The organist librarian

 Monday 8th chat to Ann, Passport photo and he gave me a discount as I never used the ones taken last April. Swim. SDEN zoom about Advent was a delight. Phoenix centre Christmas party Sanderstead handbells so lovely and we won 3 raffle prizes. Now have 3 bottles of Baileys! Only connect, Mastermind, University challenge.  Tuesday to hearing aid clinic - they no longer give out tubes so emailed Guys for them, Bought 5 raffle tickets. Beck meth felt very odd with the curtains taken down! Animal park Christmas special 2020. Loved Cor y Boro Christmas concert for cancer charities. Lovely singing, string quartet, lovely food, great people. Wednesday to Westminster Abbey for a wonderful service for Advent.  Thanks to Terence for telling me about this service. Matthew Martin O Rex gentian, Joubert There is no rose, Coptic and Syriac Orthodox choirs. Address by Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe. Wonderful to see the churches and other faiths there. The King gives such a strong lead. Del...

  Beckenham Methodist went well and the congregation sang the new hymn quite happily. I played Martin How’s Advent prelude, Walther Wachet auf, Bairstow and Sumsion on Veni Emmanuel. I was asked if I had improvised the latter. No chance said I not that clever! Good sermon from Revd Jonathan mentioning Oscar Romero and Mother Theresa on the theme of justice. Christingle at SJ and kids sang well. Bruce off to Peterborough. Lovely Advent carols at St John the Evangelist Upper Norwood. Fr John having fun on the organ. Advent carols from St John’s Cambridge was excellent. Celebrity race around the world reached Costa Rica and Panama. Strictly. Johannes out. Disappointed that Oremus did not publish interfaith group ideas for next year. Monday woke late. Ann away and no wifi. Swim, aerobics and went to Balham to meet Julian. Battle to pay congestion charge. Only connect, Mastermind, University challenge, why civilisations fall. Working on Christmas letter. Tuesday woke late again. Swim an...

  Two Sundays when I am not playing. To St John Upper Norwood Jackson in G, Bainton And I saw a new heaven. Marilyn Harper played Bach Prelude and fugue in G. What a treat! At evensong we sang Noble in B minor and Te lucis Balfour Gardiner. Ian le Grice was playing. Bruce came and Dennis and co brought pizza. Strictly and Antiques roadshow. Matthew Bourne on Swan Lake. Monday chat to Ann woke late, Cancelled swim and aerobics. To Wickes Wimbledon to look at bathroom options. Chat to Claire. Copying for interfaith group. Northern dioceses envirnmental group addressed by Sister Joan. Liz to UCM so transported her there and back. Henry came for dish which I had already taken to his house so took them home. Call my bluff, Face the music, University challenge, Only connect. Tuesday Liz to Guys and it was a shorter ession. Swim. Enjoyed The Estate NT at home. To carers meeting and some new people. Back home for a bite then to Bernard Weatherill House for first Croydon climate forum wh...

 To UNACC Triniti not there so picked up Liz and took our ladder so I could put up the 3 pictures and change the clock (after 2 weeks!) back. Nice lunch. To Dulwich gallery and saw the new entrance and kids area and building from outside. Anna Ancher: painting light excellent film and some lovely works. Shop disappointing. Why did they not use the cornfield painting? Sainsburys. To Picturehouse West Norwood.  the film “The Choral”. It’s moving and touching. I feel emotionally wrung out and Gerontius is my favourite choral work. Ranulph Fiennes excellent and the Alan Bennett script is perfect. Hamza's wildlife series so good. Saturday To Shabbat service at South London liberal synagogue and Liz was invited to read a prayer. Georgina spoke about hurricanes in the Caribbean. Did you know there are synagogues in Jamaica? Fell asleep watching the recording of the Lady Mayor's parade! Oh dear this is grumpy organist again! To Mass this evening. Good points communion under both kinds...

   The Christian Muslim forum celebrates 20 years. The forum were guests of the Right Revd Stephen Cottrell Archbishop of York at Lambeth Palace. The archbishop welcomed us and spoke about the challenges we face. Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra Co-chair CMF, spoke on ‘20 years of CMF: From early beginnings to national platform, interfaith dialogue in a changing landscape’. Bishop Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy spoke on ‘Diversity within and without, dialoguing with difference’ and John Woodhouse reflected on 60 years of Nostra aetate and Catholic perspectives on interfaith dialogue. Copies of the new translation of Nostra aetate by Professor Michael Barnes SJ were provided by Westminster Interfaith as an aid to study and John commended Fratelli tutti for study. Common themes were friendship as a basis for dialogue, concern over the rise of the far right and the misuse of Christian symbols by them, moving from dialogue to action for tangible collaboration and engaging the younger generation....

 After yesterday's triumph at Lambeth Palace it was back to art and aerobics. Jacqui asked after Liz who was at urology all afternoon. To St Martin in the Fields hall for launch of National interfaith week. The present and the past minister for faith both spoke well. Such a contrast to the last government. Sam Wells told 4 stories. Khaleel story teller excellent. Lots of networking and lovely food. Choir practice in church was enjoyable. Celebrity race around the world started. Liz watched Celebrity traitors I refused to watch! 

