Chorus chairmen

I found some Philharmonia year books from the 70s. Interesting the comments from Chorus chairmen which put a certain spin on what really happened!

April 1999 CMQ

Happiest and saddest

Hopefully it is obvious that I have had a very happy life! Out of so many great days our wedding day has to be the happiest closely followed by other weddings especially Louise and Tom and Dennis and Ann Marie.  The births of the children especially Bruce. Our 3 grandsons and I recall many happy days playing with them and especially steam train rides! Reunions - arriving in Hobart and Ann and Paul's wedding, Sydney, Mark and Sarah's wedding. Music has been such a joy. So many wonderful Chorus concerts especially Fidelio in Orange, Giulini concerts. Playing the organ so many times and the sense of achievement when all went well. Singing "If with all your hearts" and "We'll gather lilacs" and the concerts both here and in Australia. Holidays and travel - Iguazu falls, Okavango and seeing the leopard and her cub, the Sea of Galilee, Lindisfarne, Victoria Falls, Alaska, the lists just goes on and on! Great ceremonies especially ordinations of so many. And perhaps more importantly the quiet communion and the silence. The amazing experiences of Mt Sinai and the church of the Holy sepulchre. Catenians have given much pleasure especially the provincial weekend on the Isle of Wight and getting motions passed at Liverpool conference. Sad that Norwood circle closed but life goes on. It looks like Dulwich circle will also close.
Saddest day must be Mum and Dad's funeral, the funeral of Liz's Dad, saying goodbye is hard. The day I left Johannesburg, the departures from Hobart and Sydney. Leaving Addiscombe was very sad. The end of Heythrop. Some funerals have been sad. The loss of a friend like David Barrett is hard.
I have often been moved to tears especially by opera e.g. Madam Butterfly and films e,g, The Alamo and theatre e,g, Othello at the Globe. This is a good thing - tears help a lot.
Some of the happy occasions have been bitter sweet.
I suppose it is when God seems closest and Love takes over. Love is expressed in a hug or a smile. a whole world can be there in a single moment. Julian of Norwich speaks of the whole world in a hazelnut. Always be thankful.
This time of lockdown is so strange. All the usual things have gone to be replaced by a programme of services on the screen and operas on screen. I have cleared out so much paper from the past - so many organ recitals and services. I have kept programmes from  exciting events like the Olympics and Paralympics in London but I have to ask "Why keep this and not that?". Perhaps it is to do with memory. Some things I have found I cannot recall at all, others remain vivid.
What am I missing? Hugs from the family, conversations, singing together, playing the organ, above all Eucharist. I confess the second part of Mass seems remote at the moment. St John's holds a special place in my heart. Who knows how long we will be at home ? It could be months before it is safe to return to "normal". Our great National institutions like the Royal Opera House, Royal Academy and the Globe are under threat. The many art galleries I have visited have given me so much pleasure. And zoos and wild life parks are always happy places for me especially Whipsnade and Taronga. Monasteries I really like are Belmont and Worth. York Minster has to be the "gates of heaven". Westminster cathedral always gives a thrill! We will be back! 

John Michael East RIP

Rather naughtily John Ainslie claimed to have written this. I collected the material! 

Last night of the Proms

Music and Liturgy article

Ordination in Kerala 2012

Belmont Abbey pilgrimage

At Douai 2009 and Pluscarden 2010 Panel of Monastic musicians

14 Nov 2009 we manned a stall for SSG at Towards Advent 

Part 2 from Music and Liturgy is missing

Concerts

Liza Connell and Richard Wiegold sang Lyric Opera at a house in Queen's Gate 

2004 Berlin and Leipzig

Battersea Park library reopens

Library staff at Battersea Park

Wisdom Uzor

2009

 Library contacts

 Archbishop Vincent Nicholls enthroned

St Andrew Coulsdon harvest flower festival 10th October

James Macmillan was very friendly when we sang his St John Passion in King's Cambridge

Greece 2006

 With Allen Morris and Martin Foster

Jan Latham-Koenig Faure requiem abandoned when so many insects came up from the lake!

