THE poem, Choral Symphony, by Stewart Conn, with its sly dig at Edinburgh ladies (''and that lace, on Muriel's dress . . . '') is surely a newer version of one heard at a performance by Margot Fonteyn in that city's King's Theatre many years ago.
One (it's always two elderly ladies) was hard to say to her companion in pure Morningside tones, ''And doesn't she remind you a wee bit of Mrs Wishart?''
But don't imagine it's just Edinburgh. These two ladies get around and their accents change. I have heard them in Glasgow. Just as a performance of Peter Maxwell Davies's String Quartet was about to begin, with a precipitously high and quiet solo cello entry, a very audible stage whisper rang from the front row of the old Stevenson Hall, ''Preperr yersel' fur the wurrst!''
And just before the finale of Mozart's great C major String Quintet, one turned and uttered the immortal, ''I'll just get ma coat on noo, so we can make a quick getaway at the end.''
I could go on, but I don't want to lose my entire repertoire of after-dinner jokes.
Robert Inglis,
79 Randolph Road,
Glasgow. May 20
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