the next few days are likely to be busy so I thought I’d get started now. Since the last post I had Thursday off. I spent some of the time updating the blog and answering emails. I was happy also to find my mum at home  and to Skype her and another brother, Pete.

I also tried to sort my plans for my time in UK. I had been concerned that my tenant would only be available to meet on the Sunday so I contacted the agents to arrange a time to gain entry to my house. It now looks as though this might be possible. This will mean that I probably won’t manage to spend a Sunday Mass at St Marie’s Cathedral but that might be for the better from what I hear!

On Friday I was in the office at midday, working till 5pm and then joining members of the choir for a dinner invitation. It was a lovely time and the food was wonderful.

On Saturday I went into the office at 10am and then had a rehearsal with visiting musicians for a wedding at 1.30pm. It is always tricky when a wedding takes place in a church that has been chosen for its venue rather than being where folk worship. Even the musicians were drafted in. Inevitably there were oversights (my fee! and Eucharistic acclamations) but in the end all was fine but nobody sang … it was more like a concert!

An hour after the wedding celebration ended I was back for the weekend Vigil Masses. I admit to feeling tired.

For some reason I did not sleep well during the night so I was a little worried about how things would go. In the vent they went fine. we are in the silly season so some of the Cantors were away so I had to Cantor and play for the 7.30am and 7pm. However other Cantors stepped into the breach and all went well. I was particularly pleased that after the 11am Choir Mass one man (an ex-choir member whose absence was due to his wife’s serious illness) who came up to tell me that the choir was the best he had heard it.

It was sad to say a temporary farewell to a few singers who would be elsewhere for Christmas. I walked away with some Christmas cookies and some Belgian chocs … yummy!

During the afternoon I retired home to sleep a while. After only 30 minutes I was awoken by one of our priests who wanted a brief chat. 45 minutes later it was almost time to consider leaving to return to church for the evening Mass!

Today, Monday, I had a good chat with Paul Inwood a prominent liturgical musician in UK and also managed to sort a few Christmas presents. I spent the afternoon which turned out warm (84F) at the beach. By sunset the bar beckoned and I was happy to bump into friends Brenda and Ray whom I had not seen for a while.

The past week had been tough at work with much planning needing to be completed and with some surprise demands coming at the last minute. Thursday began somewhat cloudy as indeed did my head! I sought refuge in my laptop and continued this blog. The gloom lifted by midday and I visited the beach.

The following day was also a day off. I like to spend Friday on my kayak. It is good exercise and unless the wind picks up is not too scary! I was able to spend much of the day away. Some were amused by hearing me recording the voice parts to various bits the choir is working on at the moment. It is so peaceful out there that it is the perfect place to record! I also find that my well-documented penchant for gadgets is well regarded here. So many people stop to look at my ‘Heath- Robinson’ roof rack made from two water noodles and a pair of ratchet straps. They are also intrigued by the wheels I strap to the underside of the kayak so that I can transport it more easily. Surely neither of these are beyond the wit of the American mind!

Saturday started with a ‘Choir Boot Camp’. this is an opportunity for parishioners to try out the choir for a limited period only. Last year several folk became regular members after this. We had originally booked to rehearse in the church but an error led to a funeral being booked across this. Over here there is often an hour’s visitation of the open coffin before the funeral Mass. Therefore the boot camp was relocated to the new rehearsal room behind the sanctuary space. This is just a bare space at the moment but was ideal for our needs.

The funeral, like so many, was an opportunity to hear about a person whom I wish I had met while alive. The family included one parishioner-lawyer who had assisted me with documentation in my early time here. They were so generous to come and thank me especially the following day.

The weekend Masses proceeded in the usual way except some of the priests wore rose (ugh) while others refused (hooray). rather more unorthodox was a quaint blessing of hay before each Mass. Apparently there is an ‘age-old tradition’ in which the blessed hay is placed under the tablecloth during the Christmas season. I can only reflect that it stank!

