Guess where I went yesterday? No, not Scunthorpe; I went to one of the BBC Proms in London. For many years, I’ve enjoyed watching them broadcast on TV each summer and I’ve always wanted to go but never made the effort before; I always assumed that it would be impossible to get a ticket. That was indeed the case when I wanted to see Beethoven’s 9th on 28 August but then I saw that they were doing Beethoven’s 5th (my other favourite) yesterday, and found that it also featured his 1st and his Violin Concerto no.1 with Hilary Hahn and that I could still get a reasonable seat, I just had to book. It was a magical night.

Paavo Jarvi directed the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and Hilary Hahn’s violin playing was phenomenal. Although only a chamber orchestra, the sound that they produced and the effort they put into the 5th was incredible. The audience loved it all and we had one encore from Hilary hahn and then two from the orchestra. I’ve had the day off from vital Government work today and have already listened to it twice again on Iplayer. It’s repeated on BBC Radio 3 on Friday afternoon from 2pm and if you like Beethoven, you’re in for a treat.