As a singer, I'm used to being in the spotlight. I'm paid to perform while strangers sit and stare at me. But there is another kind of attention, off stage, that's much less welcome.

A few days ago I was walking around Rome with my boyfriend. We were holding hands. If you're gay, holding hands, the most innocuous display of affection, suddenly becomes a political act. We were not kissing, wearing heels or shouting the words to Dancing Queen at top of our lungs, we were just holding hands.

Swing and jazz singer Gary Williams has rubbed shoulders with royalty, is a regular entertainer at celebrity events and is rapidly becoming a well-known guest on BBC Radio 2. Emma Mathias finds out more about the Immingham-born man with Sinatra style and Rat Pack panache ...

Here's my personal tribute to veteran broadcaster, my pal, David Jacobs. Recorded during the making of a Friday Night is Music Night with contributions from his daughter Emma and singers Michael Ball, Hannah Waddingham and Rodney Earl Clark. 

What is crooning? How and when did it start? Who were the best at it and is anyone still doing it today? To accompany my program on Radio 2's 50s pop up, here's an article on the Art of the Crooner that explains all.

I've just about recovered from last week's gig at Bestival. What a blast! If you don't know Bestival attracts about 50,000 mainly young people for music and frolics once a year on the Isle of Wight.