The organist librarian

Tuesday Brendan came with 2 boxes of Catenian minutes -chucked some already! To lunch at Middle temple with Cate and Kate Allan  - had guinea fowl. Temple Church has excellent Magna Carta exhibiton and WWI panels. Lovely library with portraits of prime ministers. Really enjoyed it. Returned Westminster library book and looked at Queen of Spades score and BBC Music magazine, also CMQ. To Acton and Louise went to New York Wed a.m. Wed to Tamar's and Gunnersbury park for ice cream and sandwiches. Sean seemed a bit off! Thursday to British library Magna Carta exhibiton which is very well done. Liz served at Good Shepherd masses at cathedral. I went to dentist and a long session on root canals! Caught up on blog.

Woke up too early - still have Wagner on the brain! Swam 20 - the pool was busy! To British Library to finish what could be looked up there. Shopped at M & S St Pancras and got the train back to East Croydon. Arrived early at St Matthew's but the caretaker let me in. 3 ladies interviewed me about undertaking the spiritual direction course over years on 2nd Fridays. Went well.  I had bought flowers and chocs for Liz for the 39th anniversary tomorrow. Put shopping away and then off to the preProm talk with the composer Naresh Sohal. We heard string quartet extracts and an attractive song. John East gave me some details for the reunion yearbook.The commissioned by Sohal was attractive. Rachmaninov Piano concerto no. 3 very well played by Nikolai Lugansky but the miniature score was very small. I was drooping for Tchaikovsky 5th. Finished late but we were home by midnight. Apparently the young man we met last night is Nicholas and he is to study organ at the Academy and be scholar...

I should have mentioned that Liz went last night to 6 p.m. Mass at Farm Street for Feast of St Ignatius. I was full of Heythrop folk and she was unimpressed by the choir singing Schubert Mawby and Peeters. The reception in the Mount St gardens ran out of glasses! She came to the second part of the Prom. I swam 20 and went early to St Pancras and the British Library. Did a lot of work especially using the Keel book on Eckhart; an Asian perspective. Had lunch there. Got a 10 and it was very hot. I missed the talk on Tippett. The prom was a non-event. Noisy Henze, Stravinsky concerto and a wierd piece where he was trying to be modern. Tippet Symphony No.2 doesn't end right - pity he did not go back to his first movement themes and do something with them! 

Swam 20. Met Michael Redman at Royal Academy and went round the summer exhibition which Brian Sewell quite rightly slated! Very few pictures of quality - one fine drawing of a spoonbill and some nice prints. Hugh Casson display much better. To RAC club for a lovely lunch and chat. I had roast beef and a huge Yorkshire pudding. To British library and joined up again by a very nice man who goes to Christ Church Beckenham - he loves the organ and had 6 hymns at his wedding at St John Redhill! To Senate House and found scores then had to buy a bag to carry them! To Catenian council meeting at Brendan's. Philip was being awkward again! Fell asleep on the sofa and had a dream about a presentation for Catenians today! Wed Swam 20.

Swam 20 and chat to Dennis, Liz and Ann on Skype.  Eventually booked for 2 Proms story times. To Senate House library and joined up and found 3 useful books. Fantastic scores! Wish I had joined before! To British Library but too late to reregister so enjoyed the Britten scores and recordings display. To Edgware Road and enjoyed chocolate eclair and Earl Grey at patisserie as I was early, The City circle at Abrar centre started late as Fiyaz Mughal was late but it was an interesting talk on Islamophobia post Woolwich and I gave him Jon's regards. To Euston to meet Liz off train from Manchester. 

Swam 24. We both went to the excellent Mughal exhibition at the British Library. Wonderful paintings and objects. Bought the book! Lovely to see places we had recently visited and items which belonged to the emperors. To Heythrop for Mass at 1 p.m. and tea afterwards. Liz went to King's for last optigut session and I came home. Email from Maud who was at Xavier's ordination with her comments. Watched programme on railway North of London with Michael Portillo, visit to Elgar birthplace museum, Come dine with me. She-wolf queens.

Read the last article for this week's work on Helios - 35 pages about Pieris by Fleming. Swam 20 and Liz came as well. To All Saints Tooting - I was early so had coffee at the Kitchen Table. Rosa Cook's funeral - she was 90. Alan one of her sons recognised me - he used to work on the mobile library. Not that many people there considering she had been church warden - she was 90. Organist was a stranger to the church too - he played Elgar and Bach. There seemed to be no provision for people not going to the cemetery before the reception so I went to Balham and got 2" x 2" photos done for Indian visa. To British library and advice on conservation of old photos and family Bible  - keep in cool place and take digital photos of material now. Bus and walk through Mayfair to RA Now. The prices astronomical but quite a few works already sold. Buses to St Paul's cathedral - long walk to No. 9 bus stop. Nice meal at Pizza express and then discovered speaker could not get her...

To the British library for the last day of the exhibition - quite a lot of people there and at first could not find my booking - our printer needs ink again! Loved the recordings but frustrating to have to wait to see into cases and then find lighting casting shadows over what you are reading! Fantastic MSS - Wilde, Edward Thomas, Houseman, Hardy, Brontes, George Eliot, Wordsworth, Hughes, Heaney, Keats, Burns, Chesterton, Kureishi (Bromley) Conrad, Woolf, Pinter, Austen, Joyce, Graham Swift, Greene and Carroll. Conan Doyle on South Norwood! Wendy Cope "At sleep".Betjeman reading poems. To St Laurence Jewry for Catherine Ellis playing Bach superbly. John Newton panels at St Mary Woolnoth where he is buried. Got home ot find I had forgottne my keys and Bruce eventually let me in as Liz was in Croydon buying lovely jerseys for me! Watched Bake off and Paradise.

