Alive & Twitching

Is there anyone out there who doesn’t enjoy music in one form or another? There is such a variety to choose from that there should be something for everyone. There are, however, people who do not listen to music other than incidentally. I know this because my mother is such a person. As she has grown older, she has become increasingly deaf, yet is resistant to wearing a hearing aid. Clearly these are not factors which are going to encourage listening to music, but I don’t recall her ever doing so, other than occasionally to Friday Night is Music Night when my father was alive. He enjoyed music and I think she would sit and keep him company whilst she worked on a tapestry or did a crossword. My father died in 1984 and I suspect that my mother may not have listened to music on the radio since then, other than incidentally. Although he had a cassette player, I doubt whether it has been used for nearly 25 years. As far as I know, my mother has never been to a concert in her life and I cannot even remember ever hearing her sing. I find this not only extraordinary but also very sad.

I cannot imagine a world without music and I surmise that as I grow older its importance in my life will increase. I have this vision of myself as a really old man sitting in a warm conservatory, or in front of a blazing log fire, listening to beautiful music and drifting in and out of peaceful slumber. It is a rather comforting thought.