PhloridaPhil

You last heard from me on Friday with me setting off for St Petersburg and the Diocesan Choir rehearsal for the ordinations. When I got into my car it was looking pretty ominous but once I was on the ‘skyway’, an 8 mile-4 lane motorway across the waters of the Bay the skies opened. Visibility was extremely difficult and I slowed to 20mph and my facebook pictures shows a photo of the lightning hitting the skyway itself. It was scary.

I got to the Cathedral and sat down in what I thought was one of the tenor chairs only to find myself beckoned forward to one of the ‘Choir A’ chairs … quelle honeur! The rehearsal was long but really great and finishing after 10pm one wondered whether voices would have recovered for the morning warm-up at 10am.

The journey home was less eventful but there was a lot of water about so one had to be careful. I did manage to fall asleep on my new sofa which seems to testify either to its comfort or my tiredness.

Saturday morning I was on the road again by 9am and bumped into our new Pastor at the cathedral. One of the 5 ordinands would be coming to us at St Lawrence for his first placement. It was a great celebration but lasted almost 3 hours. Most of this was taken with the laying on of hands by bishop and the great many clergy and then a while later by the fraternal kisses of peace (some rather more lingering, I suspect!). Among the pieces sung was John Bell’s ‘Take O take me as I am’ which made me feel at home again. I was sat next to a young woman with an excellent soprano voice. She later was equally complimentary about my tones which was surprising as I could barely hear myself at all!

I drove back to Tampa and started my usual weekend schedule of Masses. This week’s psalm was one I wrote for the Catholic Children’s Society Mass in Westminster Cathedral in 1989. It was good to discover that it still had appeal although, like so many of my oeuvre, I have never offered it for publication.

After Mass I attended the 90th birthday celebrations of one of my choir who clearly must have been quite a groover in the youth and could still manage a mean pelvic thrust!

In the evening I returned to my sofa and eventually to bed.

Sunday morning went as expected with the choir really kicking hell out of the music I had programmed. They particularly enjoyed my setting of Psalm 116 (Go out to the whole world) which I’d written for the Installation of Bishop John into Hallam, and which we sang with gusto at the end of Mass.

I was really tired after 4 Masses so I returned for a bit of R&R before venturing out again in another lightning storm. It only last about 45 minutes and didn’t seem to affect the numbers attending the ‘last chance’ Mass.

I came home looking for a relaxing evening before again venturing out with my trusty kayak in the morning.

I’ve been busy both with work and fun!

The saga of my teeth continues. as you will have read the medical insurance have reversed their earlier refusal and have since decided to payout on my treatment. Whilst this is indeed good news it will be $2000 from a bill of almost $10,000! The process for the implant is so lengthy that I may not get the job finished until January. I’ve had an extraction and the first bone graft and that seems to have taken well. On Tuesday I go to have my partial remodelled. Don’t ask me what that means!

Some time I the future there will be an operation to install a fixing and when that has melded with the bone months later the implant tooth will be added. At the same time I’ll have 5 crowns done. I had the crowns done in Sheffield but they were poorly done and decay has been the result.

On Thursday 7 May I had a cleaning of teeth. This was such a thorough procedure unlike any I have experienced before. An examination proved I requite one filling. There is also the possibility of requiring a wisdom tooth extraction and further bone graft to build the jaw in that area. This is not necessary so I may leave this until I visit UK or until my salary doubles!

On Friday I had a funeral which only briefly interrupted my day off. During the afternoon I received a call from the woman who sold me a piano. She was inviting me to a Jewish celebration so, having never experienced this before, I went to St Petersburg early in the evening. Lisa arrived 40 mins late and that left little time before the celebration. A tent had been erected on the beach and sun-loving men and women stared as the folk gathered for the celebration on the beach. It was all rather weird and alternative for a bunch of orthodox believers.

On Saturday While some of my choir attended diocesan rehearsals for tomorrow’s (16th) ordinations I did the music for two first communion masses. The church was packed for both masses and over 110 made this celebration. I stayed on until after the vigil Masses.

It would be great to say that Sunday went the way Sunday normally does. Musically all was fine but after the 0930 Mass a lady approached me as I was playing some Buxtehude at the end of the Mass. She shouted “You should be ashamed of yourself”. Continuing to play, I asked “Why?” and she responded, “You’ve stopped the St Michael Prayer”. When a few seconds later I’d finished playing I chased after her and was able to point out that the Pastor had instructed that this prayer no longer be said at the end of Mass from Lent onwards. She was of the opinion that I had instructed the Pastor to make this decision!

