Many thanks to English National Opera for inviting me to talk about my book 'Opera: the Autobiography of the Western World' with the ENO friends last night, 12 October.

My sincere gratitude to Will and Nina at ENO events for the invite, and for making me feel so welcome.  Also, warm thanks to Grace Kendall, ENO Philanthropy Co-ordinator, for administering the complex IT without a hitch whilst hosting the event simultaneously.  And a big thank you to Damien Kennedy, Music Library and Surtitles Manager at ENO, for his empathetic questions and supportive interviewing.  Nina and Grace had told me that the ENO friends would indeed be friendly - and so they proved to be.  The questions at the end were imaginative and inspiring - thank you to all those who asked them.  The talk, which was recorded, will remain online for any interested friends of English National Opera to watch if they were unable to attend.  This was my first experience of talking about my book - and the support and engagement were wonderful.  Thanks to all.