The organist librarian

I have an infection in right ear so operating on one ear for a month and right in the middle of the Proms! I was lucky to see Dr Ojo and he will remove mole on my arm. I got the ear drops. Delightful lunch at Rosemary Callan's. Miss Lyn. She has great plans for the house. The talk was on writing about London. Strange that South London is so neglected by authors. Sad that so many 20 year olds are leaving the city. I commented that Dad said you could tell a Londoner as they were know it alls. Not so true I think now. It is more that Londoners are mostly from somewhere else. A superb concert BBC Scottish and Manze London symphonies of Haydn and RVW. Lovely to have Haydn and very atmospheric and NO applause between movements!!

To Balham library to get scores. Greenwich Picturehouse for the repeat of #ROHswanlake which is just gorgeous. Beautiful production, dancing, costumes, sets and the music!! The Great British seaside at the National Maritime museum is fun! South Norwood community festival free concert by the excellent Edge Ensemble- Turina, Alwyn, Janacek, Poulenc, Glinka and Haydn. It was delightful - who needs a comedy festival when you have Haydn! The South Norwood con club is run down. Great to see Judy and Nick. I saw Julie on the train this morning. 

An excellent day with lunch at Hurtado centre Wapping studying Hurtado and watching a new Spanish film about Ignatius Loyola. VERY Spanish and overlong but interesting.  At Mass the offertory procession organiser was not there so had to go get the gifts myself with Michael so there was a hiatus. You would have thought the person concerned would have arranged cover. Rain and missed 52 so went home listening to the Brahms. The interval talk on happiness was interesting and I enjoyed the Sawyer and the Haydn. The audience fell neatly into the trap and applauded before the real end! I have been asking for more Haydn at the Proms so ironically I get to not be there! Liz on way home from Lourdes apparently on the same plane as the gang! Sunday Arrived home 12,30.  Not a good start. Came out of Purley station to see rail replacement bus driving off. I pointed out to the staff that my train was delayed and he replied that he did not know and station staff should have told him. As a 3...

A real privilege to be at the Pesach service at Streatham liberal synagogue Tuesday 11 a.m. I was early so had coffee in Streatham High Road Stefan and his wife came as well. To quiet time at St John's. Tom trying to find Frances Young's book for me.  To Sisters of St Andrew for meditations on Haydn's 7 last words beautifully played by the Saunders quartet. I was much taken by the displays about Holy Week and the simple cross in the chapel. To Acton arriving about 10.30. 

Swam 20. A lovely morning to visit Beckenham and the Bethlem gallery (exhibition ends today) and the excellent Museum of the Mind - well worth the visit! Sorted Interfaith group talks on Amoria laetitia for 2017. We can stay with Malcolm which is a help. Liz took AnnMarie to the dentist.  Haydn's Creation at Sadlers Wells with the Ballet Rambert. Some of the dancing was inspired. Lovely singing from Sarah Tynan and James Gilchrist. Enjoyed it! Bruce is here!

Trains replaced by buses from Purley. For the Assumption played Ave Marias by Bach/Gounod and Schubert and Vernon Griffiths on Maria zu leben. We had a procession and we sang Lourdes Gloria and Gathering Mass which went really well, Simon Lindley's lovely Ave Maria. Dandrieu on Ave maris stella. Drinks in the vicarage garden and we had lunch in our garden.  An interesting interview with Charlotte Bray and we heard 3 chamber works which I rather preferred to her new cello concerto. At last a Haydn symphony played by BBC SO conduted by Oramo and a fine Mahler 5.

Played for 3 hours Good Friday at St John Caterham. The meditations from the crib to the cross with pictures were beautiful and so different from the preaching on the 7 words from my youth! I particularly liked the prayers which I did not know and seeing Cana, Jerusalem and the Oberammergau scene again. Brought back many wonderful memories. Now watching the BBC programme about Judas.  "O Lord Jesus, I will embrace you who became a little child for me. In my weakness I clasp you who became weak for me. A mere man, I embrace the God made man, the God Who became a man as poor as I am, and came into Jerusalem seated on a humble donkey. I embrace you, O Lord, because your lowly state is my greatness, and your weakness is my strength. The foolishness of God is my wisdom." St Aelred of Rievaulx. We sang Is it nothing to you unaccompanied but the sopranos seemed unsure despte there being 4 of them. Psalm 22 went well. Listened to concert from King's and part of St John Passion c...

