Reading Duncan Watson’s article on Bob Nicol I thought, ‘they don’t make ’em like that any more’. Quite a character. To be a good teacher you must have a clear vision of how a tune should be played and RB Nicol clearly had that. Too many alternatives and the student becomes confused. But there is more to the man. When all we hear is of Nicol’s teaching we tend to…

Reader ‘JW’ writes again re solo judging: ‘I must tip my hat to Neil Mulvie on his very truthful comments regarding SPJA judges and all the problems he was brave enough to mention. Neil has been right there for years and seen it all, or was he telling us something we all knew anyway? ‘Is it not time this was sorted out once and for all as it doesn’t seem…

Judge Neil Mulvie has responded to our recent debate on solo benches, one of the few brave enough to put his head above the parapet on this issue. Neil writes: ‘Not all those who have competed at the highest level make good judges. Some are biased/unethical, some are limited in their wider knowledge, some lack basic analytical skills, some can’t separate the good from the bad and the ugly, some…