Later that evening I was back at Charann’s bar and after replying to various emails I joined a conversation in the bar. It became heated and in summary was another anti-Moslem, anti-Christian, anti-Jewish tirade from an Jewish born atheist. Pope Francis is right to advocate dialogue but this has to be between consenting adults! The listening part of this encounter was sadly lacking from this self-acclaimed intelligent American. He did not want to live forever, decreed that atheism is more moral because there were less atheists in prison … And he held fairly fixed views on evolution as being a god-free zone ! Ugh!

My free day Monday involved a spell on the local beach before returning to watch Chelsea play Leicester live on TV. I enjoyed the fact that I could watch this live but did not enjoy the result. Chelsea lost 2-0. Mourinho was to be sacked three days later. I wouldn’t mind being sacked with a £13-15 million pay off!

I decided to update my TV box by adding a DVR to enable me to watch more football when I wished. This merely meant swopping one box for another. At the same visit I increased the internet speed for an additional cost, of course.

Saturday started earlier than usual with office work in preparation for a forthcoming recording of a mass for SpiritFM. I sometimes feel that those who sign up for such activities have no idea of the impact on musicians! I had liturgically appropriate song choices to make, decisions about who should sing/play and instrumental arrangements to complete. Fortunately my friend Bernadette Farrell was able to supply an instrumental arrangement for one song used on a recording.

Then at 3pm began the usual cycle of rehearsals and Masses which characterised the weekend. Normally on the Sunday afternoon I would have returned home for 4 hours but on this occasion I retired to a nearby Cuban restaurant and then returned to work.

Following a generous gift to the Music department I had been able to purchase dedicated microphones, cables and stands for use in the church. They were used for the first time this weekend and what a difference they made!

I had decided to work on Monday so there I was at 9am working on something or other prior to attending a funeral in the church later in the morning. It was a wonderful celebration in the grieving family who may have had poor experiences of church in the past were made to feel welcome through a skilful and sensitive priest and through my own attention to their requirements. When people are on the edge of church they sometimes lose contact with which songs are appropriate for liturgy. They had requested ‘When Irish eyes are smiling’ and ‘Silver Bells’. There was a clear family association which prompted these songs so I transferred them to the visitation hour immediately before the funeral Mass. The priest stole the show by giving everyone present a silver bell at the end of Mass!

On Monday evening we celebrated the Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of Immaculate Conception. This was followed on Tuesday by further Masses at 8.30 (with school), 12.15pm and 7pm. It was a very ‘bitty’ day with periods of work broken up by masses and the usual music practice with the school.

A trip to Goodwill found me buying 5 shirts! They were extraordinarily vibrantly coloured shirts by the designer Jhane Barnes. These would normally retail at over $100 (!) but were a steal at $5 each.

Wednesday began with the usual school Mass, then in the following hour I completed the instrumental arrangements for SpiritFM before attending a Liturgy Meeting. We have been working on establishing priorities both short-term and long-term and the results showed a remarkable convergence of opinion. After the meeting we had our bi-monthly staff lunch in which we celebrate staff birthdays.

I had worked so many hours this week that I decided to go home on afternoon for a few hours. Just before 5pm I received an email about a forthcoming funeral which had been scheduled for the same time as my extraordinary Christmas Choir rehearsal. We re-jigged things a bit and both events should now continue. But this meant I had to return early to create everything I needed for that rehearsal. Later that evening I led the weekly choir practice which was well attended and good fun. I finished the evening over a few drinks with my friend Marty Purtell. He is a local doyen of musicians but has recently retired from his prestigious post and has chosen to sing with us whenever he can. It is so useful to have him around and to be able to bounce ideas off him.

 

It was a full-on return to work day on Tuesday 24 November. This week included two days off in respect of Thanksgiving so I was determined to get as much done on the Tuesday so that I did not have to work too much at other times.

In addition to pulling together the final plans for Advent Sundays and for Thanksgiving I also had choir practice that evening.

Since we were approaching the start of a new liturgical year I asked a priest to join us to bless the choir. Then we went through the music I’d chosen which was not easy. I was glad when the day came to a close.

On the Wednesday  I relaxed at the beach for much of the day before meeting my friends Mike & Helen who were over from Spain to try out Florida. We did the reuired visit to Goodwill and then ate at Margaritas Restaurant and finished with a few beers at Cigar City Brewery. I then left them to play for the Thankgiving Day Vigil Mass.

