The organist librarian

David Dunnett played well at Bloomsbury yesterday - Widor, Buxtehude and Beethoven. I left to get the 24 bus but it never came so tube to cathedral. 4 servers were admitted to the Guild of St Stephen. Liz was home late and I had to be up early for buses. Christ the King we sang Tony Hemson's Alpha and Omega which quotes today's readings. Crown imperial went rather well. Carols practice cut short by baptism. Finished reading Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks -  a great novel. At evensong we sang Brewer in D and RVW Let all the world. Douro river and Porto with the Wests, Cliveden hotel, lions in dynasties. 

The dementia talk underlined that the brain has two modes -so one half can forget people but the other half has a feeling of wellbeing and happiness as the result of a visit. So it is vital to keep visiting those who appear not to know you. Does the same thing apply when someone is very ill or dying? Talking to the person can break through in some way. Did this happen when Jesus said "Mary" to Mary Magdalene? Recognition came at the supper at Emmaus from an action. I have been reading "The grace of waiting" by Margaret Whipp and she has much to say about waiting with those who are ill. Palm Sunday played Bach and we sang Drop drop and To mock your reign. The way of the cross at St John Upper Norwood was beautiful. Monteverdi, Walton Litany, Monteverdi, Parry on Rockingham, Bach and Philip Moore. The Durrells and the repair shop.

Swam, Mass. Toe responding to treatment. Got music ready for funerals. Sent off Christmas letter - never usually this early!. Liz to Acton. I went to quiet time - seems one of the candidates wanted to bring his professional choir! To Catenian council at Juan's house - lovely house. Agreed dementia talk on first Monday of March. Tony Norris could not make it so we went through his recommendations and some were agreed. Come dine with me. Heard Belshazzar from chorus centenary concert -choir sounded smaller and sopranos forcing it a bit. 

Swam.  To Kensington library to get scores which are all in store. Assistant produced Mahler 1 (2 versions) so took the large one and Rachmaninov Symphonies. So I explained I wanted Rachmaninov Piano concerto no.4 which she found but the Ravel songs have gone awol! To Leighton House for the superb Alma-Tadema exhibition - he could paint anything! Do not miss! To Cadogan for a brilliant concert with Il Pomo d'Oro and the young cellist Edgar Moreau who is exceptional! Tried to do some sketches as the whole group had amazing hair!  Loved the talk on cuneiform with Irving Finkel from the British Museum. Bournemouth SO played well but in Belshazzar the national youth choir needed more male voices to balance the orchestra. Was it a good idea to have the choir sing so loudly in the Prokofiev? Belshazzar needs a lot of vocal stamina. The Beethoven and Strauss were lovely.

Wrote to  the Prime Minister and Minister for Immigration about unaccompanied refugee children as I am not satisfied by their figures and explanations. Delighted to see Henry who is 4 weeks old and has grown - looking and smiling and kicking! A lovely Meditation at St John's including Morley which worked better at the service, Byrd, Howells, Walton Litany. Watched Antiques roadshow and Ecuador jungle hotel. 

For Christ the King played Elgar Imperial March (bells started late and had to cut it short - no light) and Walton Crown Imperial. We sang  Stephen   Cleobury's setting of Let all mortal flesh with Linda and I singing top A in the descant! The keyboard works better than the piano and being in the chancel the singers sound better. Good carol practice and a new recruit. Will try for more at the fairs.  Christ triumphant has to be one of the greatest hymns with a wonderful tune. Lovely to have Bruce with us for lunch of lamb and Christmas puddings with pinot noir. Dennis and AnnMarie came down with Molly. Watched Planet earth II, Pentecostal Brixton church. Lovely programme on Sheku.

Swam, Balham library for scores and Waitrose, art and did 3 large drawings. Excellent talk on Shakespeare and acting by Michael Pennington. Shakespeare prom was fun with Walton, Finzi, Sullivan, Jody Talbot, Porter and Rodgers and saw  Robin Martin  playing.

Missed swim again. Watered garden and cleared up. Very hot and sunny. Lovely day at South Norwood lake with  Louise Maher   Grainne Kedves-Constantinides . and the kids. Watched TV on Georgia O'Keefe and Olympics. Interesting talk on Brahms 4 and BBC Welsh played well - Walton Partita ideal for last night, Webern and Huw Watkins' cello concerto played by Paul Watkins lovely and want to hear it again! Thomas Sondergard conducted.

