Last night of the Proms

Music and Liturgy article

Friends

Mum and Dad had many friends and kept up correspondence with them despite strokes! They moved several times and happily started again in each place. I have had very few close friends. The one constant has been Liz. I have numerous contacts on social media but I think the big 141 party revealed who our real friends are. In this time of lockdown it has been interesting to see who has kept in touch. Clare, Carol, Rosemary and Lyn, Josie and Malcolm stand out. In my early life Mum and Dad's friends featured a lot. At St Mark's John Alexander and Heather Brokenshire helped me to come out of my shell. At school John Thing, Richard Peregrine, Chich Hewitt and Tom Ridley were there from 1953 and we still meet every year. It has been good to get to know Clive Nettleton, David Parks and Mike Strong better at these dinners and of course the wives. I was very fond of the late Scott Macrobert. At university Elizabeth Connell and Lyn Stagg who was a great help when I arrived in London. In the chorus Kevin and Gill, Jean Taylor, Judy, Janet, Ron, Maurice, Derrick, Lindy, Barbara, Ethel and especially Francis and Simon shared some amazing experiences. We were so lucky to be singing in a golden era of travel, soloists and great conductors. I had many friends among the library staff especially Meryl, David, Calix, Zia, Elizabeth, Pauline, Julian and Marilyn, Chris and Wisdom. Reading group friends too among the public. John East was a lifelong friend. David and Veronica encouraged me to sing opera on stage.
Church choirs and groups especially Josie and Malcolm, Tom, Simon, John and Mildred ,Ross, Susan, Ann, Ada, Mary, Eve, Tony, John, Ann, Linda. So many of these have gone before us to a greater light. I have many interfaith friends notably Alan, Ivor, Phil, Gisela, Roberto, Rizwan, Sayeed, Ken and Heythrop and spirituality contacts Eileen, Rita, Joan, Ann, Campion, Clare, Mick, Sr Carolyn.
Lots of organists -Chris, Michael and Gloria, David and Sheila, Dorio and Sheila, Ken, Thomas, Oliver, Peter,
St John's choir has been a constant for 40 years Adrian and Terence, Bob. Many priests have been good friends Peter, Antony, Daniel, Marcel, Adrian, Brian, Robin, Xavier, Mark, Ann Marie, Paul, Paolo, Swavek, Dennis, Michael Archer, Michael Quaqoe, Michael Donaghy, Tim Dean, David, John and we continue to pray for them.We have been privileged to know great bishops and cardinals too especially Bernard, John x 2, Paul.
Catenians exist to support each other and I still miss David Barrett and Gerry Haines. So many come to mind notably Harry, Philip, Brendan x 3, Bill, Jim. It was the Dulwich brothers John x 2 and the Almeidas that I turned to when Norwood circle closed. A more relaxed atmosphere. Our gallery proms friends came to our party in strength what a great bunch of friends! Looks like we will not meet this year.

First love

 Grumpy

Here I am in Ghent note the long beard and the cine camera also the Johannian blazer! In his book "Sweet sorrow" David Nicholls comments that first love is boring. Well at the time it was anything but! What a mixture of emotions! Gradually Liz and I grew closer. We spent a lot of time together on chorus trips that year - Spain, Belgium, Orange. In fact it was a bumper year for tours. No sooner had I started than Ron Archer was asking "You going to Spain?". It was Belshazzar with Fruhbeck de Burgos and we sang 3 times in Madrid. The Sunday audience clapped us off the stage! I gave Liz my red carnation and that became our flower! In Barcelona I nipped off to Montserrat retuning by scary cable car (woman I can't look it's fantastic I can't look). Ron saw me dash into the hotel on the Ramblas and there was just enough time but it was madness and you needed to be fresh to sing! 2 years ago we visited Madrid and Barcelona and the wonderful Montserrat (Liz had sung there with the chorus impromptu on a previous trip). There is a photo of me in Ghent with beard looking very grumpy. I was not impressed at being asked to pay for a kneeler at Mass! There was a similar occasion when I walked out of Mass at St Charles square over the priest's homily - no idea what he said! Liz was very concerned. But I am jumping ahead! We went to the Proms because Dad was a steward and always sat in the left hand box first tier. When Liz went away I really missed her and she knitted a yellow waistcoat for me (Dad Is that for loverboy?) I must have looked a sight when I first visited Oxford Gardens Bible under arm and a deerstalker to keep my ears warm! We were at the concert by Maria Callas and Giuseppi di Stefano with Ivor Newton at the Festival Hall which was televised. She got a standing ovation at the start but listening again to it they were both awful, But what  a stage presence! I was also at the last appearance by Jacqueline du Pre playing the Elgar at the Festival Hall, Liz could not watch her but I think her performance was wonderful.

Library

My South African driving licence. The council paid for my lessons as they wanted me to work in Soweto. 

My 1969 diary reveals that we holidayed in Ramsgate swimming at Uvongo beach. I worked on completing my bibliography for my librarianship diploma an index of obituaries in "The Star" 1900-2. It was only in 1970 that I read Trevor Huddleston's "Naught for your comfort" and the poor response "You are wrong Father Huddleston" by Alexander Steward.  I began work at branch headquarters of Johannesburg public library. The council paid for driving lessons much of it on a simulator. I had already driven round Hyde Park corner when I passed first time! I had listened to Dad at dinner each evening talking about the office and I never wanted to work in an office and there I was in an office. Jennifer started by saying the desk was hers.I said No it is mine. I won in the end as she resigned! James Winter was in charge and I was his No. 2 and Essie Aremband was the advisor on book choices. We used to read the new novels as we knew many would be banned. Mostly they were pretty tame! Famously the Government censors had banned Black beauty at one stage! Anything where the colour bar was crossed was suspect. I also used to go on relief to branches especially in the Northern part of the city. Here my student days paid off. In overall charge was Miss Smith an expert on Africana ably assisted by Miss Kennedy whose father had been City librarian. It was an excellent service and great training ground. Lynette and Miss Meg Laver were also working there. I have some amusing letters from her. In June 1969 I played for Mayoral Sunday in Dad's absence.(page 67). I record listening to the BBC proms including the last night and noting that Parry had been reinstated. I only read 38 books in 1969 due to reading magazines and reviews. Theatre good and 6 As at the cinema. BBC plays much better than SABC's efforts. We had a neighbour who played Ravel's Bolero incessantly when I was studying in my bedroom so I used to listen to the radio and records a lot to try and blot out the sound!