Wed woke early so read Boyle. Ciarán do you like Christmas? No. Do you like Father Christmas? No. Do you like presents? Yes. Who comes at Christmas? Grandad! To interfaith group - did talk about our trip. Delay getting the keys but all was well. Met Liz at Chiswick and took C home. Wrote Christmas letter and spent Thursday a.m. sending off copies so no work done. Both of us to British library to see magnificant illuminated manuscripts exhibition - very good free audio guide and too much to take in really. Liz served at John Lewis carols and I went to Heythrop for Advent vespers. Offered help but really not needed. Started with schola in evening dress lined up in sanctuary - ony front row sang motet! Then they move to the gallery lighting our candles and soloist sings first verse of O come O come which is marked as full! Ladies then start verse 2. Excellent homily from the acting principal. Psalmody unaccompanied. Durufle, Part, Palestrina, Tavener and Howells. To Walker room for mince...

Swam 18. To More than Gold Borough champions meeting near King's Cross. Not well chaired by Matt who is very laid back. We appear to have signed up for far more than we realised and after lunch we worked on a job description but I doubt if I can give much time to this. There is also duplication of effort going on with denominational reps and office staff contacting churches. There was an event in Croydon this evening about which I knew nothing and Matt didn't even know where it was being held! Unimpressed. HAd an odd conversation with a man from Gunnersbury Baptist at the bus stop who will not work with Catholics on theological grounds! Bus to British library where I joined up without a problem. Circle line to Heythrop. Student services closed when I got there so went to library and saw Larry. Also saw Brian outside - he had just enrolled. Rang Catherine about Croydon library query - it appears only 2 staff on at small branches is standard practice. Got badge and my name was p...

Tuesday to Vickie's and June music list is now done. She was very upbeat! Homeas Liz had a hair appointment - she had highlights and cut short - looks lovely! To 2 p.m. Hamlet at the Globe. This being a touring production is was a smaller cast and a cut version and it worked really well! Brilliant! Packed up and to Lou's in time for The Apprentice part 1. Wednesday to British Library and 6 of us there including a new lady Rita was is very musical. Jyotsna gave us an excellent explanation of the exhibit and answered many questions. Had soup outside and chatted to Andrew, Colin, Ann and Clare then walked to Coram's fields. Outside Foundling museum and Coram's foundation at first. Ciarán loved the slide and playroom and they gave us tea and snacks for the kids. One small incident with a girl in front of a wheel and he wailed when he could not go in the kitchen bit but he was very good all the way home in the buggy. Liz got us on 267 instead of 266!. She has her rings b...

Up early and watched the end of "Fallout" and the excellent programme on the history of Sunday schools and their unfortunate decline well presented by Huw Edwards. 20,000Catholic children used to process in Manchester. Roy Hattersley attended by socialist Sunday school and the Anglican one. Spoke to Ann who is safely home. Clare had cleaned the whole house! To St Michael's for Andrew Cantrill's excellent and musical recital - Boellmann Second suite, Couperin, Bruhns Praeludium in E minor. I dropped if in the Messiaen! Met Jeanne Brett on the bus to East Croydon. To British Library for interfaith visit to Ramayana exhibition. 13 came and Aviva was an excellent guide. she does interfaith work for the Jewish Board of Deputies! She talked about the library and the wider collection then took us round the very colourful display. I loved the animals! The visit actually overran by 15 minutes it was so good. I spent some more time there and looked at lovely East Asian new prin...

Spoke to Ann and they enjoyed their visit to Berlin. To seniors coffee morning in the Hinsley Room and met Eric and Patrick and a lady from Doon Mary Mahoney. Patrick goes to Lourdes with the Jumbulance every May. 31 at Understanding Islam including some refugees from the Coulsdon course who missed this week's session there. Sue Lyon among them! To the British library to see the treasures exhibition, the Folio society exhibition about the Bloomsbury set and the European Avant Garde display (latter not to my taste). Had a look at St Pancras and the roof is very impressive. Do not like the big sculpture under the clock! To chorus and Edward Caswell is excellent. He was making a guest appearance. We worked on Elijah and Beethoven 9 and he likes legato singing and the sound improved a lot. Liz arrived home with the old car 330 miles from Dublin! She stayed in Shrewsbury overnight.

A very wet bank Holiday. Liz was asked to operate the tower lift at the cathedral so I went to Bromley Parish church to hear Timothy Byram-Wigfield from St George's Chapel, Windsor. He introduced a delightful programme. In Saint-Saens' Danse macabre he mentioned the special cockerel stop to herald the dawn! Some fine Buxtehude and Bach and sweet Alfred Hollins. Guy Bovet and Jongen Toccata. What a treat! To the British library for the magnificent Sacred exhibition on the 3 Abrahamic faiths. Wonderful books and objects and the audio guide most helpful. It's free so i will go again especially as there is a display about the Proms as well! Found some hilarious organist videos on You tube but not sure how to load them onto this blog!

“Treasures of the Faiths” an Exhibition by the British Library Sacred: discover what we share The world's greatest collection of Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy books Forthcoming exhibition 27 April – 23 September 2007 Admission free Sacred. This groundbreaking exhibition brings together some of the world's most important and beautiful religious texts for the first time. Exquisite and rare examples of Jewish, Christian and Muslim sacred texts from the Library's collections will be presented alongside treasures on loan from other institutions in a unique and compelling modern context. Sacred marks the first time that sacred texts from these three faiths will have been displayed and explored together, side by side, in a major UK exhibition. This looks like an excellent exhibition. I saw something similar at the Ashmolean in Oxford and it was stunning!