To the AGM of Friends of Grangewood Park. Impressed by the committee's enthusiasm and ideas - 47 joined this year. To Widmore Road URC Bromley for organists composite recital. I played Walton 3 pieces from Richard III. We had Rowley, Vierne, JSB, Pachelbel, Vierne, Bedard. Vespers and Mass at the cathedral then to Clapham Picturehouse for the outstanding RSC Shakespeare celebration. You name they were in it! Twice this week I have gone out without my right hand hearing aid. This is because of the bad habit f only putting one in to go swimming! I am still waiting for a hearing test.

Saturday to Meditatio ventre for excellent session on Easter and meditation with Eileen McDade and Graeme Watson. Only 5 there. To vespers and Mass with Fr Michael. Worth Abbey consort sang well. In evening dress as straight to Beckenham's dinner. The MP for Beckenham spoke very well about being a soldier in Bosnia. A good meal and lots of enthusiasm about the provincial weekend. Home late and woke early.  Played at St John Caterham. As we sang Brother James Air I played Harold Darke's lovely meditation on the tune and Gordon Slater's Easter Alleluias. Very positive meetng with Gerry and Jill who sadly is going to Wiltshire in May.  Enjoyed playing for evensong at St John Caterham Brewer in D Blessed be the God and Father. Philip Moore on St Fulbert, Walton March and Elegy from "Richard III" and Willan on Gelobt sei Gott with tuba. Delicious beef and Yorkshires for lunch. 

Played Vierne Epitaphe, Thalben-Ball Elegy,  George Thalben-Ball  on Gopsal and Crown Imperial it being Christ the King and St Cecilia. Camino Kyries start next week and rehearsed for Christmas. Turns out the Advent service uses Penitential rite 3 so we will sing the complete Kyries after the lighting of the Advent wreath candle.  Both went to interesting scriptural reasoning at British Museum on pilgrimage and to Strada Great Queen Street on free dessert offer! Excellent food and service - veal, sea bass. Watched Antiques roadshow and The Hunt.

Swam 20, to Balham library to get scores, led Spirituality day at the cathedral on "Put your lamp on a lampstand" played Harris, Rachmaninov and Brewer. Holy is the true light, Serene light, Nunc Dimittis.  Interesting discussion of Walton 2 and a satisfying Prom from BBC Welsh. RVW, Grace Williams, Elgar. Watched University challenge.

To St Mary's for 8 a.m. Mass and met Rick Baxter. The pp Fr Scanlon very engaging. I  played Douglas Guest on St Fulbert, Robert Fielding on Personent hodie, I know that my redeemer liveth, Whitlock Salix and Michael Fleming on Noel nouvelet before the service which seems to start late every week. At the end Walton First of the few and end of Crown imperial as we had a VE day lunch with flags and bunting. Apparently the church was used as a polling station. Fr Leon very enthusiastic. 

:Liz is thurifer and I am mitre. Oddly I did not feel as though I had been to Mass. I hardly heard the readings or homily. Don't know why because Paul shows exactly what to do! Arrived at church to be met by Paul and Hayley. He announced he is leaving. Apparently some people have complained to the patrons whoever they are and he is going. He is fed up with John and we agreed he is impossible. It is confidential at the moment. Carrie confirmed it after service. It's a blow and I might need to consider my position as an interregnum will not funny and the church might close if the money runs out. It is of course very convenient. The flies in the ointment are the tuning of the organ and the treasurer! I gave Paul 2 magazines which he was pleased about "Music and liturgy" and PMM newsletter. I wonder if he will go to Rome? I played Willan on Bishopthorpe and Song 34 and Hurford on Song 34. For a change I played the Intermezzo from Cavaliera rusticana which Andrew like...

No swim again. Listened to Walton Sinfonia concertante from the Prom with a lovely full score from CML. The HDD version lost the last 3 pages which I found on Iplayer! To Cadogan Hall for a super Prom of Shostakovich waltzes which were fun and Facade conducted by John Wilson and the Nash ensemble with the superb Dame Felicity Palmer and Ian Bostridge perfect as narrators. To Science museum basement to meet Lou, Ciarán and James. Had coffee and salad. I went to the V and A for the lovely wedding dresses display which was pricey but worth it. The Duchess of Argyl had a huge train carried by footmen through crowds at the Oratory. Some fine modern dresses too especially the Indian and Chinese style ones. The Duchess of Cornwall and Sarah Chatto dresses very fine. Some were too revealing for a church wedding! The talk was about Robert Frost and Edward Thomas and was excellent. Great to hear Frost read by an American. The Cleveland played Brahms Tragic overture and No. 2 beautifully. The Jo...

