I like music. I like almost every kind of music. After 82 years of listening to music, I have gone from Elvis Presley to Elgar and Ricky Nelson to Rachmaninov – and lots of in-between music.

The first record I bought, a 45 for those who know their vinyl, was Jailhouse Rock. How was I to know that leaving it in the back of the car on that shelf next to the rear window, wasn’t a good idea?

I also bought Why do Fools Fall in Love by Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. By the time I left America I had around 40 or 50 45s and I added a few more in the next few years. One of my favourites was Conway Twitty’s It’s Only Make Believe and another was Jackie Wilson.

In my 20s I was quite busy being a mum but I took the time to listen to music on the radio and watch Top of the Pops. I was quite fond of The Beatles, loved The Rolling Stones and enjoyed many of the pop songs of the 60’s and 70’s.

Then, I heard some Mozart! At every chance I got, I listened to Mozart concertos and symphonies and also some Vivaldi, and other, lesser known Baroque composers. At some point during the 90s, a new station on the radio brought me loads more classical music: – Classic fm. I listened to it all day and heard so much more classical music. It became difficult to say who my favourite composer was. Sometimes it was Hummel, occasionally Buxtehude!

At the same time as this new (old) music was educating me in new (to me) sounds, I had, first a teen-age daughter who watched the 80s version of Top of the Pops, introducing me to Boy George, Soft Cell, The Police, Phil Collins and more, then in the mid 90s a new grandchild who, within a few years was introducing me to Eminem, Avril Lavigne and Nelly.

I’ve forgotten most of those songs and their singers now and hardly ever listen to whatever followed the term ‘pop‘. Occasionally I hear something new on the radio which I add to my ‘must listen out for’ list which, over the last 20 or so years, has included Paloma Faith, Duffy, Adele, Alicia Keys also Gnarls Barclay, Pink, Passenger, and loads more. I’ve bought CDs and now I stream music from Amazon, but often I sit in complete silence – which I enjoy.

I would hate not to have music of all kinds in my life (with a few exceptions!) but I would also hate to have to listen to it 24 hours a day! I like quiet, I like solitude, but I also like to dance! and, when I hear some music I think I can dance to, I go into the kitchen, where nobody can see me and pretend that I am young and dance – until I have to sit down, which sadly isn’t too long, nowadays.