Girl on the tube

I’m obviously turning into a country bumpkin. It really struck me how many people were using iPods and other MP3 players on the tube the other night. I suppose all you metropolitan types are quite used to it by now. And talking about personal music, Daniel Barenboim’s recent Reith lectures and his appearance on Desert Island Discs have all been very interesting. What percentage of the music that you hear is chosen by you? In my case – with four children, a husband that thinks that every activity should have a musical backdrop, and at this moment with the builders in, (sorting out my bathroom, with their own radio and numerous drills going), I would say that it would be a generous estimate for me to say I’ve chosen 2% of what I hear. In fact when I have the choice, nowadays I opt for silence or Radio 4 as a break from the constant beat.