Mum and Dad visit UK

 

Dad and Dennis in St Joseph's uniform visit Addington Palace

p.479 possible St Hugh singers at Southwell. p.483 Golden wedding anniversary call p.484 necklace I bought Mum with my first salary! p.490 after 9 years I left St Margaret's Liz had an accident in the car in slippery conditions and Louise sprained her arm. p.494 Ffrench-Beytagh died. He was at a city church and I met him once on Westminster bridge. He remembered me. A very complex character we shall probably never know how much he did in South Africa and why he was deported. There was certainly lots of money being sent via the Church. p.496 Josie agreed that Mum and Dad could stay with her. p.500 planned itinerary. p.502 in fact they stayed with Jean and they loved it. Jean was a stalwart of St John's. Southwell was off! p.503 my comments on Barber Adagio for strings on the organ. Michael Deasey is mentioned. p.508 the trip to U.K. and we all holidayed at Kennall farm at Ponsanooth near Truro. We had of course breakfasted at Little Chef on the way down (this was traditional) Dennis and geology. We played Truro cathedral organ. Dennis went down a tin mine. The Croydon girls including Louise sang well in the cathedral and Louise played her trumpet. She had amazing ability taking up trumpet and later oboe and the piano. p.515 John Bolton who I also remember and we visited him in Kettering. p.516 Jean Bartlett. Alexander Nevsky at the Proms p.517 Addington Palace and St John's and Revd David and Susanna Martin. Dad does not mention that I lent him my cine camera so he could record his walks round York. p.523 Ightham Mote a place we have always loved. Dennis was keen on family trees and it is great that Mum wrote so much in the photo books. Chartwell and Finchcocks, Bexhill-on-sea, the Lewis at St John's, p.524 Pomp and Circumstance at St John's. John East and St Etheldreda's. Dennis sang at Guildford cathedral p,524. Liz went to Belmont Abbey  for a teacher's retreat. p.527 Dennis at Bury St Edmunds with Martin How. Dad describes in details the memorial concert for Ray Barber which was a great success with a lovely party at home afterwards. p.528. Visit to York library p.529 p.531 to 534 describes Hong Kong.

Bruce is baptised

Page 170 quotes me as getting a lump in my throat at Bruce's christening at St Chad's 8/1/1983 at the line "him we treasure" in "Blessed Jesus we are here". We had nearly lost him. The other hymns were Lord Jesus once a child, Now in the name of Him and It is a thing most wonderful. "Canon"Smith the MC described it as choral baptism as I found some suitable hymns. Fr David asked us if this could be the first baptism at Mass at St Chad's and we happily agreed. Malcolm and Clare were godparents and we had a lovely party. There is no doubt that Bruce was a very special baby. We spent the whole day listening to Messiah on the radio at King's and he arrived in the evening. Clare told me to go home and get everyone so we all trooped into the labour ward (strictly speaking not allowed) and had photos. Being the youngest he got away with a lot more than the eldest. Louise was just the right age to mother him. Dennis was a rather serious child always reading (bit like me). When Louise was born she was already looking about. She has always been the organiser in our family and so able to do things and meet people something Dennis found difficult. Bruce is very like me in appreciating art and design. All are musical . I think one ongoing problem was Mum and Dad's obsession with Dennis. Any conversation started about one of the other children always came back to Dennis! I certainly tried to love all three as much as each other. In those days the small room was the nursery and the back room was the children's room with bunk beds. Inevitably we needed more rooms so the decision was made to convert the loft into 2 rooms. Unfortunately we could not afford to put in dormer windows.
Dad also says the priest at St Margaret's was moving to Lincolnshire. Eric Young was a fine preacher and was connected to a school of preaching. They retired and Mick Elfred came. He was very different - playing the guitar and perhaps hippy in the past! What a preacher like Eric was doing in a small church in Upper Norwood is a wonder. I got on well with him.

