Keys (no reeds)

Friday, 24 January 2025

There is a lot wrong with the world

As I advance in years (and I am pretty advanced!) it strikes me that there is much wrong with the world; (even just the world of religion). Of course, I've always known this having been a chorister: it goes back to the days of the Psalmist.

I have not blogged for some time: I haven't seen the need.

I have stopped playing the organ for church services because church is not what it was when I started playing, over 50 years ago. Back then, services had a pattern and a flow. Congregations knew their role and priests got on with the job.

These days, vicars chat, they add their take on things (and not just in the sermon). They are verbose at times when it is not called for: they pad things out for no reason. I have found it increasingly difficult to get into a worshipful frame of mind because of the 'stop-start' manner in which services proceed.

Informality has killed worship for me. Stupidity and tinkering have done the same. When I was a boy, cathedral Evensong was Evensong. The last one I went to had introduced incense at one point. The smell and needless theatre was distracting. I was sad. Another feature of my youth had been ruined and messed about with.

Another reason I blog less is because the things I might moan about are being covered. I read a few blogs such as https://ancientbritonpetros.blogspot.com/ and both https://possil.wordpress.com/ and https://anglicanmainstream.org cover all the things which make me sick and fed up.

Sunday, 28 April 2024

London Surprise Minor

I've been ringing for over 50 years and I have even rung peals of surprise major, not that I ring many peals. I have a quite limited repertoire of surprise minor methods: most towers around me are lucky to get beyond plain bob (with a few exceptions). Thus, a quarter of London has been a target of mine for many years.

I achieved this target yesterday but had to drive 20 miles to do so. It was a branch quater peal day. Whilst it went very well, we had 2 false starts of a couple of leads each. It was not me who went wrong but, as the 'least experienced' surprise minor ringer, it was suggested that I might like to glance at 'the line': I didn't need to. Once the person who did go wrong had woken up the ringing was a lot better.

As it turned out, after we had rung up, I toyed with putting a knot in the rope so that it would be shorter but it was on the cusp of needing one. After false start 2 I did put a knot in and, by the end, I was glad I had.

It was rather embarrasing for the conductor at the end for him to be told by a clearly very experienced ringer that he had used a false calling for the 720. He had called W, H, W (twice repeated) from the 6th. However, on checking, this is in my Ringers' Diary (2004) so I do not understand the problem.

Sunday, 24 March 2024

Quakers

Today I did something for the first time. I went to a Quaker meeting [The Society of Friends].

I had walked past the Quaker meeting house earlier in the week and - as I knew I did not have a musical engagement this Sunday - I decided to give it a try. When I got home on Thursday I set about researching the Quakers online and found out what takes place at a meeting. I also looked into what they believe: it is quite embracing.

For me, some churches have become too noisy, too informal and totally lacking in reverence. What I like about the Quakers (so far) can be listed:

No Creed
No ritual
Meetings last exactly an hour
No sermon!
No priests - nobody is in charge (= everyone is equally in charge)
No chit-chat
No passing the peace
No distractions
Sustained focus on one thing
Peace (in the service)

There were only 5 of us present although there were chairs for 8. They have about 20 members. Like many churches they were hit by the pandemic and I think older people have never really got back into the habit of going out.

I can next go again in a fortnight. Let's see how it goes.

PS I just found this