The chorus were promoting their own concerts using the funds accumulated from many recordings

2005

Lockdown

One good thing from these months in lockdown has been writing this story. I have cleared out a  lot of old papers and the next task is to go through the music scores, cassettes, videos, CDs and books! Dreams have been very vivid often about the library and past events. I have been attending Sylvan Road death cafe since it started and learnt a lot from it. The thought of dying alone is awful and that is what is happening to so many at this time. I would want a priest to come and hear my last confession (I admit to not going to confession as much as I should!) and the last rites. Communion has been such a part of my life and it is so sad not to receive at this time. But I am reluctant to go back to church until it really is safe and there is a vaccine, much as I miss the people and the music making. The cathedral has been very disappointing in not keeping in touch. Only Christina White of the friends on Facebook and some of the servers families on email have contacted us despite messages sent. Caterham has a weekly zoom and emails from Susan but there has been nothing about my contract. The Mass is on You tube on Sundays. St John's have been great with phone calls from Fr John, messages from Daniel and Tom, a weekly zoom on Sundays, Masses on You tube and zoom (one of those so far) and the weekly quiet time zoom on Tuesdays.  Richard has sent email suggestions of music to listen to and Adrian has been in touch on email. Catenians are reluctant to zoom but I hope to "attend" Beckenham on Monday.
I have prepared for my funeral and provided a list of people to contact. It is in the metal box in the study. Ideally I would stay at home as long as possible but if I had to go into a care home so be it. St Christopher's Hospice is a wonderful place and the care there cannot be matched so that would be ideal. Be happy that I am at last at home with God and meeting again Mum and Dad and all my friends and family. I hope to be brave at the end and not cry too much at saying goodbye. Love is the most important thing! Be kind and smile.
I can see that my world would become much smaller as it did for Mum and Dad but there is still so much to live for and enjoy! Operas, theatre, Shakespeare, books, praying, playing the piano and singing, painting, enjoying the garden, reading - plenty to keep me occupied. Above all the family on zoom or the phone. 

Catenians

I have now uploaded all of Bill Beach's history of Norwood Circle up to 1985 plus old photos and cuttings. It is at Norwood Catenians blogspot and Norwood Catenians Facebook page. 

Mum and Dad

The organist librarian has a post about the double funeral which I regard as a major turning point in my life. I became head of the family. It was most fortunate that Bruce asked me to go to the funeral. Mum had insisted that we should not go and remember the happy times. I sang at the Prom of The Bells and the conductor Jurowski encouraged me to sing as he said the work was so suitable. We saw Mum 3 times." Your Dad has all the answers now, you will have to cope, this place Gordon is super, I won't need my paper tomorrow".The latter was very odd. Dad had made full preparations but we had not expected that the choir would want to be paid! However we carried out Dad's wishes. I played at the crematorium which meant that I only saw people very briefly but Ann stayed at CCSL. The undertaker started to take Mum out too early. It was supposed to be during Dad's march played by Peter Jewkes. In a way it was so Mum. "He's had his say I'm off to make the lunch!" Ann presented me with a 60th birthday album. 

How many years at the organ?

• I started the piano aged 12 (1958) and the organ at 17(1963). I was assistant at St Mark's Yeoville  from 1963. In 1972 I did play in some places on my travels - Jerusalem, Istanbul, Naples, Copenhagen. I recall some weddings at Our Lady of the Angels, Bayswater but it was not till we got to St Chad's South Norwood that I started again from 1975 and that was occasionally. I started at St Margaret's in 1981 and at Addiscombe in 1985 and I was there until 2004. Then 10 years at St Andrew Coulsdon to 2014. A period freelance then 3 years at St Michael Beckenham to 2017 and now 3 years at St John Caterham. So 57 - 2 = 55! I have been in choirs since age 7 so 73 - 7 = 66! 38 of those years I was in the Philharmonia Chorus.