On Thursday I was up early to play for the 8.30am Thanksgiving Mass. The rest of the day was my own. I’d been invited to join some of my choir for a celebration meal and sensing alcohol I decided to leave the car at home. My plan was to have a few in the bar across the road then get an uber taxi to the meal. I was thwarted at first base. The bar was closed. I decided to walk for an hour and then got a taxi. The walk enabled me to appreciate where I lived at a much slower pace and to chat to a few fellow walkers.

I got to the meal on time and it was excellent. great food and real relaxation. I got a lift home which was just as well because my host had insisted on sharing the leftovers with me. These provided meals for the next two days!

On Friday I took the kayak to Fort Desoto and had a great day out, returning to Charann’s tavern for the evening.

I spent much of Saturday in the office doing further admin. In the evening it was the vigil Masses and the usual sequence of weekend responsibilities. The great change was that I invited a young man to serve as Cantor. I had heard him sing before but he was often tied up with altar serving. He responded positively and ended up singing for the two vigil Masses and the first two Masses on the Sunday morning!

At 5pm I joined another of my singers at a funeral home where we had been engaged to provide music for a memorial celebration. Then I had to rush back for the evening Mass.

Monday began with a visit to the dentist to have the final stage of my implant completed. The whole process had taken eleven months but now it was over and the results are excellent.

On Tuesday I was back at work.  In addition to the usual planning and production of practice recordings and instrumental parts for the weekend Masses I had also decided to visit the local music store to purchase some microphones and related equipment. I had worked out what I needed and entered the store with a list. It should have been easy but over 2 hours later I left with very little achieved. I returned later in the afternoon with a cheque for the equipment and was able to collect what they had in store. Even this took me over an hour!

Wednesday began with a school Mass and continued with more admin. At 5pm we had our annual Advent Gathering. I had not been invited into the preparation at all and there was almost an air of secrecy about the whole thing so it was with some anticipation that I entered the hall. We started with a meal and then moved to the church for a most disappointing presentation by a visiting speaker. I had choir practice that evening so I could not assess whether their evening continued in the same way. My evening with the choir was fantastic. we were transferred to a different venue but folk all found their place and worked really hard.

On Thursday I had planned to go in for only a few hours. In the event I decided to awake when my body told me and my body insisted on a rest. I had also decided to remove my keyboard from my apartment where it was hardly used and to take it into work. It was so heavy that I could not shift it myself so I secured the assistance of some gardeners! Once in work I was able to find colleagues to assist further.

Work was cracking on with the creation of a rehearsal space out of some offices to the rear of the church. It struck me that we needed to move an old upright piano from this space before the flooring was fitted. I telephoned a piano dealer and persuaded him to let me borrow his piano dolly (that’s what they call them here!). Armed with the dolly (trolley) and two colleagues we shifted the piano over to the Higgins Hall with great ease. This completed I was able to go home early.

Friday was an overcast day so having awoken early I produced an article on the Year of Marcy for a liturgical journal, did quite a bit of housework and some essential shopping. I didn’t even join friends in the bar so here I am now approaching 8pm with my laptop open preparing this blog.

Perhaps I’ve earned a drink now!

5 years ago I was serving as ‘cover musician’ for 2 weeks in Iona Abbey, Scotland. It was a special 2 weeks in which I met for the first time two sets of visitors from across the pond. One was a large group of youth and their leaders from St John’s Ellicott City in Maryland, USA. I was to meet them again 2 years later on their return visit to Iona and then the following year they invited me to join them as Musician-in-Residence for 2 weeks in Maryland.

Among the others I met on that first occasion were a husband and wife from Ontario, Canada. Kevin was the Church of England priest there and his wife, CatherinAnne, was the Roman Catholic Chaplain at the University of Huron. It was a special time for them too and as well as sharing in the sessions (many of which I led) we also shared great moments in the pub after the evening services each night.

When they learned that I had landed on their side of the pond they offered me the opportunity to visit them and do some work with them. So on Thursday 19 November I packed my bags and set off to Tampa’s airport en route to Detroit where I would be picked up and driven to London, Ontario Canada.

