, with both sides jockeying for advantage. The SNP (Nationalist) won a handsome election victory last year, and as their policy is in favour of Independence, they want to put the idea to the people. They reckon that a period of successful government under the present system, but looking for complete sovereignty in the future, will impress the electorate to envisage life without England. The Unionist view is that, since there is no majority at the moment for Independence, it would be best to hold a referendum as soon as possible, before people get to like devolution too much under the SNP. Brian's view is that Independence may well be the solution to many of Scotland's problems, and that a small, reasonably prosperous country, semi-detached from England, which normally pays very little attention to its northern neighbour, could arise to the benefit of all. Time will tell, but we are in a good position to have a serious debate about Independence, and we can only hope that the debate is worthy and that bravado and scaremongering on both sides will be minimal.

Finally, the big news of the moment is that Brian has been appointed as Honorary Professor of Singing at St Andrews University. This will allow him to have major input in the vocal side of music at the University where he obtained his own Master of Arts Degree. The Director of Music, Michael Downes, is very keen to build up a good performing reputation at St Andrews, and even though it has no graduating Music Course, he wants to encourage the students to develop as performers, and to encourage as many students as possible to sing both solo and in vocal ensembles. Brian's task will be to develop performing skills, both vocal and dramatic, within the University, and he will give masterclasses and vocal workshops throughout the academic year, as well as demonstrating by his own performances how singing can be life-enhancing. On 18th June, just before the week of Graduation, he will give a recital with Julia Lynch (piano) with a fantastic mixed programme of Vaughan William's "Songs of Travel", Mussorgsky's amazing "Songs and Dances of Death", several operatic arias and Songs from the Shows. Full details will appear on the main website in due course.