In July 2024, shortly before he died of cancer, I paid a last visit to the Somerset home of my wonderful friend Alexander Waugh. Alexander was one of the kindest, most generous, most talented and intellectually curious friends it has ever been my privilege to know. His rich and varied career included stints as a musician, concert promoter, author, keeper of the Waugh (Evelyn was his grandfather) family archives and researcher into the Shakespearean authorship question. (He thought it was Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford). Though he was in some discomfort, he died a happy man, lovingly cared for at home by his devoted wife Eliza. I haven’t listened to these recordings we made since. They’ve been sitting on my iPhone and the only reason I didn’t release them earlier was inertia. They also feature our friend Bob Moran. We talk about God, music, death, everything.