The only wholesome outcome from this episode was the number of supportive emails I received afterwards.

The following day was a day off so I left early with my kayak for Fort Desoto. I saved myself $5 by launching before I entered the park itself and following the advice of other kayakers I ventured on the waters for Shell Key. After a few hours I became inquisitive about a sand bar a little further off shore. 10 minutes later I was on this unnamed island. It was idyllic and although a few folk arrived later in the afternoon I felt relaxed enough to remain until the early evening when I rowed back. I surprised myself by finding the launch spot and my car with comparative ease.

On Tuesday the excitement continued. At 6pm one of my choir picked me up and took me to the playoff of the ice hockey. The local team won 4-1 and this was a tremendous introduction to US sport.

On Wednesday I worked most of the day and concluded with a great choir practice in which we learned my Ascension Psalm, God goes up, and also my setting of Psalm 116. we also tidied some other bits which we will use for the Farewell Mass of Pastor, Fr Tom.

On Thursday, yesterday, I awoke very late and not feeling too good. Probably I have been overworking and the humidity does not help!spent a few hours at the beach before going to the church to attend the Arts and Music presentations at the school.

This morning I awoke and realised that my response to the Iona Community’s with us process was due last week and I had not yet responded. I had been considering my response for some time and in the end decided on converting my membership down to Associate. Here in Florida I cannot possibly follow the Rule which expects members to meet together at regular intervals and having been such a stickler in the this regard while I was Family Group Convenor I could not in good conscience act in any other way.I have already received some very supportive responses from fellow members.

When I moved into this apartment I bought from a warehouse a sectional sofa. It was not a good purchase so now I have moved it onto the balcony. I had spotted a really comfortable sofa and armchair in a nearby quality store. It was a bargain but still quite pricey. It got delivered at 4pm and it looks great.

Tonight I drive to the Cathedral for the final rehearsal of tomorrow’s ordination Mass. One of the ordinands will accompany our new Pastor to St Lawrence so it will be a significant celebration for us. On my return I shall fall asleep on my new sofa!

I felt unusually tired for much of the last week that I decided not to overdo it and to really rest on my days off. So On Wednesday after the school Mass and a bit of work I left work at 1pm to rest and return later to do the final preparation for choir practice. this turned out to be a great idea. Not so great was my decision to drop in at the bar on my way home. My visit coincided with the start of an ice hockey tournament in which Tampa had a major interest. The bar which once had been as quiet and restrained as a library was wild and very noisy. And when the home team won points the place erupted still further with flashing lights adding to the nausea. “I must be getting old” I thought and left after one pint!

On Thursday I did a bit of sorting at the apartment then headed for the beach. In the evening I visited the noisy bar at an earlier time and found it to have returned to its normal welcoming self. There is a sign outside which warned ‘No cleats’ and since I had no idea what these were I asked of some of the customers most of whom were as ignorant as I. It transpires that they are metal studs attached to the soles of shoes!

On Friday I decided to make a day of it with the kayak which I had not used for a while. The changing tides offer different experiences each time I visit. On Saturday I visited some ‘yard sales’. They’re a bit like car boot sales outside your house and occasionally you can find some good stuff. Today I found nothing and somewhat forlorn returned to the beach for a bit more R&R. I had a snack lunch then at 2.30pm was at work doing final preparations for the weekend. One of my Cantors was unable to serve so this meant that I would have to sing and play. This is something I frequently did at the Sunday evening Mass in Sheffield but here there are songs that I really did not know but which were allegedly popular in USA.

An Irish-American Mgr McCann did both the vigil Masses and he is always interesting in his homilies with his peculiar brand of humour. I dropped into the supermarket on the way home and then also discovered a camping store where I got a repair kit and air pump for my inflatable armchair which I punctured on entering the apartment last week. I also played the hopeless foreigner and the fishing department experts offered to advise me on the 3 rods I had recently acquired as a bargain. So I could be fishing from my kayak soon! Back home I checked my post and found a letter from the health insurance folk who had overturned their original rejection of cover for my extensive dental work and would now pay out. the payment would mean that $2000 of the $10000 would be paid by them. All generosity accepted in the circumstances.

