The organist librarian

Mosaic and Linda helped with the little houses. The flower ladies were very noisy! Asher Oliver played really well at Cornhill. Bruhns, Franck, Ives replaced Leighton, Alain, best of all Howells Ps Prelude set 1 no 3 and JSB 546. To Bush House The Arcade. Sara Shamma: modern slavery. The film is challenging. She says you need to engage with people to paint them. Somerset House rink up and running. The South African artist Shinabore somehow did not engage me. Met Michael on bus. The art of persuasion posters by Abram Games at National Army museum very interesting. I wonder why his work is not in a public collection? To cathedral for meditation remembering Eileen McDade. Frank Bond who always wore bow ties remembered at joint Bromley and Blackheath and Chislehurst Catenian meeting

Harvest played Statham on "Monkland" and Peeters on "Wir plufgen" and we sang"Thou visitest the earth". Excellent Harvest lunch. Dennis went with Liz to King's and she has a hiatus hernia. At evensong sang Grayston Ives canticles (the Common Worship texts caused confusion) and Parry My soul there is a country. Watched Vanity Fair and Simon Reeve on the Med.

Swam, Mass then an excellent meeting at Bishop Thomas Grant School about the public speaking. Abandoned going to Chiswick Park for the organ recital thanks to big gap in train service so a first look at the amazing Oceania at Royal Academy very good audio guide. Not needed to guide at cathedral as 3 on duty. Watched Grayson Perry on rituals and Great Bake off an extra slice. Enjoyed Prom of Trial by Jury. To choir practice Max does bang the piano a lot. Grayston Ives canticles and Parry.  I spent a couple of hours on public speaking programme and emails. 

Remembrance Sunday. Faure Pie Jesu keyboard played up so switched off and started again. Elgar For the fallen a great piece. Good to have Steve playing the trumpet Old 100th and Gordon Jacob national anthem. He messed up on last line of Old 100th and did not play the Jacob fanfare but I kept going.I met Linda's husband.   My mockup of the guide for children to birds in Westminster cathedral is ready to test run! Roll on Dec 2nd! To Stephen Disley's recital at Christ's chapel Dulwich - an unusal programme. Nice eats. The Bach Fantasia in C minor was dull and so was the Gibbons. I liked the Thiman, Carvalho and Bach Fantasia in G. Watched Cenotaph and listened to Gloucester cathedral evensong. Worked on animals at cathedral first draft. Howards End on BBC.

Swam, Mass. An enjoyable first visit to Godalming to hear Marilyn Harper play. A fine Hill organ in an interesting church. Liked the Bedard, Mendelssohn and Norman Harper's piece. Lovely autumn day in leafy Surrey. Peter Halliday and a bass from Bridgemans and organists there. A good audience and tea.  To the British Museum to see the stunning Scythians exhibition. Their craftsmanship amazing and knew very little about them. 4.30 seemed to be a good time to go as one could see things well - it was not crowded. I also saw the prints about Luther. Iberia have refused to pay the 30 Euro for the taxi after delayed flight! Had some more green soup and to 9 p.m. showing at Clapham Picturehouse (met the nice couple from Cadogan Hall proms) to see "Call me by your name" beautiful film but did find the situation rather tiresome (idle people in Italy) and the father had some strange views - it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all might be the moral. 

Turned out wet. Got parked near Nat History museum in good time for rehearsal which went very smoothly. Back to door 2 and interviewed by the Telegraph about the flags dispute.   We went to the recording of The Choir about Parry's Jerusalem  and I met David Owen Norris in the street and complimented hom in his famous chords on Proms Extra! Full marks to Petroc on Radio 3 for mentioning that we are gallery prommers! As Auntie Flo said it was a once in a lifetime experience and we really enjoyed it! What a wonderful concert - full of lovely music. Florez was superb and brilliant acting. Great to see 16 young singers in Serenade to Music (definitely a desert island piece and we recently saw the score and photos at Leith Hill Place where RVW grew up). Thank you to all our fellow Prommers in the gallery (which alas Katie dd not mention but Sakari did) and to all the staff at the Hall. Linda came up specially to say hello. How proud Mum and Dad would have been - they are comparing ...

Voted and walked down to the hall on a lovely sunny morning for Ascension Day, rawing in Grangewood Park  -stunning foliage,  Sicily at British Museum worth a visit - bit crowded. Rm 90 watercolours and fascinating Assam textile. I am in shirtsleeves. Seen first guy in shorts this year! Liz ordered the Proms passes and the blackbirdbabies flew.  To Selfridges for free drawing session Meetup. Drew face on perspex and then traced and coloured it with felt tips which I hate! Result, s not bad. To St John Upper Norwood for Ascension Day - Grayston Ives setting and Italian carol God is ascended. Quite a few there Jonathan Croucher vicar of Gipsy Hill preached well. Watched Gareth and the invictus choir but slept! 