It was a remarkably short flight and I was among the last to board. It was a busy flight but I managed to find space in the overhead compartment. “A perfect fit” exclaimed the attendant. “That’s more than I can say for my seat”. I had glanced briefly towards my allocated seat and could discern that it would be a tight squeeze. “We’re going to get cosy” responded the guy in the seat next to mine. To be more precise a substantial part of his voluminous body was also in my seat. In fact part of it was oozing under the armrest and another part oozing above it. As I attempted to recline I knew this would not be a comfortable flight. I had a real sense of his perspiration seeping into my shirt. The discomfort was slightly relieved when my request for a brandy and ginger was met with the assertion that there would be no cost since the attendant had neglected to collect her card machine. Oh happy day!

At the airport I spotted the welcoming Jennifer and Clare who would drive me to London. we had to pass through the Border where I was quizzed about my favourite football team!

I got to Kevin’s church in time to be part of a conversation about recent terrorist attacks in Paris and what a Christian or biblical response might be . My friend John Bell had sent me a new song a few days ago on just this subject so I chose to read the text to the group. It was all about imagining that among refugees that some might refuse could have been Mary and Jesus. They were clearly moved.

After this I went home with Kevin and renewed my acquaintance with his wife, a bottle of red and several rather large Lagavullins taking the conversation into the third hour of the morning.

Friday began rudely as it can when you have drunk too much and slept too little. We adjourned to a local café for breakfast. The sign above a local bar caught my attention: FREE BEER, TOPLESS BARMAIDS AND FALSE ADVERTISING. we then went to a local shop to get some photocopying done. At 1230pm I was in Huron University preparing to give a lecture and workshop in the Chapel to seminarians. In the event we discovered that some foul fiend had scheduled an organ tuning to coincide with my visit and the event was moved to the Great Hall. We had a quick bit to eat before I started with a talk entitled ‘We must not allow ourselves to be robbed of the Gospel’ (Pope Francis) before moving into a session focussing on the music and areas of engagement of the Iona Community. It was intimidating at first as I discovered that the assembled persons included the expected seminarians but also the lecturing staff of the Theological Faculty. Just before I started a man in a purple shirt with the word Chaplain printed on the back waltzed into the Great Hall. “You must be the Chaplain?” I mused openly. There was no response. Instead he strode purposefully towards a grandfather clock and proceeded to wind it up. As he locked it closed I pointed out that it was 20 minutes slow but again received no response. I later learned that he had just been appointed Bishop of another Diocese. He must have had a lot on his mind … like grandfather clocks and vestments, I suppose.

After the session we all adjourned to a local pub which looked surprisingly English.

In the evening Kevin led me through the city to play the large organ at St Paul’s Cathedral and then we ate at a Mongolian restaurant. CatherinAnne had had to leave on an overnighter to bless a stone frigate of the Canadian Navy. we were both so tired that I can recall returning home but barely managing one beer as we dropped in and out of consciousness watching some TV.

Saturday began well after a good sleep. It had snowed quite heavily overnight. My ‘Retreat Day’ would run from 10am until 3pm in St John’s Church. I offered four sessions: two I had offered the previous day and another introducing the latest collection from Bernadette Farrell. We concluded with my version of a Liturgy of the Word with Washing of Feet derived from the Arche Community. It was great to see the Archdeacon bending down to wash my friend Kevin’s feet. Kevin was the presider and the Arch was a punter attending the day!

We finished a bit early so they asked me to play the organ there. It was a fine instrument by a local builder 2 miles down the road. I played some Durufle and improvised a bit. They had just lost their organist so it was good for folk to hear the organ again. Next door in the hall that we had used for lunch some 200 homeless were gathering for a meal. Wonderful witness to the Gospel.

We were invited to join a few folk at the pub after the event but Kevin couldn’t resist stopping at the Catholic Seminary on the way. He took me into the Chapel where we met a priest-member of the teaching staff who invited me to play. Kevin had met his wife in this very chapel several years ago so it was a good moment.

