AQUA

We went to a stunning concert in the Barbican last night. Called "Baltic Nights", with the Britten Sinfonia and the violinist Alina Ibragimova, it featured two contemporary Latvian pieces, and the composers were there for their standing ovations. One piece, "AQUA" had a small string orchestra and 10 singers who also played differently tuned wine glasses! The strings faded away to leave the ethereal sound of the glasses floating round the hall. As well as singing music like medieval plainchant, the singers made sounds like the rustling of leaves, swaying of grasses, roosting birds and gently crashing waves. It reminded me of my trip to Latvia many years ago and the endless white beaches along the Baltic Sea coast.

It's not easy to blip endless white beaches in London, but we do our best - here's a beachcomber on the shore of the River Thames at low tide below the Royal Festival Hall.