Woke at 8.22 and checked website thinking the course started at 9. It actually started at 10 at St Margaret's Westminster and there were only 8 on it. Adam Boulter is Anglican chaplain at Al-Aqaba for the Missions to Seamen and Hatta is his mother-in-law! It was an inspiring day and we used grey background and erasers to take the grey away. I did 3 drawings 2 on the theme of Jacob at Bethel. Could the ladder to heaven have been a stone one? Nice lunch provided as well! The lay clerks sang evensong - Ives and Tallis and a Bruckner prelude and fugue. Tea at Pret with Liz who served at rite of election. Fr Alexander and we had a full compliment of servers. After Mass I picked up on boat and acolytes neatening up their movements. Mark and Isobel met us and we had a delightful meal at Zizzi. I had calzone and lemon meringue sundae. Have given up alcohol for Lent.

Played John Cook, Bach, Wyton and Thiman on Veni creator. Straight to Selhurst and got fast train so I arrived during the first hymn at 12.15 Mass. Liz was serving with Mark. The confirmation was lovely and full of joy - we did our catechist bit helping the young people to go up. Boys and girls from Westminster school were also confirmed. Widor Toccata again at the end! Group photo and then I was off back to Selhurst. 34 came to Ian Verran's excellent recital - £107 in the collection! Quite  a few answered the questionnaire - most came from Ian's connections. He played Offenbach, Strauss, Saint-Saens, Buxtehude, Pachelbel even Chopin and Sousa. All sounded great! Dennis came and took him back to Glyn Close. To evensong where we sang Murrill and Ives Listen sweet dove. A lovely tune by Harold Darke. Dennis is considering moving down to London and changing jobs. Watched Songs of Praise, D day and programme on twin with breast cancer.

Wednesday woke late to find Bruce peering round the door - ha had come down as the topsoil and compost was delivered. To Watermans and Seán enjoyed music. We all had a snooze in the afternoon while Louise went to the dentist. I may have to go again as I lost a bottom filling eating the dessert last night! Liz went on RCIA cathedral tour but I went to St Patrick Soho for first recital on refurbished historic organ by Martin Baker. Brilliant improvisations and a good programme - Bach, Stanley, Bull, Wesley. Wine afterwards and saw Martin and Paddy Russill. Met Patrick Ramsay who had been in Vallodolid seeing David Knight. Thursday out all day. LBFForum with Faith exchange at Central hall Westminster on volunteering. Met Bishop Peter of Edmonton and he knew about my St Michael's appointment. he is flying Bishop for 60 parishes. Pascal Ryan and Bishop Tripp were there - so unusual to have Catholic clergy present. To Heythrop for coffee and worked on essay. Somebody hacked our email ac...

Had a wierd dream about driving in Oz to a holiday house and Liz said we would have to share the house. The man was nice but his wife was not. First thing happened he went in the one bathroom and I was going to be late for church and burst into tears in the kitchen saying the holiday was ruined! To 8am Mass at St Mary's - not a great experience - priest uses voice box and is sometimes intelligible and a man moans at the back all the time and loudly! Harvest at Coulsdon was not a Eucharist as Vickie in Israel and Teresa in hospital. We saw a presentation about Tanzania and sang Harvest samba to the CD. Choir sang Thou visitest the earth by Greene. Practised and bought guide cakes. Harvest lunch quiche and damson crumble - very nice. Evensong from Lincoln Dyson in F and we sang it later at St John's along with King of Glory by Grayston Ives. David Bednall on The Choir on Radio 3.

Thursday to Green champions meeting at the town hall and found out about new cleaning contract and refuse contractor and got leaflets. To the hospital for meeting with the consultant and staff - Grandma needs total care and gradually making progress on the swallow and speech - it will be a long haul. Bruce home for a few days. Friday to practice and covered all the June music although 2 were absent. Finished with "Locus iste" and I used Paul Brough's ideas. Nothing from St Peter and St Paul Clerkenwell so they must have appointed someone else - a lucky escape I think. Saturday to organists training day in Bromley based around 3 churches. With Adrian for accompaniment at Widmore Rd URC and Norman for improvisation at Trinity URC - very helpful. After lunch in the sunshine masterclass with Peter Wright with 4 scholars on Bach, Vierne and Franck - all gained mushc and phrased better and more musically. Did not get to hospital and Bruce wasn't well so he didn't either...

Put a new hook on bedroom door and got the water feature working again. Did tax forms for church. To Kent House and left car there and got train to Rochester. Tea at Cathedral tearooms and to evensong sung very well by the voluntary choir. Sopers there and Dan was playing. Lovely setting by Grayston Ives and anthems by WHitlock and Parsons. Served at Catenian province 7 Mass. Liz was mitre and I was book. Both Bishop John Hine and Bishop Michael very friendly - latter knew Mum and Dad! Good music Dan played and voluntary choir sang Rutter "For the beauty of the earth". Dan played Thalben-Ball Elegy and Boellmann Suite Gothique. Train back.