Who said romance was dead? Not I, or will I ever again as my husband Simon has guaranteed.

I’m not ashamed to admit it, I (Zed) love classical music, rely on the unusually soothing voices of ABC’s disc jockeys in moments of stress and occasionally frequent the Balmain Sinfonia for a Sunday afternoon of utter relaxation… and teacake!

There is a piece of music that brings me to tears and is a soundtrack of sorts to some moments shared between us, The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Simon recently rushed me back from a weekend in Bundanoon to catch Sunday’s Sinfonia. My wine fog deterred me but his enthusiasm ensured we made the pilgrimage.

Imagine my surprise when conductor Gary Stavrou announced a special piece commissioned by a young man for his wife Zoe on their second wedding anniversary. The audience was delighted as we were pointed out from amongst the crowd, and were particularly touched as I sobbed messily throughout the most incredible 16 minutes (elated and embarrassed beyond belief). Sydney Conservatorium of Music scholarship winner Emily Sun was brought in specially for the piece’s haunting solo violin melodies.

I’m outdone… period!

Image 1. For those Romeo’s on a budget (with a magnify glass handy) here is another fine idea from The World’s Smallest Postal Service.