I like to think she [Queen Elizabeth] and I got on but, knowing her astringent judgment upon other people at times, I shudder to think what she thought of me

Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, The Sunday Times, 12 May

I don’t think I’ve ever been to a popular music concert — that absolutely confirms my terminal nerdishness

ibid.

I love the idea that these ancient churches have centuries of sounds that have almost soaked into the walls and the organ pipes. Just looking around those Italian churches, you saw organs that summon up remarkable histories. Some of them have double sets of black keys, so the F sharp and the G flat keys are slightly different — as it would be in natural temperament. Some have keys which play percussion

Jonny Greenwood, musician, composer, guitarist in Radiohead, The Guardian, 10 May

You can’t help thinking there will only be room for one messiah in that relationship — and unfortunately, it won’t be Jesus

Marina Hyde, writing about Russell Brand’s baptism, The Guardian, 15 May

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