Had a lie-in. Liz went to get her new Boots glasses (2 pairs) and I listened to Walton symphony No. 1 with score from the Prom and the Maxwell Davies Prom which was heavy going! I went to Clapham Junction to get my resized ring and said hello to Isabel Losada in the window ar Waterstone's for the Battersea literature festival. The discussion was about Singapore and I asked a question about our experience of the attentive mixed age audience and made the point that I had waited 10 years for them to play at the Proms. Glinka very fast, the Zhou Long concerto was attractive and Haefliger played a Berio encore which was quite bearable! Rachmaninov 2 very well played and a Walton march for industry as an excellent encore. To Acton. Wednesday Louise was home working and the lovely fireplace was installed. We went to Bekonscot which the boys loved. On the way back we went through Burnham Beeches - very pretty. The interview with Sir Roger Norrington was amusing. He spoke a lot about vi...

Took the boys to Crystal palace to see the dinosaurs. Once we reached the sandpit I left to get the train from the station  - quite  a walk to get there. I collected Liz's camera from Peter Jones - 10 minute wait! Popped into Holy Trinity and saw Tak Man Chow and Peter practising with Margaret Phillips for recital today. The Prom at Cadogan hall was Ben Grosvenor playing Chopin, Mompou, Ravel, Judith Weir and Liszt. He is excellent. The man next to me told me about drawing sessions at the National Gallery at 1 p.m. on Fridays - his name is Roger. Saw John East and Colin Hartley and his wife. Listened to Walton symphony No. 1 from the Proms and Peter Maxwell Davies Prom. To Catenians and one visiting gentleman Anthony Sorrell was there. Nice to see Gerry Haines again and Derrick spoke about family history. Picked up Liz who had driven the boys home and went to the RPO's Prom.

Louise went back home after breakfast. I went to 8 a.m. Mass at St Mary's - little Indian priest who said "heaven persevere you" instead of "preserve"! They now play taped music of plainchant. Pat Ryan was there. At St Michael's we sang "He who would valiant be", All creatures, Father hear and Happy are they (Mum's favourite and she died 8 years ago this week). I played Thalben-Ball. Peeters and Walton Henry V music. The CDs have arrived and look good. John Williams had made a ridiculous fuss on email about them. What church treasurer want to return a cheque? Idiot and rude with it. To St John's vicarage for garden lunch - played football. Dennis came. I went to the Prom of Elektra, Rebecca was there and not so many in gallery. Sounds like Salome last night was great but there were queue jumpers - weekend ticket holders. Amazing singers not least Felicity Palmer.

Swam 20. Used Oystercard to be at cathedral by 10. I was boat - Jess insists in walking ahead as thurifer. Liz was consecration torch. The funeral was beautiful and well attended especially by priests and parishioners. Canon Christopher gave the best homily I've ever heard him give! At the end the Cardinal looked near to tears as were many of us. Good to see Fr Dennis and Fr Swavek. As Fr Tim Dean said Fr Michael was gold standard! He will be much missed. Had sandwich and tea downstairs - we ate there yesterday as well! To St Paul's cathedral for interesting talk on women commemorated in the crypt including Maria Hackett the Choristers' friend who has no blue plaque! To Tate Modern to see the excellent Malevich exhibition - sad at the end of his life he had to go back to realism in order to paint thanks to Stalin. The Friends room was too full so to Pret and watched skateboarders in Old Chancery court which looked dangerous! Health and safety would not approve. Buses to th...

Got to Acton in good time from the Festival Hall despite a mix up at Willesden Junction. Announced on train it was finishing there and it then pulled out to Richmond. Wednesday took Seán to music and announced about marathon. We had a nice lunch at Sainsburys but had problems getting out of the car park but it was solved. To interfaith group and 7 came including Ali from Linked in. Raheed Salam led a lively discussion on radicalisation and identity of Muslim youth and there were connections with confirmation class! We went on to 6 and I then went to Vauxhall and got the train to Hampton Court. Sat next to a nice lady who knew little about organs. Herrick played magnificently and we could watch him on the screen. Derek Bourgeois was present. John Webber, Guilmant, Bach, Handel and Walton and a fun encore. Liz picked me up at West Croydon. Dennis here.