Tickets are now available for The Sound Of Abbey Road Studios, a chance to hear unique talks in London's Abbey Road world famous Studio Two with special guest, former Abbey Road Engineer Ken Scott.

In the talks, which take place between Friday, April 25th and Sunday, May 4th, 2014, the following are promised:

• Brand new lecture from Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan, authors of critically acclaimed book Recording the Beatles
• Renowned former Abbey Road Studios engineer Ken Scott returns to speak in the very room where he recorded tracks by legendary artists including Pink Floyd, Jeff Beck and The Beatles
• Hear the stories behind the evolution of recording techniques and equipment, many of which were pioneered at Abbey Road Studios
• See demonstrations featuring both new and vintage equipment used on many landmark recordings over the studios' 82 year history
• Early entrance time will allow you to explore and take photographs in the legendary Studio Two

In all, the talks will provide a captivating experience for all classical, rock, pop and film score fans. Please note, these events take place in Studio Two only and do not involve a tour of the Studios as a whole. There are two scheduled programmes a day, and whilst the tickets aren't cheap, they give a unique opportunity to visit a working studio which never normally opens its doors to the public.

Visit SeeTickets through this link to check on times and dates, and to book your place.

Coming in mid-April is an interesting sounding Pink Floyd Conference being held at historic Princeton University in New Jersey, USA. Of principal interest is the keynote speaker - none other than James Guthrie, Pink Floyd's hugely respected producer/engineer.

The organisers call it "the first-ever academic conference to focus entirely on the legendary rock band Pink Floyd. Co-organized by Princeton composers and Ph.D. Candidates Gilad Cohen and Dave Molk, this interdisciplinary event will celebrate the band’s music, art, and culture, bringing together scholars, musicians, and fans."

Amidst the range of discussions and performances are things such as a screening of The Wall film, and the selling of a special "Pink Floyd flavour" ice cream at local outlet The Bent Spoon. For us, arguably the highlights start at 4:40pm on April 13th, 2014, with the Keynote speech by James Guthrie: "Surrounded by Recollections of Pink Floyd Records".

Then, at 5:45pm, there's a Panel Discussion and Q&A Session featuring James and previous speakers. There's a small gap for refreshments, then at 8:30pm, the airing of "James Guthrie's Surround Mix of Pink Floyd classics".

The main set of events take place on Sunday, April 13th, at Taplin Auditorium, Princeton University. There are also additional happenings on April 10th - 12th in the town of Princeton. Admission is free, but registration through the "RSVP" page of the Princeton University website is required.

A seller on eBay UK is offering quite a special, and truly unique, piece of Pink Floyd related history over the course of the next six days.

Many of you will remember the 1991 Carrera Pan Americana, which saw Nick Mason, David Gilmour, and the Floyd's manager the late Steve O'Rourke compete in a special race across Mexico. Initially broadcast on television, it came out on VHS video in 1992 and included some re-edited tracks alongside new material created just for the release, recorded at Olympic Studios in November 1991.

The car on offer is a 1963 Jaguar Mark II which seems to have been prepared for the 1992 race, judging by the listing. The accident suffered by Gilmour and O'Rourke the previous year during the event, which saw David unharmed, but Steve breaking his leg, clearly didn't put the pair off assuming the seller has their year details correct for which race this was in.

As you'll note from the listing here, the car is in very poor condition and needs extensive repair and renovation. However, if restored, the end result should be worth quite a bit...

The auction finishes at 4:39pm GMT on March 24th, 2014, and the opening bid is £4000 (and a reserve value is set on the car).

Our very best wishes, and many happy returns, to David Gilmour today, who will be enjoying his 68th birthday in the spring sunshine!

Born and raised in Cambridge, David became involved with various bands in the area, principally Jokers Wild who were a popular draw when they played, before joining Pink Floyd in 1968. More recent years have seen David concentrating on his solo career, and helping out chums on their musical projects on an ad hoc basis - such as appearing on stage with Phil Manzanera at the legendary Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, with Amadou & Mariam at the Crisis "hidden" charity show, with Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert Hall, and most recently - just after his birthday two years ago - the Douglas Adams 60th Birthday concert at London's Hammersmith Apollo.

With it being now exactly eight years to the day since the release of his last solo album, On An Island, with his previous album About Face reaching its (quite astonishing) 30th anniversary yesterday, many people's thoughts are on whether we might see a follow up to that. From comments made by various people, such as Graham Nash, it is clear that work is ongoing on new material, so I guess we'll all need to remain patient. In the meantime, of course, we wish David a very happy day!