The following day, Sunday, I decided to ensure that I ate something to keep me going. I have breakfast at 6am and the next chance I normally get is after 2pm. Today donuts and coffee were on offer after the 7.30am Mass so I took advantage. This weeks organ recessional was the Fantasia (without the fugue) in G minor. After the 1230 Mass at which Mgr McCann has returned I joined him to show my face at the parish picnic. This turned out to be an indoor affair as it was so hot (?) and featured steak sandwiches, french fries (not chips which are crisps), a potato salad all supplied free from the school kitchens. After a brief trip to Goodwill at which I bought three pyrex dishes I returned to work and eventually the evening Mass. There was no cantor so I ended up doing what my old choir used to call ‘an Elton John’. I was delighted by the number of folk who remained to hear my Bach and even applauded it.

Monday started with the checking of emails only to find several pushing the same message … ‘May the Fourth be with you!’

I spent the morning preparing the music for next Sunday and adapting a psalm I had written a while back for US use. In the event I had to re-write great chunks of it. At noon the staff gathered for a ‘meet and greet’ with the new Pastor and the yet to be ordained new curate. The meal was amazing featuring some fine salmon , chicken and the inevitable keylime pie. Mgr McCann was there again and overheard me recounting my tale of free dinners over the last two days and wondering where the next would come from. He tapped me on the shoulder at the end of the meal and led me to the school kitchen where earlier he had spied the leftover deserts from yesterday’s picnic. I don’t know how he could!

The evening’s entertainment consisted of watching Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 1-0. It was a lack-lustre performance but enough to claim the Premier League title so I a life-long supporter was content. I was also delighted that none of my friends had spoiled it by telling me the score.

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On Saturday I played/sang for a funeral of a boy who lived for only 48 days. If it were not for the gift of John Bell I would not have known what to offer in the way of music. As it is I was able to sing CRADLING SONG before the Mass began and THERE IS A PLACE before the end. I also used John’s setting of Psalm 77 which berates God for seeming to pay no attention to us in our time of need but concludes in the recognition that God has done great things in the past and will continue to do so.

Most of the folk at the funeral were from the Philippines and I was invited to join them afterwards for a splendid feast in our own Higgins Hall. An awful occasion brought me close to some of our parishioners.

A particularly off the wall priest celebrated the two evening Masses and asked ‘if Christ is the good shepherd and we are the sheep, that doesn’t say much for what Christ thinks of us!’ Smelly and stupid?

I was tired so when I got home I was in bed soon after. The same was true the following day when after 4 Masses I came home for a break and could not keep my eyes open for long. Fortunately I set the alarm. During the day I had bought an inflatable armchair from Goodwill only to get it home and puncture it on the door handle. Now I am looking for a repair kit!

I spent Monday by the sea, imagining that the weather forecast was going to be correct but the cloud lifted and it was fine all afternoon. In the evening I drove to the Salesian church where my predecessor was directing a choir. It was something of an olive branch to him but when I got there I also bumped into Marty Purcell, the retired musician I had met only last Wednesday. The choir numbered only 11 persons and 4 of these were from St Lawrence Choir! They were pleased to see me there.

Today was a hard-working day with the planning of next weekend, the First Communions the following weekend and an application to attend the NPM in Grand Rapids in July. A high point today was a skype call from my brother Pete, bless him.

Still knackered I came home, watched a film with a pasta meal and went early to bed. Whatever it is that hasa hold of me is making me very tired all of a sudden.

It’s been a busy time of late as you can guess by the gap in transmissions!

The confirmations on Saturday went very well and the choir surpassed themselves. The real demand on them was to keep ‘background’ music going during the half hour of anointings but we managed with music to spare.

The weekend music also went to plan leaving Monday as a welcome day off. Monday was cloudy so I visited an oral surgeon to check out possibilities with my impacted wisdom tooth. I was amazed to be able to get an appointment within the hour and extraction and adding to the bone was the recommendation. This would not be as expensive as some of my dental work but since it was not necessary at the moment I decided to leave it a while.

On Tuesday I became so engrossed in my work that I almost overlooked the rehearsal with the school. Fortunately I managed to get there on time however and all was well. By the end of the day I was able to leave at a reasonable hour with many of my tasks completed.

Wednesday began as usual with the School Mass after which I met Marty Purtell who would stand in for me during my holiday in New Orleans.  We adjourned for coffee and the chance to discuss all manner of things with another musician was appreciated. By !pm I was able to take a break and went home returning for choir at 6pm.

