Jussi Bjorling

I've mentioned the Swedish tenor Jussi Bjorling (1911-1960) before as one of the all-time great singers. Apparently he wasn't the greatest of actors, but no-one cared when they heard him sing. Sadly, he suffered from the ill effects of alcoholism and he died at an early age of heart disease.
The soprano Victoria de los Angeles told her biographer "In despite of technical developments, none of the Jussi Björling recordings give you the true sound of his voice. It was a far, far more beautiful voice than you can hear on the recordings he left". 
Unfortunately we only have the recordings to listen to. This is one of my favourite, the duet "Au Fond du Temple Saint" from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers, act 1, sung by Robert Merrill and Jussi Bjorling.

Oranges as memory aids

Some things improve with age, but sadly memory isn't one of them. However we can learn tricks to make the most of what memory we still have. One of the most useful tips I've come across is the 'orange on the bed trick'.

In its original form (ironically I can't remember where I found it or who suggested it) the idea was to put an orange on the bed as a reminder to do something before going to bed at night. The strangeness of having an orange on your bed is enough to jog your memory about why it's there.


It doesn't have to be an orange. Any brightly coloured object placed in an odd place that is easily seen will do. I have a red heart-shaped fridge magnet which I leave in various places - on the bed to remind me that the rubbish bin needs to be put out, by the front door to remind myself to take something with me, on my chair to remind me to turn off a tap or take a cake out of the oven etc. When I don't need it as a memory aid I put it back on the fridge. It's remarkably effective. What tricks do you use to help your memory along?