 In the late 1990s and early years of the 2000s, he performed and spoke at the annual International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival and appeared regularly at Gawsworth Old Hall in Cheshire.He enjoyed cooking and was knowledgeable about "theatre, film and opera – especially Verdi and Donizetti" and cultivated acquaintances with Joan Sutherland and Leontyne Price, with whom he corresponded.Ayldon's partner was the tenor Guy Matthews, another former member of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, since 1975; the two entered into a civil partnership in 2007.