Bruce

1983 gathering

Congratulating Lionel Dakers CBE 1983

Grainne in Hungarian national costume to greet the new baby

Dad with grandson No. 2

Louise little Mum

Claire after Bruce's birth

• One sad incident should be recounted. Just before Christmas Liz had a miscarriage. I was playing for school carols and felt I had no choice but to go home to relieve the babysitter. I could have got Mrs Earl or Karen across the road .When I got to the hospital the next morning the lady in the next bed said Liz had cried so much for me. I was mortified and said I would never do such a thing again. Family was more important than music. I have recounted this story in high schools when we talked about our marriage as I think young people need to know this kind of situation. I  still think I made the wrong decision. The chorus held a 25th anniversary reception at Ironmongers' hall, Barbican 26 Nov 1982.

Page 151 Lionel Dakers in Tasmania - he always spoke of Mum and Dad when he saw me. Dad mentions the carols at St Margaret's - we had a small group formed for Easter and Christmas. Also singing in the semi-chorus of Gerontius with Janet Baker - we have a photo in the hall of this concert at the Festival hall with Andrew Davis. Page 155 Margaret Phillips visit to Hobart - I met her at the Abbey and she remembered it well. Page 157 the arrival of Bruce George. October 24. Page159 Bruce turned over in cot in the car and sinosed but Clare came to the rescue and he was OK. Page 165 Dad describes meeting Douglas Mews and Vernon Griffiths in New Zealand. I was later to meet Vernon's widow. Both of us were given lots of his wonderful organ music - beautifully crafted. He was a pupil of Rootham.
We have been incredibly lucky in our travels all over the world and some things always happen in cities. Cathedral or main temple, the zoo, if a river or lake a cruise, art gallery for me, concerts or organ recitals, try to play organs. A good meal out. If a mountain cable car trip!

Clare at Louise's wedding 2007

Martin How

Andrew Greenwood made a good impression rehearsing the chorus. Liz worked as polling clerk at elections. Sawallisch conducted Brahms requiem on Liz's birthday and I listened in to the relay. I often recorded these concerts and sent the cassettes to Hobart. Of course I wrote once a week to Mum and Dad and Ann. One work which was sure to have me going sick was the Brahms Alto rhapsody! We celebrated Louise and Dennis's birthdays with parties. Dec 12 we had a successful party before the Fairfield Hall concert of Faure Requiem (as usual not full). The following day the Festival Hall was full for the same concert with Andrew Davis and Elgar 1 which I love. I fetched the kids home in a blizzard. Dec lots of parties - staff, chorus, carol singing. Dec 24 Martin How had us singing carols at Lady Scott's near Addington palace. Talk about rich man in his castle and poor man at his gate! The Norbury boys did not turn up but Martin carried it all off superbly. I recall him doing the same at Addington Palace when the piano started to move across the floor when he was playing Brahms! Liz sang at midnight mass and I went to 11.15 on Christmas day followed by drinks and cake in the presbytery. Fr Farmer would have his own strawberry tart at these dos! Boxing day we went to Carol's in Soho. Mum and Dad came for New Year's Eve. 

