Adepts of our recitals will know that I insist on introducing the songs. I do this to inform the audience while putting them at their ease; the occasional forays into malicious humour are par for the course. I never read from my notes, but I write copiously and trust to the moment to recall salient points. It struck me that some of my thoughts, marshalled into accepatable reading-matter, might be enjoyable in their own right, and even serve as a preparation for the listener,