Much has been said and written about Professor Stephen Hawking following his recent death from motor neurone disease. I don’t intend to repeat what others have already said so eloquently, but I do want to say that this sad news has re-focused my attention on the charity I am raising money for – the Motor Neurone Disease Association – and why its work is so important. Learning the clarinet is fun, sure (and I’m still enjoying it!) but there is a higher purpose to all this effort. Most people with motor neurone disease will not live anywhere near as long as Stephen Hawking, who defied all expectations to live 50 years longer than his doctors originally predicted. His longevity was so unusual that it must have implications for medical research, which is also funded by the charity that I am supporting.

What you may not know is that I also have some personal links to Hawking, who was apparently a great music-lover. While I was studying in Cambridge between 2008 and 2012, my friends and I passed him in the street several times, which was always a matter of great excitement. At one point, a rumour went round that somebody at his college had “pennied” him (dropped a penny into his wine glass, meaning that he was supposed to down it in one!) and was severely disciplined for it. I don’t know if that rumour was true but I heard it from quite a variety of sources at the time.

Finally, Hawking’s first wife, Jane, re-married the musician Jonathan Hellyer Jones. He was Director of Music at my college and precentor of its chapel choir, in which I sang throughout my time at Cambridge. Jonathan retired a couple of years ago and I went back to sing at his final Evensong service. Jonathan was (and still is) a lovely man to whom I owe a great debt for his support to me personally and for nurturing my love of music. I had never sung in a church choir before I went to Cambridge, and it was the most incredible experience that sparked strong friendships and a deep love of choral music. Jane was a great supporter of the choir and often came to our services and concerts. She wrote a book about her time with Stephen, on which the film about him is based, and is well worth a read in its own right.

I’ll write some more soon, perhaps even about the clarinet!