Skip to main content

A London Highlight


Dear Reader

One of the highlights for me and for the young people involved was taking Allan, Jules, Sophie and Charlie to St Paul’s for a singing lesson with one of their Lay Clerks, Patrick Craig. I met Patrick at the Tallis Scholars Summer School in Sydney about ten years ago and have managed to catch up with him a number of times since, when we have been on the same continent. When I mentioned to the young ones that I wanted to catch up with him this time it was their idea to see if he would give them a lesson. 

So on Tuesday we headed off on a hop on-hop off bus for a morning of fun, and following lunch at Wagamama we went to St Paul’s for the afternoon. 






Each one had an individual lesson with Patrick while the rest of us explored. Each one came out beaming; they are still talking about what they learned. We had afternoon tea in the Crypt Cafe with Patrick who then joined us for dinner at Pizza Express with the Crompton Family, Rev Jenny and Nick. 

It was a wonderful experience for the kids and I was so pleased when he said they were all singing very well and safely. 

Here is the evidence of the fun they/we had.











Thanks are due to Patrick for making this possible, as well as Lavinia for her support of these Lay Clerks and their singing. 

Cxx

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 11, 2020 at 5:15 AM

    What a terrific opportunity for these choristers of ours to have one-on-one tuition. It goes to show how important it is for us to network well, and to keep our friendships within our networks current and fresh. Who knows where they may lead?
    Stuart L

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Abbey on a Sunday

Dear Reader Today we sang at Westminster Abbey. It was a thrill five years ago, and again a thrill today. Musical Menu up front: The day belonged to Jonathan Dove, musically speaking.  For the Eucharist we sang the Dove Missa Brevis sans Kyrie, the psalm appointed, three hymns and for the motet, the beautiful Gjielo Ubi Caritas . We were well received.  We fronted up again after a short sandwich lunch with Evensong. Stanford in G canticles, with Luca Shin and Andrew Chatterton as soloists, the psalm appointed, which was really quite long, and for the anthem, Dove’s The Three Kings , with Maxwell, Archie, Crystal and Henry doing the honours. And Hunt responses.  Dear Reader, Anthony Hunt wrote these responses in 2006 for our first tour, and they hold up well. They also herald the exciting future, when Anthony succeeds our dear Leonie Hempton as Director of Music.  Now, the sandwich lunch was one of those occasions when your tour leaders n...
6 comments
Read more

Trees

Dear Reader There is something beautiful about trees in the snow. My initial feeling was that every photograph looked the same. Tall, straight trees with snow on them. Was there any point in taking more than one? But when I took the time to look more closely I noticed the differences. The beautiful and important differences.  Most of them are straight and tall, but some are not.  Some are bent, some are incomplete, as they have been cut down or damaged by the weather in some way. Yet they remain as a reminder of what has been. I wish I had thought to take more photographs of these. Some are evergreen, which means their strong, ever present branches and leaves bear a heavy weight of snow. I think they are probably pine trees, and they remain constant throughout the year. Some are deciduous, so their branches hold a lighter weight of snow and their twigs are more apparent. They change with the seasons, but return again each year.  And...
1 comment
Read more

The Big One, St Paul’s

  Dear Reader Today was the Big Event of tour. St Paul’s Cathedral, London. If you are observant, you will notice my absence from the photo above, along with several of my colleagues. Sadly, this happened.  After nearly four years and six vaccinations I finally succumbed to the dreaded Covid. At the worst possible time. My multiple vax status has meant I only feel a bit rotten, like a cold, but I do feel sad to have missed the day. And to miss Windsor tomorrow. I was grateful for the considered medical advice provided by Dr Ritesh, father of one of the trebles, who also updated my supply of paracetamol and ibuprofen.  So I am relying on others for the report about this special day.  The good bits started with four of the young Lay Clerks heading to St Paul’s for singing lessons with my friend Patrick Craig, who is an Alto Lay Vicar at St Paul. In have yet to hear from Nicholas, Marco, Charlie or James, but Patrick was very complimentary about their singing. This is w...
10 comments
Read more