I am old enough to have visited the Festival of Britain in 1951 and the Royal Festival Hall from the time it was opened. My strongest memories are the concerts conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham, largely because of his pre-concert speeches and his inimitable wit. On one occasion he waddled onto the platform in his penguin style and turned to address the audience. In his slightly speaky but perfectly pronounced diction: 'The B - B - C (each letter followed by a profound silence) have invited me to conduct this concert. The B - B - C has selected the programme for this evening's concert, so, if you have any comments please address them to the B - B - C not to me.'