Flanders and Swann live again – and Music for All’s new charter

As we were sure it would be, our Flanders and Swann ‘tribute’ evening last Monday was a huge success.

Composer William Godfree and ex-MP Michael Mates have been performing Flanders and Swann songs for charity for over 30 years – and have raised an impressive £300,000 during that time. And for those few of us lucky enough to still have a much treasured copy of At the Drop of a Hat – or even to have actually seen Michael Flanders and Donald Swann in person – they are the ‘real deal’. Although some of F & S’ satirical songs no longer really resonate as the ‘scandale’ they were lampooning has passed into history, so many more of them are universal. So it was extremely hard to choose only three to give you a  flavour of the evening.

I decided to begin, as they always began, with A Transport of Delight and have included a little of Michael’s introduction. Apologies, incidentally for the fact that Michael is in so much shadow – in summer no lights can compete with the daylight from the window behind our performers.

For my second choice I had to pick my very favourite F & S song – Misalliance – the sad tale of the honeysuckle and the bindweed.  As Michael said, this was unique in their canon as although they wrote many songs about animals, this was the only one about plants.

And finally, should I give you The GNU or the Hippopotamus song?….. Delightful though the GNU (spelt G.N.U.) is, the vision of the whole royal family in the royal box bellowing ‘Mud, Mud, glorious mud’ was just too good – so the Hippopotamus it is.

Although William and Michael say that they have officially retired their F & S act – when pressed by various members of the audience to make a return visit, they did not actually say no. So if enough of you are keen, maybe we could have a rerun with a few of the other much loved songs that did not manage to squeeze their way in on Monday sometime in early 2025.

Although I fear I forgot (again) to take any pictures, our 1950s supper went down a treat. I had wonderd whether the rather excessive amounts of mayonnaise and paprika sprinkles might have been a bit much – but no. ‘Who does not love a prawn cocktail?’ exclaimed one guest. ‘I have been dreaming of Coronation Chicken for years!’ said another.

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Music for All’s Music Makers’ Charter

In the light of William and Michael’s massive fund raising efforts, it seemed the moment to mention another brilliant charity – Music for All.

We know that the benefits of music making are profound but apart from the lucky and priviledged few, it is becoming harder and harder to be involved in making it.

Whilst 85% of independent schools boast orchestras only 12% of state schools have them and recent research has shown a significant fall in the number of entries for music GCSE. (ISM survey 2023 ‘Music Education: State of the Nation)

‘Music therapy reduces agitation and the need for medication in 67% of people with dementia, significantly reducing the spend on anti-psychotic medication.’ (APPG on Arts, Health, and Wellbeing (2017))

It is Music for All’s mission to help disadvantaged individuals and groups of every kind to access music making through well-conceived, low cost music making initiatives. And the latest of these is their charter demanding:

• Greater recognition of the powerful benefits of music making
• More investment in music making opportunities across formal and informal settings
• Increased support for disadvantaged individuals and groups seeking to access music making

To see some of the brilliant initiatives that they have already spearheaded in their 25 years – or to sign the charter – go to their site here.

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And finally………

Don’t forget this weekend’s Sunday Lunchtime concert – 11.45 at the Highgate Society – with Hannah Shivlock and Viola Lenzi – on the bass clarinet and piano. Traditional Jewish melodies, Hungarian folk dances, Argentinian Tangos and the Gymnopédies of Eric Satie.

Book here or pay on the door. £15 to include a glass of Bucks Fizz.