Jenifer, Clare, Kevin and I went to Evening Mass at the Catholic Cathedral and thence to a Chinese restaurant where we pigged out. It was snowing heavily outside the cathedral where we met a homeless man who had eaten earlier at St John’s. I was struck by Kevin’s insistence on sharing names and asking his. After a gift of a woolen hat and scarf he was off into the darkness.

After the Chinese we enjoyed a few beers in a local brewery.

On Sunday I was to preach at the Anglican Communion at St Aidan’s Church. I chose to focus on the gospel and Christ’s references to truth in his conversation with Pilate. I also included a new song ‘In these times’ by Marty Haugen which, like John Bell’s, reflected on the refugee ‘crisis’. I was really pleased to see Todd the Theology Prof from Huron University among the congregation. He was very positive about what I had to say and offered to endorse me as a preacher to my own bishop!

Also among the congregation was another Englishman from Lincolnshire whose marriage had brought him to Canada. He joined us at a rather fine bar where we had dinner. I had fish and chips!

In the evening after a bit of chill time I took my friends out for a sushi meal. They took over as I am not conversant with this cuisine. we ordered 49 courses between the three of us!

On Monday I needed to be at the airport for a 1230pm flight. Customs showed a more professional interest this time … in the number of Indian visa stamps in my passport. we made good time and were able to stop for lunch at a Turkish café close to the airport.

After fond farewells it was not long before I was on the plane with a good seat watching the ice being removed from the wings!

By 4pm I was back in Charann’s Tavern … the perfect place to unwind after a successful trip!

 

 

 

After a pleasant day off on Monday I now had to go full steam to get everything ready at work so that I could leave to go to Canada. All the stuff for my time there was completed but I needed to ensure all was OK for St Lawrence.

I’m sure I am not alone in thinking that going away on holiday is sometimes more trouble than it is worth. It is so much easier to do the job yourself that leave it to be done by someone else. For so many of my colleagues when they take time off the work simply does not get done and nor does it have to be so there is no need to have someone else do it. This is not the same for the church musician.

fortunately I had some good musicians standing in for me but even then I feel that I don’t want to leave them with any questions outstanding.

So Tuesday was ‘that kind of day’ which ended with a presentation by two university profs about climate change and us. Unfortunately it was more about climate change and less about the responsibility we can exert. Perhaps that is the common malaise.

On Wednesday we had the usual School Mass after which I continued to work on preparations for choir practice and writing parts for instrumentalists. Choir practice went well and I returned home content that as much as could be done had been done.

I just had to pack!

 

10 days since I last blogged so here goes.

Saturday 7 November started with a funeral and continued with some time in the office before the two vigil Masses.

Sunday in Uk would have been Remembrance Day but here in USA we pre-empted Veterans ay (11 Nov).

Monday started with a visit to the dentist to take impressions for the implant that I have been awaiting since January. Over here you can get an implant in a day. in India I came across something similar. When I returned to India the following year I heard the complaints that the implant had fallen out. The process in USA is expensive but they are so frightened of being sued that things are very good. The fixture has been in my jaw for some moths now and so at the end of November the tooth will be screwed into the fixture. my only regret is that I inadvertently paid for a temporary tooth. this would have satisfied me if I had a great self-awareness about my appearance but quite frankly I don’t and the additional $600 which would have been a requirement for so many here was a waste of money!

I continued into work for another funeral and then let for my day off.

Tuesday was spent in the office and in the evening I was happy to be able to eventually speak with Canon Kevin who had invited me to provide some formation in Ontario, Canada. There were no real surprises – time with seminarians on Friday before Saturday’s Music day consisting of a plenary address, introduction to the music of Bernadette Farrell and the iona Community and a closing worship involving the washing of feet – until he asked me to preach on the Sunday!

Wednesday, which was a day off for my colleagues, started with the school Mass and continued woth loads of admin leading to choir practice. I feel really flattered that one retired musician has joined the choir here. His presence is a real affirmation for me.

Thursday and Friday became DAYS OFF.  I spent Thursday with Mike and Helen. I met them initially in Goa, India and we subsequently became friends. They own several properties in Spain and Canaries so over the years I have patronised these. They had sent the last week in New York and were now exploring m area of Florida.  I went to meet them in Indian Rocks Beach which I did not know. We had a couple of wines before enjoying the beach and then a bar and a restaurant.

