Hay Day 2. Blood sugar problems avoided with home-made roast lamb sandwiches. Judgments thus more measured.
Rose Heilbron. Daughter Hilary (arbitration barrister) reminisces about her mum, Britain's first female Queen's Counsellor ("silk"), later Britain's second female circuit judge. Tony Blair's unjustifiably maligned wife, Cherie Booth (also barrister), contributes.
UK Blunders. Very skilled prof, specialist in UK government/parliamentary affairs, picks twelve worst political/government blunders costing Brit taxpayer squillions: eg, project to privatise maintenance of London's underground system costs £500m (and two years) to draw up contract.
Bach. Conductor John Eliot Gardner, with musical examples (my throat contracts; tears incipient), talks about great JSB's early life. Has written book.
Curating. Heavily accented, 200-words/min, badly cadenced German (Swiss?) speaks incomprehensibly about art curating turned into conceptual art. Group meets in North London service station, projects movie against side of stationary bus, etc, etc. You know the sort of thing.
Opera. Nathalie Dessay, French coloratura operatic soprano, on eve of retirement, speaks of future career as straight actress. Hopes to live to be 95 and appear in Beckett's Happy Days. Superb technician but range of operas, dictated by her type of voice (clips shown), are all alien to me: esp. Lucia di Lammermoor.
Judge. Brian Leveson, 14 years a judge, now senior, oversaw press behaviour enquiry, speaks on principles of being judge. Lips sealed on many matters but plays straight bat with great style. Many lawyers, even retired judge, ask questions from audience. Deliberate, well-chosen utterances an enormous comfort.
Pol Roger champagne (Winston Churchill's favourite) a super aperitif to dinner that evening.
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