Swam 20. Took advantage of shade to put new felt on shed roof in some places 2 layers on top of the old roofing. Looks good and should last - had it 32 years! To Thornton Heath library to take photos of the display of our pictures which looks great. The reading group was not happening so to Tate Britain to see the lovely Barbara Hepworth exhibition. What a carver she was and how she used different stones so skilfully! The family intro to the Prom was great not quite as lively as last year and BBC Newsnight were filming. Violin, clarinet, cello and piano led by Sarah and she got the kids playing Mozart! The prom was excellent. BBC Welsh conducted by Sondergard. James O'Donnell playing the Poulenc, Symphony of Psalms and Haydn. Te Deum and Mozart 41. To Acton.

Swam 20 and to mosaic started on Madonna and child. Liz did not make it to Cadogan Hall. 2 good Proms Tallis with Cardinall's music and Andrew Carwood and a fine new work by Cheryl Frances-Hoad.  I did not take the Spem in alium score - too big! BBC Phil and Storgards Haydn (hurrah) Gruber concerto with Colin Currie and Petrushka. I went to the hall to get seat tickets (a waste of time as not many there) and to Royal Academy to see John Cornell Wanderlust  -only of interest to Magritte and Duchamp fans! Saye dunable to speak on Friday but a flurry of emails and we got Tv imam Ajmal Masroor! 

Broadcast from Brentwood cathedral. I  played Bach and Walther on Liebster Jesu, Couperin Duo and Karg-Elert Nun danket today. Fr Richard from St Mary Shortlands stood in for Fr Paul and we started rehearsing psalms for Holy Week. Sean appeared again in the porch. Liz went to the Science museum with Lou and the boys as Tom has a big interview today. I wathced the Carlos Acosta ballet programme. I met her at Kent House and at evensong we  sang Stanford in B flat and The heavens are telling at evensong. The hymn was "The spacious firmament on high". Cathy was dire again - bad vowels, out of tune. Bridget conducted and a stranger played the organ. Watched Call the midwife and deleted lots of emails and put others in folders.

Another lie-in - interestingly my weight has not gone up. I little ache under left arm may be from the fall the other night. To art and good work on lilies and school badge.To Senate House library and 10 scores returned and my ticket no longer needed. Was £55 worth it? Probably not and in future I will rely on Westminster central music library. To preProm discussion about the season. It seemed more relaxed this year perhaps because Edward Blakeman is only standing in. Most of my twitter points were raised - coughing, applause between movements, poor light in the gallery, the stupid new seating system, even the threatened new air conditioning. 3 people asked about Haydn. My request for Dvorak Requiem and Stabat Mater was not put. There were some interesting points about the changes of singers and the poor turnout for the Cleveland and modern items on BBC4. The Mahler 3 was excellent - the Leipzig Gewandhaus forces and superb posthorn solo conducted by Alan Gilbert.

To the cathedral early for 10.30 a.m. Nice to see seminarians and I spoke to the priest from Watford. Deacon Geoffrey was very enthusiastic about the interfaith events. The ordination by Bishop John Sheringham was great - he sang some of the prayers. Brian looked so happy and the music was lovely. Mozart, Howells, Haydn, Thine hand O God which the Bishop used in his homily. Had tea downstairs and saw the flypast after the Trooping as we came out. Attempts to photograph it on my Blackberry not good. On No. 11 bus with Andrew and his family from Poland and Denmark. Nice reception somewhat disrupted by rain and ate lunch in library having a great chat to 2 ladies. Saw Stephen Wang. Nice speeches. A happy day. Liz went off to babysit and I returned to the cathedral for vespers and Mass with Fr Michael Quaqo - 5 servers and all went well. Byron choir from Harrow school sang Rheinberger, Guerroro and Harris Faire is the heaven very well. Harry Mellor gave me a lift as Catenians were appeali...

Woke in the night so did some reading and then went back to bed. Liz went off in the snow to the cathedral. Sorry to hear Rosalie Hughes had died - cancer. She was a lovely kind person, Methodist married to a Catholic and I played for her mother's funeral at Christchurch Methodist. It was sad that some of the family got involved in the Addiscombe business. Spoke to Florence and Grainne on Skype. Snow kept coming down. Cleared path and put salt down and got chicken and sweetcorn ready for Liz and followed by melon and fromage frais. Listened to Die Schopfung from RFH with Sophie Beavan and Andrew Kennedy. Men of Schola cantorum of Oxford rough and sopranos not covering high notes so sounded shrill. Adam Fischer conducting OAE. John Hick articles interesting but took a long time to read!

X68 to Waterloo and northern line to East Finchley. Asked TFL chap at station for St Mary's church and he said to walk up High Road - we should have taken the bus! Any way found church and it was a 2 manual Wyvern and all went well. Carole's mum was 92 and was buried with his first husband in Marylebone cemetery - Stokowski is buried there. Carole and Kevin took us to the very nice lunch at Albany House which has a museum about Stevens ink! Walked to station and got 82 bus to town and then to the queue for Last Night list. To V and A - fashion is open but the ballgowns display is not that cheap. Saw the Tony Cragg sculptures there and in Exhibition Road and the British photography display. Had tea and chocolate muffin -  a lovely day again! Bruce took our swimming tickets. To presentation with Juliet Stevenson of Proms poetry awards with Wendy Cope and Ian McMillan who is a scream. A lovely prom Haydn and Alpine symphony - what a storm - thunder machine, wind machine, full orga...

