My father was a sound engineer at the BBC in Birmingham

Through his work, he spent time with some extraordinary musicians, including Yehudi Menuhin, the British violinist and conductor, widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century

At some point, someone had the idea of bringing Menuhin together with Stéphane Grappelli, who was known as one of the world’s finest jazz violinists

Stéphane, not content with being among the very best on one instrument, was also recognised as one of the world’s great pianists

Some people might have seen them as competitors

I suspect the record company saw something else entirely: collaboration

Perhaps they were influenced by the success of guitarists Julian Bream and John Williams, who had worked together on their Together album

Dad was involved with them too, when they later released Together Again, a copy of which I still have from that time

As with any recording, there was a break

The BBC crew, along with Yehudi Menuhin and Stéphane Grappelli, headed to the BBC canteen for a cup of tea and something to eat

It was there, sitting in the canteen, that one of the BBC crew asked Stéphane a question

Now, remember: BBC crew members are not journalists. There’s an unwritten rule that what happens in the BBC stays in the BBC

Stéphane knew he could answer honestly, with no concern that it would ever be repeated

Until now

The question was simple:
“You’re a world-renowned violinist and a world-renowned pianist. Practising must take up all of your day. What do you do to relax?”

If you want to know what Stéphane’s answer was, you need to call me

(The photo is Dad (in the middle) at his retirement)