PhloridaPhil

After pretty poor Mass attendance on the two masses on Friday evening the one on Saturday morning was worthwhile. After Mass I headed for home to do some timely housework. I moved the digital keyboard into the spare room and sorted the bedroom. I also managed to permanently secure the dining table which had been precariously balanced on the pedestal since I had bought it. The circular rug which came with it also went down. A good bit of tidying I thought and then returned to Church for the evening Masses which were the Vigil for All Souls. The second of these was the grander of the two. All those who were bereaved during the last year entered in procession holding a candle each which they then placed at the ‘Wall of Remembrance’ close to the photo of their loved ones. Then these were incensed and Mass started. After communion a litany of the names of the dead were read in groups of ten while I improvised underneath and greeted each group with a musical chant. It all went down very well.

The following day was Sunday and would be the first of the expanded marathon. In addition to the 4 in the morning would be added another at 7pm in future. I approached it with some trepidation as they had been used to a quite different style over the last months. In the event what I offered was very well received and several offered their services as instrumentalists and singers.

Immediately prior to that I had spent some time creating lead sheets for the guitarist and finished this early enough to attend much of the Spanish Mass. I had already arranged to meet the musician in charge of this Mass so it was a delight to be able to hear him in action. They boasted singers, congas, violin, piano, and bass guitar.

I returned home feeling good and poured a glass of wine but sleep came before I had finished it!

I awoke at 7am and took breakfast so that I would be all ready for the Skype call with mum. We spoke for 32 minutes and although she was delighted to see me (understandable eh?) I did not have visual of her. Moments after I closed the call she was back again (by mistake) but this time with visuals so that was good.

I spent the day at the beach and came home for a relaxing night in. This week would be an intensive one.

Wednesday started with the 0830 school mass. This was the last which musically I’ll share with colleagues. So I set about planning the music for the next 3 masses unaided. I then delivered my choices and the resources to the music teacher so that she could be ‘on board’.

I also attended a planning meeting regarding All Souls. There is the tradition here of reading a litany made up of the names of all the deceased parishioners from the last year at one Mass over the weekend. There were 120 names and more are coming in! Again new ideas came from fruitful sharing.

In the middle of our meeting the Pastor entered and declared that I could have his bed. Some explanation may be necessary here, I think. In the year 2000 I had been invited to play for the National Mass in Birmingham with all the bishops etc. Fr Peter Jones was directing the music and he got me to play piano for it. I stayed the previous night in a bed he’d only just had delivered. I did not expect Peter to announce to thousands of catholics assembled in the National Exhibition Centre that I had slept in his bed last night … without offering some sort of explanation! The Pastor in Tampa had been given a posh bed a while ago but finding it unsuitable for him he moved it to a room for visiting priests. When I arrived in Florida I used that room and that bed for a few nights. When the Pastor learned that I had enjoyed a good night’s sleep he offered it to me. I thought he had forgotten so sent him a reminder and so the decision was made to move it on Thursday. I’d thought of hiring some movers professionally but the deacon with an arm still bandaged would not hear this and together we shifted it during the heat of Thursday afternoon.

I had a bit of a rest in the afternoon before returning for choir practice later that Wednesday evening.

Thursday began with a visit to the local office supplies shop to place an order for coloured paper so that the Worship Aids I was producing might match the season’s colours. Lovely, eh? I then completed some outstanding tasks and shifted the aforementioned bed about which I’ll say little more than that it was an awkward piece! I then went shopping for bed linen etc and thought about fitting it but that would have to wait another night. I dropped into my local bar and there met a guy who worked from Chevron Oil and was now working in London and living in Camberley (although he made a right pig’s ear out of the pronunciation of that). He made the Cam like that of Cambridge. He was good enough to buy me a drink just before I left to watch a film of TV.

Friday morning found me at the beach again for a few hours before lunch and then the two All Saints Vigil Masses. It is now 7.30pm and I am expected to be back in church for the morning mass at 8.30am!

Dinner I think!

Sunday was what was becoming the norm – with 4 masses happening between 7.30 and 1230pm. The 0930 was really wonderful beginning with the children anticipating All Saints in a procession of Saints. Several children turned up dressed as bishops which was a bit worrying for the Pastor! His sermon was wonderful and focussed on memory. The Jews had always recalled their history and we needed to do the same. He asked me to briefly mention Fr Gerry Hughes SJ who had remarked that parents and grand-parents needed to create positive memories for children so that their default was positive rather than negative. Gerry Hughes is near death at the moment and facing cancer. He had just published another spiritual book.

The 9,30am Mass ended much later and the Pastor apologised but explained that every minute of overrun would amount to a minute reduced from time in purgatory!

