14/01/2026
I can never resist a ti**le on the old Steinway 🎹 that’s in the Main House at Middleton Lodge. I’d been playing 🎷 for the Cocktail Reception when a guest came over to me and asked for a jazz standard, The Girl From Ipanema. Well, I had quite a vibe going, everyone was up dancing on the terrace and it was a very lively pop kind of thing… the request was just never going to fit in with that. So I asked the guest to hang on until the end and I’d play it just for her. Everyone made their way over to the Fig House in preparation for the First Dance and there was just the two of us left. Sat side be side on the sofa I played the request, solo on the sax, and it was quite a lovely moment. The lady cried (which made me feel bad) but it was good tears, it just really meant something and it was a very intimate moment. Anyway we got chatting about the old Jazz tunes (which I have a real soft spot for) and I ended up sitting at the piano and feeling my way through a few. I’m no piano player really, but I do love playing those old jazz tunes! And it turned out we weren’t alone… a couple more guests had been hiding in the bar, hearing everything and wondering where all the other guests had gone 😆 🎶