I took Thursday as a day off this week. It promised to be sunny in the morning so I adjourned to the beach and within an hour the heavens opened. I found shelter and sat there checking my emails for a while. Time passed and so did the clouds so I returned to the beach for what was to be a beautiful day.

On Friday I had decided to move furniture. The task was to combine the music equipment office in the church with the music library. By 10am I had devised a plan and shelving units and their contents were moved from the library to the mezzanine to make room for the sound equipment. With help from the husband of one of my singers we completed the task by 1pm. Simultaneously a technician had worked on the revoicing of the organ. He is something of an expert from out of state and I made aware that he was in the area anyway I managed to book him to visit us. His visit was well worthwhile as besides doing what I’d he also managed to ascertain that 3 speaker channels did not function and that one cabinet had blown.

As I type now it is Saturday morning and I am beginning to feel an ache in my back from all the removals yesterday!

Sunday’s operations were more extended than usual. What some call ‘Low Sunday’ is no relaxation … after what is usually my last of four ‘morning’ masses there was a Divine Mercy Holy Hour. Having played the wrong tune for what I thought was a familiar hymn last time this time I made sure and jotted down what someone sang as it was not in the book! I quite enjoyed it and improvised at length during various processions.

There were no instrumentalists available this weekend but since the Holy Hour ended around 3pm I adjourned for a super meal at a nearby Cuban restaurant. Revitalised I was then able to return to the office and work a while until the evening Mass beckoned.

In the evening I booked my flights for the trips in June to New Orleans.

With Confirmations looming on Saturday I decided to work on Monday and managed to get a lot done, particularly re the music schedule for the school masses. On Tuesday I arrived at midday for a Seniors lunch. It’s great when a parish group provides food for staff! In the afternoon I rehearsed with the school for tomorrow’s Mass.

After the Mass I waited to rehearse with a Cantor who did not materialise. There was a liturgy meeting during which we discussed the possible scenarios for the celebrations of Fr Tom’s time here as Pastor. This meeting was followed by a birthday celebration staff lunch … another free dinner! Towards the end of the afternoon it became clear that Fr Tom’s leaving Masses would take place when I was in New Orleans! At least I had already booked a good musician to cover for me.

Choir practice that evening was great and we achieved a lot in terms of preparation for the Confirmations.

In the evening I adjourned to a bar and later had a glass of wine and fell asleep!

The last week has flown by. I had hoped that there would have been a bit of relaxation following the exertions of Holy Week but although I managed to take three days off those which I worked were arduous.

Although I had most of Wednesday down at the beach with my kayak in the evening I had choir practice. Many of my Sheffield musicians will have appreciated the ‘week off’ I gave them after Easter. Not so here. The bishop is celebrating confirmations with us on Saturday 18 April and whilst this would not normally present much of a challenge in this instance there are 107 confirmandi and the bishop likes to have word with each of them as well as anoint them. This means that more than 30 minutes of appropriate music has to be devised. So the choir assembled for the Wednesday rehearsal and was greeted by a flood of music sheets. Predictably they requested two rehearsals next week and since we will definitely need these I was happy with the request.

We are still getting many positive comments about the music during Holy Week which is gratifying and spirits are high in the choir.

On Thursday evening I was invited to my first meeting with the Parish Pastoral Council. Hitherto a faceless bunch it was good to meet with them and introduce myself to them. I have never been embarrassed by my CV so I shared it with them as I saw in it one way of quickly introducing myself objectively.

Normally I would have started today’s work Mass at 4pm but today there was a funeral at 11am and a wedding at 1.30pm. These went smoothly and were more speedy than the funeral during the week when as folk processed from receiving communion each saw it as an appropriate to share compassion and am embrace with one of the relatives. It was not long before there was a traffic jam and the priests had to pause their distribution frequently.

This evening, after two Masses with great homilies from Monsignor Jo McCann about Thomas and his nickname, I returned home to write my second ‘letter from America’ for a UK liturgy and music magazine and watch Graham Norton!

I spent much of Staurday at the beach and then went to church from about 5,30 pm to prepare the Easter Vigil. the first problem was that the microphones had vanished from the church. Panic!

I went to the office to see if the document I had prepared at home to assist the choir with the Exsultet has materialised. it had, so I copied it and went in search of microphones! I got sidetracked into further setting up equipment for the ‘overflow’ Sunday masses and then lost my keys. Panci!

