We will remember them

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 15 November 2004 09:03:17

The first thing we had to remember was to arrive 15 minutes early as the service had to be over before the big parade in the town square. There were a few panicky last-minute rushes through the choir vestry door just before half-past-nine, but no undignified scrambles into the choir pews as has happened occasionally in the past.
The Russian Kontakion always sounds good, especially when it is lowered a tone for the tenors' sake. The basses sounded suitably Russian this morning. As it was so cold, we could have done with some Russian overcoats and fur hats as well.....

The parade to the square, accompanied by the local brass band, comprised of cadet corps, brownies, guides, cubs, scouts, red cross, councillors, veterans (not many now), choir and clergy. Seargeant Major Loudvoice commanded the standards to be lowered and raised as a rather good trumpeter played the Last Post and Reveille. We sang 'O God our help in ages past' and the National Anthem after the two minutes' silence and then solemnly processed back the way we came. There seem to be more wreaths laid than ever, and as many participants in the service as there have ever been - a sign of continued unsettled times, I suppose.

The evening service was just what the doctor ordered - quiet, calm, peace - and reassuring timeless words (or timeless for 350 years, anyway). 'Had we but hearkened to thy word' by Walford Davies was sung in the same calm, peaceful manner - I always love to hear the men's voices singing on their own. The new hymn book gave the chance for the Evensong congregation to be subjected to 'Make me a channel of your peace' - not too many of them keeled over in the shock, although there were some strange harmonies as the organist either played a different version or had trouble with the three page-turns in the new book.....

After the service, the youth group played skittles with the Methodists. Whether this meant they used the Methodists AS skittles I'm not quite sure, but anyhow they came back pleased with victory and some empty MacDonalds wrappers, so a good time was had by the CofEs (and hopefully their Methodist counterparts!)