I took my kayak to Fort Desoto on Friday. Normally I would have saved myself $5 by parking at an earlier spot and rowing further. Today I thought I would try rowing from the North Beach of Fort Desoto. In the morning the journey was easy but the wind picked up considerably during the afternoon and so I rowed for shore sooner than sunset.

Saturday was the final day of the sales at the local Office Depot which was closing. of course I was there when it opened and grabbed a bargain of 27,000 paper cups. They are normally £230 per box and they were on sale at £30 per box. I approached the manager and got the lot for £15 per box! I saved my employers $1500! BARGAIN!

Sunday was the usual work day and in the evening I started to write the homily I was to present in Canada next week.

I awoke on Monday at 6am and after breakfast continued to script my sermon and by 10.30am I had sent it out to various friends for comment.

By 11am I was on the beach and by 4pm I was in the local supermarket taking advantage of a promotion on Guinness!

This evening, after several ales with friends, I have watched X-Factor and feel my life is complete …. NOT

 

 

 

The sound equipment I bought at Goodwill on Monday 26th all works. Not bad for $30!

Tuesday 27th was along day in the office with the usual planning but in addition I had to get the month’s music ready for the Cantor’s meeting that night. All five Cantors turned up and we met in my new office. We were able to try out some new ideas which were accepted readily by most.

Wednesday 28 started in the usual way with School Mass. It was preceded by a procession of Saints, I don’t think I have played ‘Oh when the saints’ as many times!

In the afternoon there was a wedding at 2pm. The bride was there at 1.50pm in jeans and t-shirt to set up some flowers. Next to arrive was the priest at 2pm swiftly followed by a parishioner who was so embarrassed that he returned to the hotel where he knew the family was gathering and discovered everyone sat in the bar in casual gear. they thought the wedding was 2.30pm but it was already 2,30pm by that time. At 2.15 the mother arrived and was upset that no one was there but she was 15 minutes late. By 3pm the groom had arrived so I renegotiated my fee and we eventually got started at 3.20pm.

I stayed around to get stuff ready for the choir practice which went well but I was not well and finished early.

On Thursday there were two funerals and I worked in between these. The best news imaginable came after the funeral when my brother Richard and his Brazilian friend Camille announced their engagement, I raised a glass in their direction.

I spent Friday on the kayak and returned to an unnamed island off Fort Desoto. It was a beautiful day.

There was a Spanish funeral on the Saturday morning for which I played and then hung around in the office to prepare for the weekend celebrations.

it was All Saints so we did my Blessed are the clean of heart. One of the priests talked about his childhood heroes, Hercules and Xerxes, before referring to the saints themselves. So after communion I invented a chant to the following text:

Who can climb the mountain of the Lord?

Hercules, Xerxes or the rest of these?

We are children of the living God,

we long to see his face.

I had much of a day off on Monday and went to Caladesi island with my kayak. I was in the office by 5.30 to prepare for the All Souls Day celebration. We read out the list of dead parishioners interspersed by Alstott’s Grant them eternal rest o Lord. This week there were 5 funerals so you can imagine how long it took to read the list!

Tuesday was another preparation day. On this occasion it was to prepare the Song sheet for the November school masses which had to be done by noon so that they could be shared with classes prior to the Music practice at 2.30pm! After the practice I went home.

I had not been well for about three weeks. The doc had prescribed antibiotics and an inhaler and had sent me for an x-ray which turned out to be fine. I shouldn’t reall complain to much as there has been so much sympathy from parishioners who brought me fruit and throat lozenges.

Wednesday’s school Mass presented some great singing from the students. Following this we had a liturgy meeting and during the afternoon I had a meeting with my lawyer about the car accident almost 6 months ago. I also visited a parishioners house to inspect an organ he was offering the church. In the event it was not very good for us so I continued to Office Depot where I spent $!35 for the parish. All bargains of course.

At 4.30pm I spent an hour moving most of the choir music up to the mezzanine in preparation for some new shelving arriving next week and for work to start in the middle of the month converting two offices and a corridor into a rehearsal area for musicians.

