The organist librarian

Maundy Thursday to art and completed painting of Mum and Dad for May 9 Bereavement support day. Played Night so traurig William Wordsworth and Bach O sacred head. We sang To mock your reign and Ps 88. Good Friday 3 hours excellent meditations with art. Practised the Vigil psalms. Ben came and Susan but not the new soprano. Sketch of Picasso's portrait of Poulenc.   Watched BBC young dancer, Decline and Fall, jaguars. 

Swam, Bromley library for scores - got all I required and donated Alan Burtonshaw's Messiah score used to raise money for St Christopher's Hospice in 1986 to local studies library.  Conducted tour of Red House and Hall Place Bexley. Topiary, Tudor hall. Liz at Tony Hawes' funeral.  Great 8OOth meeting of Medway Towns at Gravesend!  Lovely stay at Gravesend and safely home in good time. Excellent party last night with Chris the singer and dancing. Great to meet so many good people!  Really enjoyed Mary King's workshop on Mozart Mass in C minor and chatted to the excellent pianist Caroline on the bus. Served at vespers and Mass and Mum and Dad were prayed for (10 years since they died!) Fr Martin Plunket celebrated with a Columbian priest currently in Rome. No cantor! We got to the prom and were unimpressed by the first piece. Mahler Ruckert lieder not in same order as the score! Mozart Mass was great!

Fr Paul Francis from St George's  and Stephen was there too it being St Bartholomew. I played Dyson and Willan on Song 34, Watson tribute to Howells and Dad's postlude. Mum and Dad were included in the prayers. Good hymns All my hope, For all the saints, O thou who camest, Forth in thy name. 28 there. To Clare's for lunch with Grainne and the kids and Dennis - very nice. To talk on Czech music which was rather dull. The Czech Philharmonic strings are superb - Janacek, Dvorak cello concerto (Alisa Weilerstein and a Bach encore) and Beethoven 7. Listened to 3 encores on the bus. 

Swam 20 some twinges in knees. Long chat to Ann especially about Mum and Dad's anniversary - 8 years! Cleared some of the stuff in back room and put up baskets. This meant that I missed the event at St Paul's and Lairence Caldecote at Beckenham. To Balham library ro return a lot and pick up one score. Early at hall so visited Royal College of Music museum which has Elgar's trombone and more besides.Talk about Icelandic literature and Iceland SO under Ilan Volkov gave us Schumann piano concerto and Beethoven 5 and 4 unknown works.

I added Dermot (died aged 92) and Mum and Dad to the cathedral prayer list last night. I played Dad's pieces and we sang Father hear the prayer which we had at our wedding and My God accept my heart to St Botolph which Dad set as a confirmation anthem. The programmes for the recitals are ready to print and Hayley took them and discussed the organ Mass for Sept 29th. Home for lunch and to talk on Parsifal. Stephen Fry seemed to defend Christian content but then said Christ was not mentioned in the libretto which is clearly incorrect. The Prom was excellent and Mark Elder conducted. The Halle youth choir and Trinity boys were in the gallery near me and did really well. I dropped the torch at one point - a sure sign of sleeping! 

Up and to the tip with garden stuff. Another fine day. Swam and then to mosaic and tai chi - I got the keys as Hendrika is taking us and Lyndsey is away next week. Home to help Liz with Powerpoint. To St John's and laid yellow roses where Mum and Dad's ashes are buried. Fr John out. All on train and we went to Prom. Awful first half by Helmut Lachenmann by Bamberg symphony played the Mahler beautifully conducted by Jonathan Nott. 

Up early and checked Bromley catalogue and found scores I need! To 8 a.m. Mass at St MAry's - Fr David looking very old. At Coulsdon played Parry's Elegy which is inscribed "Happy brithday from Nellie 23.8.46" a month before I was born! Mum and Dad remembered in the prayers - 5 years! I also played Jerusalem and Boellmann and Nixon on Adoro Te. Hymns included To be a pilgrim and Father hear the prayer. Straight to Waterloo where I had a coffee and Louise and Ciarán arrived at 12.20. I mislaid my phone cover. To Royal Festival Hall where we watched Edward German's "Merry England" done by Ilford operatic (very dated), Asian dancing from Brent, Dagenham girl pipers (some of them not girls any more)and Punch and Judy. Excellent exhibiton about 1951 Festival of Britain and tea at collectors show. To the roof garden for Pimms and left them at the beach. On underground to RAH. Pre-prom talk on Elijah was disappointing but the performance was excellent. Large ch...

At this family time we remember with love those who have gone before us and rejoice with us but up on another shore and in a greater light. Dad loved Christmas so much and poured himself into preparations for it. Mum would produce wonderful meals and somehow get those pillows full of presents under the tree ready for when we came back from Midnight Mass - a crazy time to open presents of course! These plaques are now in St John's Glebe after a 3 year wait! Liz's Dad used to enjoy the Albert Hall concerts and all the fun of the family at Christmas. K would produce lovely gifts and always do the washing up after Christmas lunch. And what fun we had - who can ever forget Dolly laughing over the little bird waddling across the table from a cracker! Even Sheila would join in. Ann here when Dennis was a baby was so special and the one Christmas we had away from home in Tasmania when Dennis was 1. Hiding desks for the children with Mrs Earl next door. And always carol services and mi...

To Coulsdon on buses and arrived early so time to copy hymns for September and "On eagles wings" for Richard Pilliner. I played Dad's march and they were prayed for. We sang "He who would true valour see" and "King of glory". Last night we had "Father hear the prayer we offer" and "Holy, holy, holy". Excellent BBC4 broadcast from Bath Abbey - the RSCM choir did really well and interesting choices from Geoff Weaver. Good that Liz and Grandma are there with Bruce. Got buses home straight away. On Skype to Dennis, Ann Marie, Clare and Ann in Sydney - Dennis had to help medically on the plane. Both very tired. Watched HDD Rivers and Mendelssohn Lobgesang well sung and played by Halle under Sir Mark Elder. Had score for first 3 movements. David Cairns was interviewed. Szymanowski Stabat Mater from Proms. Edited blog and it is now a closed blog. Jam and Jerusalem was funny. Enjoyed "Bad Catholics" thriller by James Green.

Wednesday to osteopath and 3 students this time who worked on my left shoulder as I have no discomfort in side or back. They were impressed at my promming and swimming! Came home and Lauren had prepared nice BBQ with lots to eat. She ws having a quiet day and the new router meant she could use her laptop downstairs. Tried to use laptop to download music without success. To St John's to put pot of orange begonias with message for Mum and Dad's 2nd anniversary. Spoke to Ann and Dennis. Ann had been to Christ Church St Lawrence with Snowy and they had marked the first anniversary with Bairstow just as I did! Mum and Dad were prayed for and the priests remembered Ann. To Westminster Cathedral for organ recital by John Scott on sparkling form. De Grigny, Durufle, Alain and Eschaich all worth hearing but not Messiaen. It seems I am not alone on this one! Met Martin Ball, Adrian, Arnfinn (soon to compete in Montreal), Isabella, David just arrived from Dublin, Martin Baker. It was a go...