There was one occasion when close proximity really did cause me serious embarrassment. It was at St James's Palace, on an important Royal Choral Society occasion - not a choral concert, but a recital for tenor, soprano, clarinet and piano. When it came to my turn on the tiny platform, playing the obbligato in Schubert's 'Shepherd on the Rock' with Margaret Price and James Lockhart, I found that I was literally suspending the clarinet over the Royal lap, with possible danger to the beautiful lame. I did my best to play with discretion, but found it necessary to apologise later to Her Majesty for the obvious discomfort. She was extremely gracious. 'Not at all,' she said, 'but I was rather glad you weren't playing the trombone!' << less