Alison lost her coconuts!

But don't worry, she's just found them. Several days of panic over! (We need them for Sleigh Ride tomorrow at the library... it would feel really weird to do it with no coconuts.) (Even weirder to do it without sleighbells, but mine are in my bag ready!)

I'm currently watching the Choir of the Year final on BBC4, and getting angry at the usual TV technique of spending half the broadcast time talking to people backstage and at home, rather than showing them performing. This annoys me SO MUCH that I now find I have to mute the sound until the non-performance segment is over. Argh. At least the performances are all pretty good, although since I already know the result I'm watching with that in mind, and I can't say I agree with it! I'll wait till the end before deciding who I *think* should have won, but the choir that *did* win has been on already, and I don't think they were the best (although they were very good).

Two choir rehearsals this week, because there is much Christmas stuff to learn. We're doing a bit of Bach's Magnificat among the carols, and I was quite surprised to find how many people had never done it before. So, for those people:

Magnificat, 1st movement
Gloria Patri

(I do hope we do the whole of the Magnificat at some point - it's many years since I sang it, and it's so very wonderful.)

Normally I'd do my musical links before my non-musical ones, but I must tell you that at the time of writing, Mike Golding is currently in 2nd place in the Vendee Globe, and only 49 miles behind the leader! Still a long way to go, but let's hope nothing goes wrong for him this time.

Norman Lebrecht talks about Gilbert Kaplan's Mahler 2 obsession. Mr Kaplan conducted us in this work a few years ago, and he gave every member of the choir a presentation copy of the choir entry page from the autograph score. I'm sure I'm not the only one who was absolutely thrilled with this gesture and still has it on their wall.

There is a year-long festival next year at Kings Place (the new venue in London) called Beethoven Unwrapped.

The busy Tom Service talks to Steven Isserlis, who I think must have missed out a few years because he's claiming to be 50! I thought he was much younger than that!

Tom Service also has a birthday tribute to Messiaen.

Peter Phillips talks about a cappella singing in Russia.

And, from A Cappella News, we hear of the Tremble Clefs, a choir for those living with Parkinson's Disease.

There are several musicians who are protesting - quite rightly - about the fact that their music has been used as a torture device.

And finally, if you followed my advice and bookmarked The Big Picture, you'll already know about this, but if not, their Hubble Space Telescope Advent Calendar may make you rethink!