I t dawned on me that the Hispanic community might have moved all the microphones to storage after they used them on Friday evening. Of course this is what they did in good spirit. However I did nt see it that way at the time! as to my lost keys I later found I had left these on the stage for the overflow Masses!

The rehearsal for the Easter Vigil went fine and indeed, apart from a few instances of the choir not thinking ahead and getting their music straight, they were fantastic!

The Vigil lasted 2.5 hours and was dramatic. Afterwards we adjourned to the Higgins Hall for cake and an Italian pizza-like delicacy which I really enjoyed so much that I took some extra slices for breakfast. I got to bed 15 minutes after midnight and arose 5 hours later for the Dawn Mass at 6am.

I was astonished to see about 200 folk at the Mass. The place was in darkness but I had a piano, a cantor, a portable light and headset microphones so all was well. It was great to sing ‘Morning has broken’ in an appropriate setting.

The following four Masses went well and I was really surprised to find so many of the choir returning unexpected for the 11am Mass.

I had received a few invites for easter dinner but I was so tired that I declined these and went instead to a bar and food soon followed. I fell asleep back home and awoke around 9pm and now will go to bed.

Happy Easter, everyone!

The following day

I awoke soon after 8am and tried to Skype my mum but was unsuccessful. She was probably out spending our inheritance in some country or other! I lazed about a bit and then went into work via a plumbers supply shop where I had hoped to buy a drain hose for my washing machine. That too was unsuccessful although an assistant was most helpful and said she would get back to me if I texted her more details.

Choir practice was at 2pm so I had a bit of time to sort a few details. The rehearsal went well and I was able to pass on compliments from the previous night. Good Friday Passion Liturgy was at 3pm. All went extremely well. One person didn’t want my REPROACHES to end … she said it was so beautiful. I told her that she was supposed to feel reproached! The timing of pieces during the veneration and communion worked exactly.

After this liturgy I had a rehearsal with a soloist for Sunday, wrote some instrumental parts, and made sure that my own music for Sunday and for Easter Vigil was in order and complete. I also had to set up the keyboard and microphones for the Sunday ‘overflow’ Masses in the Higgins Hall. With so many things on my mind I forgot to leave out the music for the trumpeter to collect in the morning. Now I have to get up early to put it where I said I would!

On Wednesday I got in early to prepare a few oddments and then did the final school Mass of the Term. It was a Holy Week Mass and the mood reflected that but the priest did a great homily about HOPping to it (Help Other People). So I added a song impromptu to the schedule of music and moved by it he took it up again in his closing words.

I have a small group of students whom I have christened EOTs (‘ere ‘old this) after the practice of my old music teacher Paul Reed (RIP Feb 2015). They are a bunch of folk on hand to help with practical issues. Their main task is to break up the microphone and sound system after Mass and they are doing really well.

So from 10am until the evening I was free and able to take my kayak out on the waters again. This was only the second trip out abut judging from comments on my return later that evening I will need a higher factor sun protection for my dear face to counter the reflection from the water.

Tenebrae was going on in the church so choir practice happened in the Higgins Hall Library which is close to the church and equipped with a piano. The choir worked really hard and things are going well.

On Thursday I returned to the waters but without my kayak as its weight and awkward shape takes a toll on my back muscles! I was back in the office by 4.30pm doing final preparations for the start of the Three Days (Triduum).

The choir met again at 6pm although some dribbled in quite late! We managed to go over some stuff for Easter Vigil and revise tricky moments for the Holy Thursday Mass. We moved to the church and I introduced things to the congregation. At the last minute I was asked to lead the prayer response for the pastor’s renewal of priestly vows (he had not been able to make these at the Chrism Mass). More distressing was the Penitential Act where the priest seemed unclear as to what he was doing. Then during the homily the fire alarm went off due to the thrurible charcoals being relit behind the scenes close to the sensor! Apart from this all went well and we were done in 90 minutes. After the bells sounding during the Gloria they were not used later. In their place they used a clapper, sounded like a couple of wood blocks repeatedly banged together. Since the bells are a bit perfunctory in any case I thought the use of a clapper was just daft. Some details become such a matter of tradition that they remain unquestionable by logic!

Sung Night Prayer, an innovation I introduced, started 15 mins later. People responded well to what was unfamiliar.

After the celebrations we had a brief evaluation session which was useful.

I was home by 10pm and, after watching a transmission of the emotionally charged Mass with the Pope from a prison in Rome, considered sleep around midnight.