The humorous book Mud from a Scraper was written by viola player Jeremy White and summed up the orchestral player’s lifestyle in the 1950s. I conjured up the images from the surroundings of the Covent Garden Royal Opera orchestra, where I played in the first violin section in 1953. Regrettably, though plans for the book’s publication were underway, in the end the book did not make it into print, and a piece of musical history was lost.