 Monday Oct 26 Liz early to station fasting blood test and she saw haemotologist. Chat to Ann and finished jigsaw 3 of Royal collection Street party. 60 Union flags! To Croydon town hall and took my paintings to promote Unacc. Some useful contacts. Delivered old blue badge to Bernard Weatherill house. SM. Let all the world sing.   To Jamyang Buddhist centre for dialogue about universal responsibility which lead to discussion about compassion. Rabbi Nathan, the bishop of Kingston and Geshe Tenzin Namdak Faiths together in Lambeth. I asked a question about educating children to show compassion by example. Nathan mentioned that we are visiting the synagogue. Only connect. Tuesday Imran was supposed to bring new hubcaps but when I rang up it was his day off. I did not go swimming and gave the porch a thorough clean. Started the 4th Royal jigsaw. Call my bluff, Face the music with Ben Luxon, University challenge. To quiet time and a good turnout.  To Farm Street church Ma...

 Thursday Oct 23 woke at 6 and then 9.30. When   I came down the stairs and saw a man in a coat carrying Ocado bags into the kitchen so I said “Ive got 8 empty Ocado bags for you” and got them out of the cupboard. He said “Oh no I’m not from Ocado I’ve come to put in a stair rail!” “Oh good” said I “hello I’m John” and shook his hand. And it’s a great improvement especially for me. To art and still copying outlines. Hstoric service in the Sistine chapel .  BBC news people would not shut up during the historic Sistine chapel service and kept on getting things wrong! Oh for Richard Dimbleby! Watch the video on Vatican media live. Great singing! BBC commentary from the Sistine chapel service “that was a reading from the Epistle to the Romans by the foreign secretary”. Some missive! Another classic 20 minutes on You tube of the cars and the outside of St Paul's and no King and Queen! I found a video from the Royal channel of part of the service from St Paul's outside the...

 Thursday Oct 16  Art, aerobics (I can’t stand Morgana replacing Barbara) dentist. Westminster Abbey joint evensong Part, fabulous Bruckner, nice to see all the clergy and Peter played Mendelssohn 2. Then to the Globe. No wonder I’m tired! We enjoyed parts of Troilus and Cressida at the Globe. It’s a wierd play. Access host took us in the lift and the captions were great. Hot chocolate at interval as it got cold. Walked to London Bridge and home by 11.45. Oct 18 Saturday. School of synodality zoom very inspiring. Gandhi association AGM less so. At Mass Fr Joseph launched into "What a friend we have in Jesus" then drank from the chalice and sang the last line. Nobody sang. I pointed out to him that RCs do not know this hymn at all. He said "some hymns are not in the book". Also we got old versions of the Mass book so I said they should be removed. Why did they publish this with the same colour cover? Black History Momth event at SJ was not as good as last year. Piani...

 Friday picked up Liz's trouser suit which had been altered. To CJ. Liz was delayed at the dementia study in Hammersmith so we missed the earlier train.  To Catenian province 19 weekend. Journey down 3 hours wait for train incl an hour standing at Waterloo. I was exhausted. On arrival at Winchester Royal hotel by taxi in pouring rain our dinner was ready. Finished at 10.50 having started at 7.30! Saturday Visited the mill and Winchester museum. Excellent evensong at the cathedral. Stanford in C slow. The tenors top A in The heavens are telling! Boys on great form. Buxtehude Toccata. Meals good slow service. Black tie is such a bore and speeches! Skipped the disco. Sung family Mass at St Peter’s. Fr Mark very good. Cab to station and home in 2 hours. Strictly heat. MOnday Liz to research at Hammersmith. Blue badge renewal done, tried to access Nationwide. Virginia Woolf. Chat to Clare. Usual Monday fare . Tuesday swim. Good to be back. All Saints supervision session and Chris w...

 Aga Khan centre was an excellent visit. Disappointing that some did not come. The director greeted us on the screen and our guide was most interesting. There are 5 gardens and a huge library. I went to Catenians.17/9. 18/9 art and ears cleaned out Dentist need one filling. We ate at Le Pain quotidien at St Pancras and then to King's Place for the Manchester camerata concert. Sound so much better. Tariq was there. I wrote to the Prms about it.  19/9 After Unacc lunch to Croydon Minster. Stephen Disley's recital was disappointing.  20/9 to St John East Dulwich. John Webber replaced Peter Wright - a bitty programme. To St Peter Leigham Court Road the choir director gave me a tour. The recital was moved to 5 so I heard the Bach and then to Anerley. Fr Jospeh speaks well but sings the hymns far too slowly. 21/9 To Riddlesdown  The lady who let me in at 10.25 (I was there at 10)told me she could not get into the vestry. I practised and the priest arrived. He did not speak...

 Wed 10th took car for recall so we got bus and train back to Veck Meth for practice and coffee and apple strudel. Full set of hubcaps have to be ordered! To St Mary the Boltons Battersea Bridge very slow becaus eof tube strike and works. My talk was well received and Amir spoke at the end. Thursday 11th no art as sorting out appointment for right ear. Plannng meeting for Oct 2 and animators zoom. Definite buzz after the retreat! Choir practice in church 5 there Dab has a great tenor voice. Brahms - quite hard on my own! I got behind a couple of times! R and B zoom with Melanie and Barbara.  Friday listened to some Proms To Lambeth palave library Sing joyfully exhibition and then to Clergy house for Oremus reception. Met the Precentor and talked about art!  Sat Fr Thomas at Mass - he says it well but his hymn singing is so slow! Last night was good. Bill Bailey on typewriter and organ at the end. Sun to St James Riddlesdown - warmly welcomed by Grant the vicar who looks a...