Easter

 Saturday after salmon for lunch we set off to go to Standen NT. Had not been there for years. Arts and crafts house for the Beale family. Lovely Broadwood piano and cello, lots of paintings, art studio upstairs, lovely quilts. Tea and cake. To AirBNB very nice peopl Copthorne. Real Pizza company at the end of the road - delicious and doughballs. To Worth Abbey and lectio with Fr Paul on Matthew's gospel account which is full of violent action and running about! A super fire on the piazza and a hug candle. The choir did very well and we could join in. A good idea to have us singing This is the night 5 times in the Exultet. Oddly Psalm 118 was left out perhaps becaise the Abbot sang the triple Alleluia 3 times rising in pitch. One baptism and 2 confirmations one of them Edward the  choir director. The Walker Missa festiva Sanctus not easy to sing straight off. The Dean Gloria and Mawby Lamb of God were good. Langlais Incantantion pur un jour saint played bt Darcy Trinkwon at the end. Drinks and back to bnb by midnight.

Up at 7.15 nice shower and got to Caterham by 8.45. Kevin Scully was on great form and splashed evrybody from the font! I played Halleluah chorus, 3 Bach Orgelbuchlein preludes and Howells Saraband. Cake and coffee. Imogen said they missed me on Thursday. To the Wood House Sydenham. Passion fruit moktini, lamb, sticky toffee pudding. Home and then to evensong. Stanford in C, Blessed be the God and father, Ledger This joyful Eastertide. Nice drinks and nibbles in the vicarage. Fr Leon Carberry retired today. Pretty tired. Bit of Great Expectations but it's been ruined. 

Monday listened to some Vigil recordings from SM, B and Acton. Easter Monday organ recital at Bromley Parish Church by Richard Gowers. Buxtehude and Demessieux Te Deum, Roger-Ducasse Pastorale (150 years since his birth) Howells Rhapsody No. 1 (a tribute to Bromley's own Sir Stephen Cleobury). I was relieved that a sticking pedal notes meant that the Widor version of Tears of grief was replaced by Bach Schmucke dich. Did you know that schmuck is German for make-up? Enjoyed chatting to William McVicar and Bromley organists members. TV Easter day from Southwell. Martin Baker playing. Easter from King's. Tested chorus talk on zoom. Catching up on TV BIg painting challenge turned out to be a repeat, Notre Dame fire very moving. University challenge. Bach on TV.

Tuesday had a lie-in so no swim. To West Norwood cinema to see NT The Life of Pi a truly fantastic production from Wyndham's theatre. Zoom with Xavier, Maud and Jenny. Xavier is going to be director at the seminary. Had a lovely chat about the Synod. Bach ib TV, Mastermind. The Likely lads. More of the sky done in the jigsaw. Liz watching cookery and surgery programmes.

Wednesday woke at 9 so no swim. Nice chat to Clare. Sunny. Faure Piano trio on radio 3. Decided not to go to lute recital at Woodcote. Wild isles. Mary Beard talking to Armando Ianucci and his programme on Dickens. CCA zoom and plans for trees4Croydon and the Big One. Played piano.

Thursday To St John the Baptist Purley for the funeral of Anne Brownsell and reception at Farleigh golf club which is huge and wonderful views. Good turnout of Catenians. Irene played and felt sea sick. She uses the swell pedal like a harmonium. There was nobody to welcome us at the church so after being in the porch I found the livestream and saw empty seats at the front so marched up there. Animators at 4 and a good turnout. To the Braithwaite hall for the Iftar well organised by the Dialogue society. Acoustics were poor and too many speeches but food and company good. Nigerian from St Alban's dominated our discussion on community and ramadan. Gave out Trees4Croydon posters. Bus home - quite cold.

Friday woke at 5 and 8.45. To Unacc. Clement very tall lead exercises. To St George's Beckenham for Marilyn Harper playing Bach, Ainscough and Plymouth suite. Bridget there and chat to Chris about the organ in Whitgift and Fairfield Hall organ. Mick came. Minutes of meeting done. Richard Peregrine rang about the RSM meal. More work on jigsaw as family coming Sunday. Listened to LSi youth webinar. Churches trust on Montagu house.

Sat jigsaw. To Bromley parish church for organists AGM and Jonathan Holmes played Farrington and Widor. Too late to get to Streatham Hill so to Mass at St Aidan Coulsdon. Good to see Stephen and Fr Peter Mansfield 40 years a priest. Pizza express then St Mary and St Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Coulsdon for Easter vigil. The men sing accompanied by their male children. It's a guttural sound not unlike Sunni Muslims with long Amens, Kyrie eleison, Thanatos. How do they know when to change the note? Screens gave us English and Arabic and people were friendly. It started at 8 with Mattins and then they changed into robes. We left at 10.30 after the messages from the Popes. Home by 11.

Sunday Played Tambling on O Filii and Slater Easter Alleluia. We sang Barnard's arrangement of O sons and daughters. Service of the word. Euian told me about his North Welsh village and Domesday Book! Meeting and there are 3 applicants. Louise Tom and the boys came for turkey and Christmas pudding. All brown from Turkey. Lovely to see them. Bacg St John Passion with Mark Padmore BBC Prom 2008 conducted by John Eliot Gardiner - excellent.

Monday woke at 7 and slept until 9. Attempt to get my Better card unsuspended - ended up sending an email. To chair aerobics with Barbara. To Whitgift centre to play the one manual organ for 45 minutes. One young man was very impressed. I gave him a leaflet for the concert on Saturday and later booked out £5 tickets. SM Nazareth session and Cath is back. Liz to UCM. Mastermind and University challenge with Newnham on cracking form.

Tuesday Liz to meet Louise in Chiswick. Membership sorted out and swam. To quiet time 6 there. Dulwich picture gallery has been rearranged and the Berthe Morisot exhibition is a delight. I treated myself to a fridge magnet as the catalogue is lovely but too expensive and I bought a book of Prudhon drawings (an exhibition I saw some years ago). Lovely Mary Beale paintings. Pilgrimage part 2 through Northern Portugal.