The organist librarian

I had a quiet day instead of going sketching at HMS Belfast because my right knee was hurting in the night. It was very hot and muggy despite a thunderstorm, Liz went to help at St Vincent school fete. I watched Antonio Pappano's Classical voices about sopranos featuring Callas, Tebaldi, Nilsson,  Sutherland, Price and modern singers including one singing in an MRI scan showing 30 muscles are used! Westminster cathedral choir featured as well singing the Allegri. The policing London programme was rather disturbing. To vespers and Mass with Fr Alexander. The boys and girls were away so I did acolyte. The schola from St Peter's Catholic cathedral Belfast sang Haydn, Mozart and Elgar well and it was good to see Nigel and meet Ian Keatley! Fr Michael Quaqoe suggested we should be having a romantic dinner which I commented could be expensive. However we ate on the patio with good white wine and had a discussion about the importance or otherwise of the work I am doing! 

Liz to Heythrop so continued with reading. To St George's Beckenham for Nick Wibberley's recital at short notice - Buxtehude, Bach, Mendelssohn, Demessieux, Daquin, Boellmann - well played. Watched the rest of Tosca from Covent Garden - Bryn Terfel, Jonas Kaufmann, Angela Georgiou conducted by Pappano - fantastic singing and playing. Saw Terence briefly at Beckenham. To Balham library to collect Roy book - all pleased to see me. Confirmation candidates at Mass Royal Holloway college sang unaccompanied Canterbury Mass by Cecilia McDowell. To catechists meeting with red wine. Picked up Dennis from station - been on course.

Saturday Richard rang and said do nothing about Tablet otherwise it will stoke the fire of tittle tattle. BBC chorus only have 2 rehearsals for Beethoven 9 one of them for people who have not done it before! To O2 which I had not seen - it was pouring but I saw some of the building. The prayer space is a temporary structure near the tube station and completely neutral. A warm welcome and saw several interfaith folk. No RC Mass there as the diocese said people could be expected to find Mass at North Greenwich! They set off on the Greenwich interfaith walk and I came home very easily on tube and overground trains via Canada Water - much better than going to London Bridge. Drove to Southborough and arrived at Speldhurst 2.30 so time to play the organ (Andriessen) then got lost on way to Fordcombe but in time to hear the organist play Vivaldi/Bach and a guide spoke about the church - not that interesting. At last I played and then dashed off coming to Selhurst via Westerham and Warlingham....

I woke early so watched Boccanegra from Covent Garden on Iplayer. Placido Domingo was terrific - a great production introduced by Antonio Pappano.

A quiet Saturday at the library which I do not enjoy. Time to catch up and read the diversity course handbook which has lots of interesting facts e.g. 20% of gay people do not come out at work - heh how do they know? I am collecting messages and photos for Doris's retirement card. Christopher was in - he reminds me of Ronnie Corbett the librarian in "Sorry". He knew John Johnson and he said his brother also committed suicide. I wrote a review of "On Chesil Beach" for the Battersea limpets reading group. It will be interesting to read of the reactions of others. Gillian Warrior writes: I suppose I have been avoiding commenting on this book, partly because much to my dissatisfaction the abiding memory of it is the description of the semen and particularly comparing it to a glaze that dries and starts cracking, and the desperate attempt to remove it with the pillow. When someone mentions this book to me I think of this. Why? I suppose there is more than a littl...