The organist librarian

PART 2. In Alesund visited the old pharmacy which is an Art Nouveau museum and Kube modern art gallery. Quintet played Beethoven and tangos, Not amused by Scottish comedian. 2 days at sea crossing Arctic circle and getting colder. Spa, swim, finished Elizabeth Buchan Consider the Lily and Fred Gallienne who we met in Guernsey. Mass. Spa. BBC film extreme worlds. Supper for congregation in dining room every pleasant..After a day off the quintet returned with ballet and Russian music. Lovely cello solos. Saturday in Longyearbyen . Airport bus to husky farm presentation and slides about polar bears. Waffles and syrup drink. Wood fires. Austrian guide. Svalbard museum very good and stopped to see polar bear sign and geese but we missed the most northerly church in the world which did not please. Mass and we both read. Quintet played Shostakovich and Sibelius and Rebecca Clarke. Stayed up for Philipino show. Woke early and read at mass. Fantastic Liefdeldjord with 3 glaciers. Haydn, Bach...

Dec 29 Thomas Becket and up for 6.45 a.m. Mass celebrated in Malayam by Xavier. Lovely view over the river of the sun rising. We went by car to Vazhachal Athirrapilly waterfalls and had a paddle in the river with lots of nuns. Thumboomurhy garden by the river was pleasant and we had an excellent lunch with beer and icecream at a restaurant on the way back. Xavier was at yet another ordination so I finished the excellent Elizabeth Buchan book and read the meditations by the founder of the ashram Fr Sebastian Painadath SJ. "The power of silence". He was a botanist and loved trees which I enjoyed sketching and the outdoor crib. The chickens and turkey give the place a rural feel and the vegetarian food is delciious and mostly homegrown. The bed is not comfortable and eventually a devised a mre comfortable position with some spare cushions. The truth is I did not sleep well on the isngle beds for the whole trip.

We have chocolate Advent calendars, Advent candle and wreath! The process of adjustment between the 2 of us continues with a mixture of emotions - missing seeing people all day, being quiet, sadness, joy! Who is in charge here? Couple of disasters - put soda in dishwasher instead of salt, freezer somehow got switched off when keyboard was unplugged so food thrown out. Spent day enjoying radio 3 and reading Separate beds by Elizabeth Buchan which is rather bleak and sad at the moment. I took buses and got off 2 only to find no tube from Brixton to Victoria so as a result was late for Mass. We came home on buses. Not impressed again by children's choir. We did not go to Friends party - £20 is too much and worried about getting home. BBC Choir of the year on TV, Ann in gorgeous Hilton hotel at Paracas because of change of plans. Today Saturday was Colin Slee's funeral - a great and brave man. I missed Academy of St Cecilia concert at St George's cathedral.