Make mine classical
I ADMIRE Trollope and Sam Johnson, Dickens and Balzac, James and Galswor- thy, and I long to find time to read their works. Good writing has been compared by none other than a former editor of this journal to a good dinner-party, though it should never be forgotten that a good book requires no washing-up and, conversely, a slap-up meal needs no index. Not for me the bang and clash of so-called 'popular' music when there is opera to be lapped up. I tend to visit the opera with my dear friend Cecil (Parkin- son). Together we sit enthralled, revelling in the expectant hush, as, having been ushered to our seats, we are handed two leather-bound a la carte menus by Mein Host, and we peruse the meal to come while swapping opinions on a particular singer we have just been viewing. It all makes for a very pleasant evening, particu- larly if there is fresh dover sole on the menu.
Hobbies, too, add a Tingle to one's life. This year's Who's Who lists my hobbies as `Baffling the dim-witted, delighting the cultured and ignoring the rest' (!), but attracting friends must also be counted one of my more onerous talents, for it leaves so little time for anything else. I am also intensely religious, though I prefer to keep this side of my life private. The rela- tionship between oneself and God is close, sealed and mutually trusting, like the relationship of pork luncheon meat to its surrounding pie crust. For me, a decent gravy with any pork-pie is compulsory, and highly Tingle-inducing, but, then again, I love a good summer pudding almost as much.
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