The next mass was a rush to change over which was a demand on me and the choir but we got through it all OK.

I went home and had a meal at a Chinese restaurant but decided I would not go there again as I reacted to the food badly and went to bed early.

On Monday I had a day off and had arranged to meet up with the woman from whom I had bought a digital piano for home. I met her at her office which was close to my apartment and she supplied some crockery, a lamp and the power cord for the keyboard. Then I went to the beach to relax until the afternoon. I also sorted out some bills for internet, TV and mobile phone. These are so much more expensive in USA than UK and I later decided to make more of this by subscribing to Netflix.

Tuesday started early with preparing an arrangement of a song by Marty Haugen for the visit of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians. This was the first time they had ever been to St Lawrence so I was quite excited to have to design the Evening Prayer and Blessing of Musicians. By 10am I had to direct my attention to the celebration of All Souls on Sunday. Happily there was agreement with my proposals and new ideas were accepted. The rest of the day continued with further work on the Evening Prayer but also included a musicians rehearsal for a later Holy Hour of adoration by the school. After 12.5 hours I returned home for a well deserved rest and bed.

I was in work by 9am trying to learn the oodles of music unfamiliar to me which had been selected for a funeral at 1030. In the event I was something of a soloist. Perhaps they were unfamiliar to many? After the Mass a woman approached me in some distress seeking advice from a fellow female. I am happy that the first woman I approached said ‘yes’ and went to her aid.

Back at the office after the Mass I was delighted to receive a Skype call from my good friend Sarah. When you are this far away from friends and family it is great to see them (I can’t speak for how it is for them!)

I made some significant headway in planning the music for the Evening Prayer and Blessing of Musicians we are hosting on the behalf of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians. As well as simple psalms tones it will also feature Haugen’s ‘When in our music’ and my ‘Always in your presence’.

By 3.15pm I was back in the church preparing for the 4pm and  5.30pm Masses. Mgr Higgins presided at the second of these. He’s a beloved of the parish … well he founded it in 1958 and is Chaplain for the local American football team! He retired 7 years ago but still celebrates mass and the successes of the Buccaneers.

In the evening I dropped into Aldi for some supplies and a Chinese restaurant for some comfort food.

It was a day off today so I got up later and took my time over breakfast. Then I headed for the beach around the corner with my new beach chair and a good book. Planes were landing at the nearby airport every 2 minutes, it seemed, but the peaceful atmosphere was not disturbed too much strangely.

I came home for lunch and then headed out to Clearwater to check 2 digital pianos I’d had my eye on. In the end I opted for the second. It was a much older instrument (Roland HP2700) but was the flagship model for a long while. As I drove away I realised that the owner had not packed the power lead. She has since promised to drop it off for me.

So now I’m back to the office to pick up a spare lead I saw there a few days ago and hope that that will suffice as there’s a funeral in the morning and much of the requested music is completely new for me. My neighbours will probably think I’m weird with all this deathly music emanating from my apartment.

Having completed some extended working hours over the last days I took the morning off for a bit of R&R. As I left the apt heading for the pool my next door neighbour was putting out some bedroom furniture for collection later. I expressed an interest and then moved a dresser and what over here they call a bed stand (bedside table!). Do they imagine you can put a bed ON it?

I did some reading by the pool, returned for lunch and then headed to the office at 3pm. I managed to complete the tasks I allotted myself and headed home around 830pm. I’d managed to get ahead with plans for All Saints and All Souls which was just as well and next week I have to do some major planning for an Evening Prayer and Blessing of Musicians of the St Petersburg Chapter of the National Pastoral Musicians. They will be meeting at St Lawrence. I also learned today that the brainstorming meetings for the Advent Gathering have now reached completion so, unless someone devises a further meeting of some sort, this additional time can be put to useful forward planning. It will be good to get ahead of most urgent stuff.

A long but worthwhile day started at 0800 with set up for the weekly 0830 School Mass. The celebrant was brilliant and really engaged with the children as well as the memorial of Pope John Paul 2. After that I returned to the Office to complete the production of the Worship Aid (Order of Service) for this Sunday.

At 1100 I took a Skype call from fellow musician Paul Inwood. One of the things we mused on was the error of failing to buy things on credit. I had bought a car outright whereas had I done it by instalments I would have established a good credit history. I am penalised because I don’t like spending money I don’t have … I paid cash rather than use credit!

At 1230 we convened for the third occasion the group brainstorming about Advent. ‘Living the Unimaginable’ is our agreed theme and today I got to understand how it must have been for the participants of the 2nd Vatican Council … the cardinals closed the door and went into meetings the outcomes of which they cold never have imagined. we did the same and the outcome was very unimaginable. I can’t say more as we are keeping our musings under wraps until we will go public. Suffice it to say that if it comes to fruition it could be one of the most amazing advents and one in which the vision will last beyond the season.