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

Dusseldorf

Every 6 months or so I did a Sunday duty (afternoon only )at Battersea reference library (extra cash). At the Beethoven Choral fantasia concert I comment that the Philharmonia played magnificently but Matacic hardly did anything! In November a week in Dusseldorf singing Schoenberg Gurrelieder and visited Aachen and Cologne Zoo and gallery, Aachen, Goethe museum and Wuppertal. I shared with Derrick - there was a sequel to this which was that I played for his daughter's wedding in Essex. That marriage did not last - she married the son of a boxing promoter who said he could have sent his helicopter for me! Derrick left his wife after many years and she begged to me find out why but no luck. Derrick refused to discuss it with her or me. Very sad. I think he was bored. Mahler 8 at the hall, TV show in Dec live from Royal College of Music - Liz on a lot, I was on only once - I was stuck at the back with noisy Bob Hind - rather an irritating tenor! On Dev 31 Chris Mason rang and unofficially told me I had got the AP4 promotion at last! There was a big issue about women being promoted as well as married men with families! Got to Covent Garden twice Rake's Progress and Fanciulla del West. Frankly the amphitheatre was hot and uncomfortable and I much prefer going to the opera at the cinema these days! Amadeus and A lesson from aloes at the National theatre. Zauberflote and Robinson Crusoe at the proms. ITV showed Fidelio!! Peter Gould appears quite often in the diary - he was a chorus tenor.  I got on well with the chorus members and trips meant that we chatted more. I also got on well with colleagues at work - we were a happy crew and in those days had fancy dress Christmas party. One year I went as the cuts! One problem with going to Oxford Gardens was that the Georges could never say goodbye unlike the Woodhouses. So farewells could take half an hour. Now I am a grandad I can understand why but at the time....

1980

Tom did all our electrics. I played a Hungarian hymn at the funeral

At Louise's wedding 2007

Wedding day! 

The year began with a RSCM evensong at Chichester cathedral. I think the organ broke down but we continued! An evening with Queen Victoria at the Old Vic featured Prunella Scales and Ian Partridge. Years later I issued Prunella her freedom pass at the library! We began to go to Chorus again the Missa and Beethoven 9. Maazel conducted the Missa. We went to  St Mary Cray for a good concert featuring a viola and Fr Farmer. M and D celebrated 40th wedding anniversary. March 22. Clare Kedves delivered Louise and later Bruce and was a great support for Liz feeding the babies. In those days the Maundy service was broadcast on radio and it was from Worcester cathedral. Our colour TV came on April 3. April 26 went to see Laurence Irvine in New Moon at Stanley Halls - I later worked with him at Earlsfield library. Tall and gangly and always nice. He married at Trinity church Tooting -  at Trinity church I met my doom he would say and they had a daughter. Years later he was mugged for his wedding ring. May 7 first swimming lesson with Dennis and enjoyed it. This was the spur to learn and I had absolute trust in Julie Smith. She had been an Olympic swimmer in Melbourne Olympics and I went every week to Crystal Palace to learn. Even saw Duncan Goodhew training! We regularly went to Oxford Gardens or Mum and Dad came over. Sang in Lobgesang - Muti was ill so Adam Fischer stepped in. He was excellent. In July to Boscombe with trips to Romsey Abbey, Broadlands, Marwell zoo. July 19 Rosemary and Lyn Callan got married. We knew Lyn from St John Ambulance at the hall and had been to his Earlsfield home for dinner. Brendan came from Hobart and we took him to Greenwich and into Kent looking for oast houses. He is an architect. In September we went to Basle to sing Mahler 8. Charles Spencer had convinced the promoter that we could manage both choruses and we did it! We stayed on a boat on the river and visited the zoo and art gallery. Boat trip on Rhone and up the Jura. In October I was one of the lucky ones who sang Judas Maccabeus at La Scala, Milan with Mackerras. The locals did not like this English choir appearing and insisted that there had to be a gap between the rows for the safety curtain! Visited Isola Bella and Lake Como. Oct 18 to Christ in Croydon and my group was good.

 Basle

Louise

Mum with Louise after her baptism at St Chad's 2/12/79

In August we bought our first car for £900 from our doctor Tom Duffy a blue Ford Escort with good radio. We went to visit the Things (John was in my class at school) at Crowthorne. At that stage John was still happily married and their sons were born later.  Liz spent time in hospital and Louise Ann was born on October 13. I described it as a thrilling experience. Everyone was delighted at a girl! She was named after Lord Louis Mountbatten who was killed that year and of course Ann. In November I sang at Canterbury with Alan Wicks It is amazing the number of operas and concerts on BBC2 in those days. The second part of this year I did not go to chorus much. I was very happy to be looking after Dennis and Louise.