Choir practice that evening was fantastic. we learned another of Chris Walker’s communion antiphons, harmonies for ‘Come to the water’ and ‘Shepherd me, O God by Haugen. Then after the rehearsal I got embroiled in a discussion with some of the RCIA team who were expressing hesitance about to members who were living together. Do they tow the RC line or turn a blind eye?

On Thursday I had an awful headache so I was pleased that I did not have too much to do in the office. I had just sent a recording to the choir when the internet went down. There was little point me remaining as I had done my work so I visited the doctor again and elsewhere tried to negotiate payment for a medical bill.

I was so tired on Thursday evening that I sat down and fell asleep before eating the meal I had prepared!

Today Friday I was up early and found my mum available on Skype so we had a great chat. Then I took my kayak and I towards Fort Desoto for the day. I returned home to watch the second half of Chelsea-Liverpool which I had only seen part of on Saturday. It didn’t get better so I am hoping that the next screening this evening, Chelsea-Kiev, will be more gratifying.

If you know the score please do not tell me before 10pm tonight!

I

Saturday started early with a visit to a few Yard sales in a nearby community. In the event I only bought a cast iron Le Creuset grill pan for 50 cents (30p) and a filing cabinet for $5. there was a funeral at noon after which I set about moving things to my new office. I would have to wait a while until my computer was also moved but the space and the view were a great improvement.

During Sundays Masses six couples celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Perhaps it’s a sign of my age ..but they all seemed to be so young!

I spent Monday at the beach and Tuesday I continued with the office move as well as sorting the usual weekly stuff.

Wednesday began with a School Mass and continued without a break to be a thirteen hour day ending with choir practice. I was not feeling well and spluttered my way through it.

On Thursday I worked a couple of hours and then left for the beach having completed my hours for the week.

On Friday I visited the doctor about what appeared to be a chest infection and about a recurrence of a problem with my left foot. I had sliced it on some glass some weeks earlier and an x-ray had shown no foreign object. The return of the problem prompted a further x-ray. The doctor was more concerned about the rattle in my chest and this also needed an x-ray. I had been suffering for 11 days by this stage (lest you think I am a hypochondriac!).

Thank god for benefits but how do the poor cope? I pay $25 to see a doc but I have insurance and a good income. My portion of the x-ray costs came to a further $52.For the unemployed or low earners it must be a matter of praying to get better.

I had a slow start to Saturday and took some calls from friends. I went into the office and continued sorting the office and prepared for the Vigil Masses and some celebrations during the next week.

During the Liturgy of the Word of the 4pm Mass I was aware that a woman came and sat in the pew immediately behind me on the piano. An 11 yr old violinist was already positioned at the end of the bench but moved to accommodate her.

After a while and particularly during the homily I was aware that the woman was talking and distracting the violinist so I asked her to move further along the bench and positioned myself between her and the youngster. When I had to leave the bench I asked her mother to occupy that position but she misunderstood and instead placed the violin case there.

Apart from a further request from the woman to play some Praise Music (!) there was no further distraction until the end of Mass.

As I played the final organ voluntary, the rather tricky Fugue from the Fantasia in G minor the woman came over and whispered that I was fantastic and asked could she sit on the bench as I played. I responded with a firm NO but she continued to settle towards the bench so I stopped playing, reminded her that she had asked me a question and I had said NO and that was the end of it. She felt this to be unwelcoming behavior from me and went to see someone about it.

it is really heart-breaking when your natural disposition of hospitality to all regardless of their mental status has to be balanced by child protection as well as self-protection.

The rest of the Masses went well and I was happy that I had not forgotten how to play this particularly difficult piece of Bach.

I returned home during the afternoon for a rest as the illness was sapping my energy. Back for the Evening Mass I was disappointed that the Cantor was not sufficiently prepared to sing the psalm. I was not willing to attempt to cough my way through it so I asked the reader to read it while I improvised behind it. The main talking point was that the appointed priest did not arrive and it was almost 20 minutes before a replacement was found. this gave me an opportunity to rehearse again the new Mass setting.

