Many years ago when I was a classroom teacher the summer holidays were a strange time because thoughts were already turning to Christmas and planning for the long autumn term. I thought I had put that behind me when I changed to instrumental teaching, but during the course of this last week I have found myself once again browsing through Christmas music and sketching ideas for arrangements of festive tunes in this bleak mid British summer! This is not all bad though as it has also kickstarted me into continuing with a work in progress that had gone down a blind alley and become stuck with nowhere to go. I think I have found my way back with it and some small bits of progress have been made. I think the old adage that you should stop digging when in a hole is very true of composition. If you reach a point where nothing seems to work I think one needs to have the courage to abandon it and start again. Often it is wise to keep the old work like scraps of wood in a carpenter’s workshop, because sometimes you find you can make something else out of it.