After that I met up with the choir librarian and also some hefty men who would help me shift furniture and pianos etc. I had decided to make one of the four music rooms in the church into an equipment room, another into the music library, The bells room and upstairs rehearsal area would be looked at later. After 2 hours grafting there was a massive transformation to the spaces.

At 5pm I joined colleagues for Evening Prayer and then did some last minute prep for choir practice and sat down for a coffee. It was then that I recognised that I had forgotten lunch and relaxing for the first time today my tiredness hit me! A colleague playing the part of an angel brought be plate of food left over from an earlier Deanery lunch and this replenished me.

Choir practice was a good experience. We got through a lot of material and were able to get into some detailed work.

I returned to the office to send an email advising staff that I would not be in tomorrow until the afternoon and went home finding rest in Liverpool playing Real Madrid!

Dashed home from work to try to catch Chelsea thrashing the hell out of Molibor but must have got the times wrong and now have to amuse myself with playing catch up on the blog.

Yesterday was a day off so I did a bit of house tidying before going out to explore a nearby beach. It is located at Cypress Park just 11 minutes from my apartment. I could believe finding such a spot nestling between offices of the FBI and Homeland Security. Parking was free and apart from the noise from planes departing the nearby Tampa Intl it was indeed a peaceful spot.

I returned to the apartment pool for a dip as I was uncertain about the water at that beach. Then I nipped out for a bit of retail therapy … a beach chair, something to hold the iphone while driving, and some coffee cups which actually fit my coffee machine prize, awarded a few days ago.

I sat down to watch something on the box but started dozing off so decided to listen to my body and went to bed early.

As often happens, I overslept although I thought I had set the alarm clock! So I was in work at 0900 and able to sort a few things before a barrage of meetings and rehearsals. I left at 7.30pm tonight feeling good about the work done today.

I’ve started including American mis-spellings of perfect English words. This is a worrying trend for me … Am I losing my identity … or the plot?

I managed to get out of bed at 0615 and to make it for the first Mass at 0730. This is not my best time of day … it’s better for the birds but I am getting used to it. It took me only 10 mins to get in to the church and all was good. I cantored and played organ/piano for the 0730 then played while Mary sang the 0930. the choir were in for the 1100 and they got positive comments from may worshippers. One of the choir even stayed on to serve as cantor for the 1230.

The 1100 also featured a blessing of couples who had been married for 50 years or more. I did wonder about those who had lost a partner but still remained faithful in marriage … perhaps another year! The choir added a blessing song and I played them out to the wedding march and switched on the bells!

I was back at the apartment by 2pm and strolled own to the pool but it was not so relaxing since a group of young uns had decided to party there. I must be getting old!

I may pop out to the local bar for a jar or two later on. I did imagine that I might give the apartment a tidy and maybe even attach the mirror to a bedroom cabinet or the table top more permanently to its support  but maybe this is just idle whimsy … it’ll get done sometime soon!

Well I did pop out, had a couple of beers and a hamburger and chips and then returned to watch ‘Angels & Demons’ washed down with a fine Italian.

Good night!

I rose earlier than the sun today and began to construct this blog from facebook reports. Heather, a Sheffield neighbour had suggested that I do this and indeed it was very easy.

Only yesterday did I learn how to put photos onto facebook so this is all rather exciting for this Luddite. I’m hoping to be able to put this blog onto facebook too … that may be too much for one day!

So it’s now almost 0900 and I’m up to date and ready for breakfast!

It’s now almost 9pm and since I last posted I’ve spent an hour at the pool and then went into work. The first hour was spent setting up for the 5.30pm Mass. which would be transferred to the Celtic Hall in the school as there was a wedding at 6pm in the Church.

I had my first wedding at 1.30pm. There were several processions before the bride entered and it all went well. Then I had a meeting with the Cantor for the 4pm Mass after which we walked over to the Celtic Hall to check arrangements. Fortunately while we were there the cover musician arrived in the person of Jo the cathedral assistant director of music.

I returned to the church for a bit of practise and fortunately the couple were delayed in arrival. It was a lovely wedding Mass albeit with a small number of attendees. I loved the way they raised their hands emulating the gesture of the priest at the nuptial blessing. I also liked the way the priest waited patiently and smiling while the small number exchanged an extended sign of peace with each other.

After the wedding I returned home somewhat tired. the heat does exhaust me, I’ve discovered.

I’ll be in bed within the hour as I’ll be up around 6.15am!

My brother Pete sorted my mum with Skype on her computer so I am hoping to have a face-to-face with her soon.