1981

Me singing at Wembley

Dennis starts school at St Chad's

At the party Lynn, Grace, John Thing, Sheila, Freda Curtis, K, the Goldthorpes

Very fine concert of the Mozart C minor mass with Muti. We started to record it at Kingsway hall but Cotrubas cancelled on the Friday. Louise was growing fast and tried to get up the slide in the garden! Liz sang the Bruckner Te Deum with Haitink. Matacic conducted Bruckner and Dvorak. Repeated in Barcelona. Page 134-137, 139-141  In March Mum and Dad arrived. We had 30 at a party in the garden March 22. We earned some money distributing census forms. Took Mum and Dad to Lingfield and Chartwell which they loved. We went to Eastbourne, RSCM, Chessington Zoo, Hampton Court. We went to Bath and Sherborne where we sang with Martin How. We all went to London Zoo and Fenton House and Kenwood House. Beethoven 9 with Jochum. Liz sang Elijah with Fruhbeck. Sang at Canterbury and Chichester cathedrals. A member of staff was caught stealing money. To Bournemouth again and a lovely day on the Isle of Wight. Visited Liz and Don in Pinner - Liz knew Liz from guides. July 28 we went to the Royal wedding fireworks in Hyde Park. It was a huge crowd and exits were closed. We ended up walking to Marble Arch to get out - not happy! We watched the whole thing the next day Diana and Charles. K had given us life membership of the National Trust and we loved going to Sheffield Park. The Rossini Stabat mater was memorable for all the wrong reasons. The Prom was on TV. Giulini was very angry at the rehearsal and Mende who had taken over as chorus master that year did extra rehearsals. We did record it at Watford Town Hall but it was all a bit of a strain. Giulini's wife was there and she had been very ill. I comment that I missed the children - they had gone to No 99. In September we had lunch with Nellie on the way to Prudhoe. We visited Holy Island, Cragside, Allenheads, Durham, Richmond, Ripon cathedral, Lichfield, Birmingham lunch with Sybil,
Stratford. 1300 miles in all!
I note in my diary conflict with Jane Allen when I moved to Balham to be senior assistant. She insisted on having the main doors open in winter so I got my coat. She also wanted the money counted on the desk in public! Madness! For somebody who had a management degree she knew nothing about dealing with staff. Dad commented "How many Brownie points do you need in Wandsworth libraries?" Page 147 Dad says that I started playing at St Margaret's, Chevening Road, Upper Norwood after Easter. Liz had spotted this in the Church Times. A daughter church of All Saints there was a small committed congregation and a Bishop organ with an addition of 15th and 22nd which was rather shrill. I think St Chad's had never used my talents properly - I played for some Masses and sang in the choir but the strain of Friday practices in addition to chorus and two late nights at the library was beginning to tell. I wanted more time with the children and was lucky to have a day off during the week as I did alternate Saturdays. St Margaret's used New English Hymnal which I loved. Page 148 Pope John Paul II visiting |England. This was Fr Farmer's biggest mistake. As he had been choir director at St George's cathedral he was asked to bolster their choir. Instead of taking all of us, he selected singers. This caused immense resentment. We did go to Wembley and the cathedral choir sang. When he left in the helicopter instead of singing Hail the day that sees him rise the crowd sang He's got the whole world in his hands! The visit to Canterbury cathedral with Archbishop Runcie gave us great hope for ecumenism - hopes which have been dashed by Rome and women clergy. Liverpool was also a major highlight which was televised. 

Thalben-Ball

Philharmonia Chorus newsletter 1982 mentions cathedrals where we had sung

A highlight of 1982 was Julius Caesar at the Coliseum with Janet Baker superb and Valerie Masterson. Waiting for |Denis at the Whitehall was excellent. Of course these were the Thatcher years. When I arrived in 1973 we had the 3 day week under Ted Heath and we once were sent to the basement at Putney to move stock with candles! Health and Safety would have done their nut and the union were unimpressed to say the least. The point was that the library closed but we had to stay at work! Once the council started cutting jobs I was convinced never to vote for the Tories. I did go on strike at Balham joined by Jane Allen who later became management! I record attending the last night of the Proms for the first time - Dad organised that several times and Liz had of course been a lot and helped with the prommers' flowers. On one occasion I was singing lustily behind the chorus and a BBC chorus soprano said how well I sang and I should join. I replied "I am in the Philharmonia chorus". We were very faithful to the choir for so long! Of course we had the best of everything - superb conductors, soloists, free trips, a concert nearly every month, recordings (not much fun). The down side was rehearsal twice a week and the runup to the concert which could be exhausting and meant juggling hours at work. Saw Penelope Keith in "Moving" at the Queen's. We used to get free tickets brought to the library. We went to see Laurence in Gypsy Baron at Stanley Halls -  the band were terrible, In January I was auditioned for a tenor post at the Temple by Thalben-Ball. I missed him so went to his flat. The actual audition was at St Michael's. There was no vacancy! I remember him playing at the Albert Hall and saying Bach was like good British beef. Years later he also played at St Jude's Thornton Heath on the organ he had opened 50 years before. That organ went to Carlo Curley as the church went happy clappy.

Dec 19th 1982 St Margaret's seven lessons and carols with Revd Dr Eric Young and All Saints concert band directed by Peter Browning. John Welsman is also listed as an organist. Maybe this was so that I could sing the solo in Darke "In the bleak midwinter". On a later occasion David Smith went at his own tempo in Three kings by Cornelius and I avoided disaster as the choir had learnt it at my speed. 

Paul Jennings in 1982 brochure for the chorus anniversary

Rockmount school at St Margaret's 15/12/82 this was the night Liz went into hospital