Today Monday should have been a day off but I had a funeral at noon which needed preparing. A young 27 yr old had died in a car crash and the family were catatonic. we decided that we would present questions to God who had allowed so untimely a death. The Mass was dignified and the readings and psalm expressed their situation perfectly.

After the funeral I had a rehearsal with an amazing Gospel singer for a funeral later this week.

On my way home I stopped at Goodwill and bought a Peavey amp with two speakers for $30 and a Sony Reader for $10. Bargains!!!!

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Saturday started with a rehearsal at 1030 with visiting musicians from Connecticut (some nuns) before a Memorial Mass at 1130. At all too frequent intervals our rehearsal was interrupted as people ventured in for a sisterly embrace. After a few of these I left to set up the microphones and returned to find the embraces still on-going. I am reminded of an occasion in France when at an adjacent table as each guest arrived there was a kiss on each cheek from each of the assembled folk.  My friend Kieran Donnelly commented ” Couldn’t they have just said “Hello”?

In the event we got through the Mass although there were some hairy moments.

A wedding followed almost immediately and all was slightly delayed as some artiste placed sea shells along both sides of the main aisle. No one seemed to know why this was happening but I was disturbed to discover the shells still there after the wedding! The artiste was withdrawn from the party and requested to tidy up after herself.

the Vigil Masses started the usual sequence of weekend Masses but the high point was the arrival of the Bishop to formally install the Pastor into the parish. It was an occasion of real joy and a very large congregation attended. I had assembled musicians from across the parish including from the Hispanic Mass and we contributed to what was a bilingual celebration. I am happy to say that all were very generous in their praise for the music. The bishop described it as the best he’d heard in 20 years!

On Monday I had another funeral with Fr Rock presiding. It was a real joy as Rock spoke so lovingly of a woman he’d known so well and whose condition had only allowed him to bless her with the Body of Christ on each visit as she was unable to consume anything by mouth. this condition lifted days before her death and she was able t consume what she revered so much. She was so filled with joy at each visit that she always sang a verse or two of Cielito Lindo so I sang this again as a post-communion song.

I spent the rest of the day at the beach and then the bar! Tuesday saw me wrapped up in preparations for the weekend Masses and also for Friday’s Staff Retreat Mass. At 2.35 a colleague announced that he was leaving for lunch. I decided to join him. it was only at 2.50pm that it dawned on me that I should have been leading the weekly Liturgical Music Practice with the school!

Wednesday started early with School Mass and was followed by a Liturgy Committee Meeting at which we invited to state what we were good at and where improvements could be made. it was a great session.

I had felt unwell the previous day and was feeling no better today so after a wedding meeting I was completely out of it when it came to the evening choir practice. we managed to learn my ‘Draw near to the Lord’ as well as a new Mass setting to be introduced this weekend.

Thursday was a day off which started with a visit to the dentist for a 6-monthly cleaning. then I visited the beach and joined friends at a local bar. I had missed an bar incident during the week in which an 86 year old was accosted by 75 yr old. One disagreed about having a life size speaking pirate model in the bar and it got physical. You couldn’t imagine it but I later found the older gent in another bar and he told me all. It was difficult to keep a straight face  as he recalled unresolved incidents over 30 years.

Today Friday the School and Parish staff met at the Salesian Centre in Tampa for a Retreat led by our newly ordained Fr Chuck. He did a good job in addressing Pope Francis’ call to Mercy. Unfortunately he referred at one moment to the overflowing of love as a dilation. Well, whilst I was perfectly happy to consider dilation of the eyes the School Vice-Principal was determined to share her dilation at child-birth! So when, during the closing Mass, we were invited to share a word which brought to mind the day you can imagine what word I chose!

I did not feel at all well during the day but was made to feel better when the Pastor informed me that I had been allocated a newly decorated and substantially larger office. I would move in during the next week.

During the evening I dropped into my local for a couple of beers … long enough to catch up on the latest news relating to the octogenarian’s feud. I was introduced to the gent who had magnanimously stepped in to separate the warring factions. we had a good laugh about it all before I returned home to watch Midsomer Murders. That seemed somehow appropriate!