Princess Diana

Fr Gerry Coates and Gill Ness-Collins choir picnic Steyning

 Adrian conducting Neville Squires with beard

Book 6 p.1133 the terrible news of the death of Princess Diana. We were in Steyning. I played some Elgar on the keyboard but not the music for royalty. The same thing happened later when we were in Sydney when the Queen Mother died. I have found a diary for 1997 but it only starts at October so I must have lost a diary. The big event of the year was April 12 vespers celebrating our 50th birthdays and a party at Addiscombe. Louise was senior choir Secretary at Coloma so we were in the box for the Christmas concert at Fairfield Hall. She sang at Peterborough and Lincoln. Bruce sang in Bath, visited Germany and Yorkshire and sang in Carmina Burana. Liz's aunt Sheila died.
The Nicholson singers sang a weekend at Wells. We sang Rachmaninoff vespers at Union chapel, Islington. I had joined Norwood circle and we all enjoyed the Provincial President's Sunday at Mayfield school. Swimming in the pool I was surprised to mee t a fellow tenor from the chorus. He suggested I play the Compton organ in the chapel. If there is a problem, say I said it's Ok. No sooner had I sat down came the voice from the door "and what do you think you are doing? " I went on to play for many of these annual Masses. I organised a week of guided prayer in the presbytery. This was when I met my first spiritual director St Campion from Greenwich Ursulines. The music day at Our Lady went well. David Hill played at St Barnabas Dulwich. We sang vespers at St Augustine's abbey, Canterbury. Cirla Lewis gave a wonderful talk about reconciliation. She was a Jewish child saved by Belgian Catholic nuns. I had now moved to West Hill library.

 May 27 1997 Canterbury and Belmont June 1997 with Alan Rees

.p.1167 April 1998 moved to Battersea Park library and I stayed there until one year before retiring.

 David Hill at St Barnabas

 Stephen Rose

Ray Carter

Gill died 2016 and organised our Steyning visits first with Fr Gerry Coates both SSG stalwarts

Dom Alan died 2005 a gifted composer and friend at Belmont Abbey