I take that then as your one and only "reply" to the PM I sent you all those weeks ago? If that is the case I cannot understand how, when we first met at that initial gathering, I thought you were such a nice man.

Requiescat in Pace

No point in stoking a fire you want to see go out, Richard. The issue in question that Baz was raising was to do with coloured immigrants - I do not engage with intelligent people who express such views; I don't know about you. And bearing in mind your own frequent insulting comments towards myself, Sydney, John, Simon Sagt and others (not to mention towards the posters at TOP, whilst continuing to post there), your views are choice, to say the least. And I know you like to make grand pronouncements about subjects you don't understand, books you've never read, theories you've never studied, with chest-thumping rhetoric as hollow as the statements themselves, especially when you can hold court amongst those not in a position to know better and thus likely to be taken in by the apparent erudition, but that doesn't make any challenge to such pig-headedness merely 'intellectual one up-manship'.

Pianola, I have to admit that I don't have a beard. But I know you will not think less of me for admitting that

REX LAWSON: what a lovely surprise! I've been to one of your lectures. It was in Rotterdam more than ten years ago. You entered the concert hall (with a very long beard indeed!) and you said: "Ik ben niet Sinterklaas!"* Very funny! It was an interesting and inspiring lecture with beautiful music by Prokofiev. Many thanks for joining this message board.

All good wishes,

Pim Derks (my real name )

Rex Lawson.  This is Anna Edbrooke-Gibson.  Suddenly the Posh Welsh One.  Let us throw caution to the winds and abandon our anonymity and bare our souls together.

On the subject of beards.  I do not have one.  However, I have a distinct soft spot for a bearded man and also that little ginger haired man who lives in a brown paper bag who tickles Gossamer Beynon's centre although she declares she do not care he is common, as long as he is all cucumbers and hooves.  She feels his goatbeard tickle her in the middle of the world like a tuft of wiry fire, and she turns in a terror of delight away from his whips and whiskery conflagration, and sits down in the kitchen to a plate heaped high with chips and the kidneys of lambs.  To the uninitiated that's Dylan.  Thomas.  Not the rabbit from Magic Roundabout.  Although it could be.  I always wondered about him.

Let's talk about beards.  Personally, as facial hair is mainly a masculine trait, I think men should be adorned.  And, what a pain it must be to shave every morning.  Also, as my Pa was a bit surreal, we had a pianola.  Rex!  beards, pianola, brown paper bags, we were made for each other.  Except there is a Mrs. Rex.  Give me a mo and I will think of an Oedipus joke!

Lots to think about here which I've never before seen occasion to think about.

I have nothing against pseudonyms, though I think I can see what Ian is objecting to -- still, I wouldn't have complained about it in such strong terms even if I did wholeheartedly agree.

There are several reasons to use a pseudonym. Being in the end a coward may well be one of them, but it might be something so simple as exploiting one rare opportunity to choose one's own name and seeing it as a bit of a shame to use one's real name when given such an chance to call oneself whatever one likes.

Also, if my employer knew how many times I've posted here, it wouldn't exactly improve my standing in his/her eyes.

Much as we appreciate the laudable attempt to lighten the tone here, the Moderation team would like to draw members' attention to the following excerpts from the board's rules:

Please remember that we do not want to have to moderate anything, or ban anyone.  We want to have a board that isn't overly moderated, where people feel comfortable to express their opinions without fear of being moderated.  However, when someone's opinions make this board a less enjoyable place for the majority of users, we need to act.

Added 28-11-2007:

8.  Where members choose to use a pseudonym that must be respected. A member may of course choose to post information which reveals his/her own off-board identity. Posts revealing the identity of a member other than the poster will be removed should that member complain. The moderators may also remove such information without warning should they feel it necessary.


The concept of anonymity is expressly covered in our rules: it is part of our board's fabric. These rules were last amended on 21. iv. 07.

 The posting immediately following the emendation might prove of interest:

Morticia, I daresay you must be a right-winger, then. 

I'm not sure about the left-wing and beards, Ian. Bernard Shaw had a good beard, of course, and he was a very keen Pianola player as well. Aha, you didn't know that bit, did you? If you did, you've been cheating and looking at the page on Pianolists at the Pianola Institute website. Lenin and Stalin didn't, not that they played the Pianola, of course. But Mussolini didn't either, and he was a Pianola player. Perhaps it's the combination of leftwingery and pianoladom that causes the growth.

And Pim, dank U wel! In view of the sensible advice I've had from the powers that be, I'll put some Prokofiev up here at the weekend, if I remember. By the way, watch out for your new Director of Music at the RPhO - you are in for some wonderful music-making. You may see me there in the audience from time to time - we could have a beer in the nice café next door!

Anna, you just appeared. I must be brief, my allotted time us all but up. Somewhere, in Milk Wood, there is a pianola. Is it Organ Morgan who plays it? I can't remember - perhaps you will know. And as for Antheil - well, we need a whole thread for the Ballet Mécanique. We used to take a pianola on to the station platform at Blenau ffestiniog and play in between trains. I met one of my dearest friends doing that - he has a grand pianola up in the Welsh hills. There was a special arrangement of "Land of my Fathers" for Pianola, but in 35 years I've never found it.

And to everyone else, including the eminently wise moderators, I'll read your replies on Saturday. I hope that the admissions of beardyness or otherwise don't contravene the very reasonable forum rules.

Away till then,

xxx from Pianola