Finished reading Mustafa Akyol's book "Islam without extremes: a Muslim case for liberty". Played the paino after a pizza lunch - Mendelssohn and Bohm Lyric suite. It needs tuning. Evensong at St John's Dyson in F and The heavens are telling. Cathy off key again! We sang The spacious firmament a good Enlightenment hymn by Addison. A very pleasant dinner at Alan and Ivor's and met lots of interesting people. Ella from Pakistan said a lot about Muslims which was interesting. Sarah spoke about the interfaith walks and we had a short service including The old rugged cross.

Philip Dangerfield told me about a Youtube. You search under Sir Gilbert Levine and you get a programme about how he an American Jew became conductor of the Cracow philharmonic and then the Pope's maestro. Also the TV cast of Haydn's Creation from Baltimore cathedral. I spotted myself but not Liz! An excellent bass and soprano. He is a Knight of St Gregory. Back is much better and played Alec Wyton on St Patrick's Breastplate. We sang Schubert's "Holy, holy, holy". Once again no free harmonisations and three times had to flip fuse switch to get organ on! No sign of new chorister Sean either! The new communion arrangements seemed to work alright - the new furniture is a great improvement.

Bruce did in fact go back to Birmingham on Thursday to get more stuff. I went to chorus and we rehearsed Merlin 3 with Debbie. Emails about the low B flat for the tenors! Friday I did December music list and Christmas music draft, Darren and John organised a skip to get rid of the unwanted stuff from upstairs and Glyn Close. Dennis's old room looks much larger and will become my study. We set off to Paddington via London Bridge and Baker Street and arrived early. Train journeys went smoothly and at Newport we met Fr Barry Angus and Eric. Barry used to be parish priest at South Norwood but had to retire because of cancer. He is an oblate of Belmont. At Hereford we stood in fog for an hour as 3 taxis had crashed on the bridge and there was gridlock. Our taxi took an hour to get there and we arrived for dinner having missed session 1. David Briggs gave a splendid recital on the new Nicholson organ. He played Franck 3, Bach Toccata in F (pedal reed too loud for upper work) Dupre, Haydn...

Busy day weeding music scores and dealing with game plan and Chris D came. Met community policemen. Fell asleep and woke to find Liz home from G & S show which she had enjoyed. Roisin was in chorus. Laughed a lot at "Rev". Lovely midday prom featuring Haydn quartet and Schumann Piano quintet.

Had a lie-in and chatted about retirement in September 2011. Did some emails from last night's provincial council and found items on "Blessed are the gentle" on internet, also checked CDs for music. To Town Hall for JCC on Health and Safety. Met Meryl in foyer - she remarked on my magic touch to tidy up Balham! Directors never mentioned the appointment but it was cordial. Still not budging much on PRP for full-time LAs on lowest grades. Flagged up closing up time. To Victoria and popped into St Paul's bookshop before evensong at 5 sung by St Paul's cathedral choir. Stainer in B flat, Achieved is the glorious work, Bernard Rose introit and responses. At the reception afterwards met Andrew Carwood, Tim Harper and Simon Johnson and one of the Westminster cathedral basses. Good white wine and sandwiches. Train to East Croydon for President's Wednesday at Croydon Park hotel - excellent buffet. Sat with Austin, Mike, Carol and Brendan and took photos. Colin and Mary...

Friday 40 lengths - meetings at work. Choir practice a bit frustrating again - "I don't like this" is hardly helpful and a comment about Gareth Malone's talent did not please me. Saturday was a quiet day catching up on things and went to the recital at St Dunstan Bellingham by Paul Derrett. A fine Hill organ which came in the 20s from Chapel Royal St James Palace. I followed the Trumpet minuet of Alfred Hollins with the score - top C sharp on the pedals was not working. We also had Handel, Bach, Wesley, Elgar, Wolstenholme and Robert Cundick. I missed second half. Had tea with Andrew Cessana, Christian Strouver and Tom who goes to St Michael's recitals. There were about 50 there. To vespers and Mass and as I was early I met John East in the cathedral. Last night of the proms on TV - an odd mixture of songs about death (Purcell and Mahler) and Ketelbey, Arnold, no Sea songs. Excellent trumpet playing from Alison Balsom and Sarah Connolly sang beautifully. Enjoyed ...