Ripon Weekend - Day 3, Sunday

...although I'm posting this in Bridlington on Monday!

I managed to struggle out of bed and get down showered and dressed in time for breakfast at 7.30. Kevin looking remarkably healthy after last night. A good buffet breakfast, with a special mention for the sausages. Walked to Cathedral, rehearsed in Song School and in the curved modern choir stalls in the nave. Also practiced processional and recessional hymns. I'd forgotten how difficult it is to walk and sing at the same time, or perhaps it was easier last time I did it!

A full congregation, Holy Communion, bells but no smells, and a witty and interesting sermon from the Dean. The Byrd went well, especially the Agnus Dei followed by the Durufle during Communion.

Afterwards we were invited up to the Library for a glass of wine and nibbles and to admire the Treasures. Lots of wonderful silver Flagons, Chalices and Plates of all periods: medieval, Restoration, Georgian, and over-the-top Victorian from parishes in the Leeds and Ripon Diocese, as well as the Ripon Jewel, and a 2000BC gold ring.

Rang Mum after the service. She sounded well.

Lunch in Flo's Italian restaurant near the Cathedral. Pasta with chicken and chorizo, a glass of beer (Leffe Blonde - mistake!) and a glass of red. I think most of the choir were there, except the ones who were staying out of town.

Moved the car to Sainsbury's car park, which I was told was free. It wasn't, so I had to pay £1 for 2 hour's parking. Took the refund section of the ticket into the store and chose 2 bottles of Cape Red and a packet of plasters. The checkout girl said "We don't do those" so I left the shopping.

Another rehearsal at 4, then 5.30 Evensong in the Chancel. Smith Preces and Responses again, Stainer Mag and Nunc in Bb, and Balfour Gardner's Evening Hymn, to which the Dean referred in his sermon, quoting the lines "Banish the dreams that terrify,/And night's fantastic company".

Team photo with George (when he'd finished regaling us with Saint-Saens and come down from the organ loft), then the drive to Brid, listening to the Prom, which turned out to be Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, which I guessed towards the end. Several places on the way had poor R3 reception, but I heard most of it.

Patchy fog meant the return journey took a bit longer and it was dark when I got to Gill's at 10 to 9.

Welcomed by David and Gill with hugs and a glass of wine, and by Rebel with much leaping and fawning.

Drinks in the Bull and Sun, taxi back. Phil and Mark joined us for supper, more chicken, with roast potatoes and beans from the allotment. David and I went straight to bed and slept soundly. The others apparently stayed up till about 3, but we didn't notice.

For the record, this is the music performed by The Sheffield Chorale at Ripon Cathedral on 3rd and 4th September 2011:
Saturday 3rd - Choral Evensong:  Psalm 18 (Turle); Magnificat (Wolstenholme); Nunc Dimittis (Stainer); Preces and Responses (William Smith, 1603-1645); O Thou the Central Orb (Charles Wood)
Sunday 4th - Choral Eucharist: Hymns: 449 (Soldiers of Christ, arise); 66 (Forgive our sins as we forgive); 495 (God is working His purpose out); 500 (Thy kingdom come! On bended knee); Psalm 119 vv33-40; Mass for 4 voices (Wm Byrd) (Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei); Ubi Caritas (Durufle)
             - Choral Evensong: Hymns: 18 (Ye servants of the Lord); 376 (I heard the voice of Jesus say); Psalm 108; Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in Bb (Stanford); Preces and Responses (William Smith); Evening Hymn (H Balfour Gardiner).

Ripon Weekend - Day 2, Saturday

Up betimes for drive to Ripon. After getting David ready, had tea, bread and Marmite, and set off at about 10 past 8. Phil wasn't back when I left, so he and Angela are obviously getting on well!

It's a beautiful drive from Bridlington to Ripon, through Sledmere, Fridaythorpe, then the sudden view of the Plain of York from the top of Garrowby Hill, and down into Stamford Bridge. After the dry run a few weeks ago I'd persuaded Kathleen, the Irish lady in my Tom-Tom who takes me home again, to avoid the A1M, so went parallel to the motorway for a bit before crossing the main road and entering the City of Ripon.

Arrived at Ripon Spa Hotel

at 9.50 to be told my room not ready until 2, and they'd stopped serving breakfast. Mike and wife Rose already here - they arrived last night. We must be in place at 2.45 for the rehearsal at 3, so the schedule is a bit tight.

Ripon Weekend - Day 1, Friday

(I'm actually writing this on Saturday.)

Uneventful journey to Bridlington. Disappointing meal at the Robin Hood, Middleton-on-the-Wolds. Got there at 1/4 to 2 to be greeted with "..but we've got no pie left." Not very nice lasagne instead. David couldn't finish his: I wish I hadn't started mine. Beer was good though. Jennings' Bitter.

Met Angela, who is prettier than I'd imagined her. Night in with chicken cooked by Gill, and wine.

How to make links without increasing the google rating of somebody you don't want to give more credibility to.

Copied here from Making Light, because I didn't know where else to put it.


"Here's the zero-Googlejuice trick. Pretend the pointy brackets are carets.
Standard link: {a href="URL"}link text{/a}
Link with rollover text: {a href="URL" title="title text"}link text{/a}
Zero-Googlejuice link: {a href="URL" rel="nofollow"}link text{/a}
Zero-Googlejuice link with rollover text: {a href="URL" title="title text" rel="nofollow"}link text{/a}
We have our comment thread set up in such a way that any link posted within a comment automatically has rel="nofollow" inserted. It discourages spammers."

The evil gin does

Hendrick's gin is truly evil. Anything that can be improved by the addition of cucumber has got a long way to go before it reaches positive numbers.

I seem to have trapped myself into writing a quest. So who has my MC got to fight? Better sleep on it.

More thoughts on the rioting

I've been looking at the political stuff on my speed-dial. Except for the Morning Star, which was mysteriously unavailable, there was the same depressing confusion and antagonism towards the rioters. By all means criticise the riot, but, fellow lefties, remember these are the proletariat, the dispossessed, the damnés de la terre!

Incredibly, this article in, of all things, the Daily Telegraph, has summed things up correctly.

And fellow Christians, WTFWJD? In 1923, when Anglo-Catholicism was probably at its strongest in the UK, Bishop Frank Weston famously exhorted:

"You have got your Mass, you have got your Altar, you have begun to get your Tabernacle. Now go out into the highways and hedges where not even the Bishops will try to hinder you. Go out and look for Jesus in the ragged, in the naked, in the oppressed and sweated, in those who have lost hope, in those who are struggling to make good. Look for Jesus. And when you see him, gird yourselves with his towel and try to wash their feet."

And, equally famously, quite a few A-C clergy went away saying to themselves, "No thanks, we'll just keep the Masses and the tabernacles."

 

I haven't seen any TV images of ++Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury visiting Tottenham, Clapham or Edmonton, or any other of our Church leaders out on the streets looking for Jesus. Quoting +Weston again, "You cannot claim to worship Jesus in the Tabernacle if you do not pity Jesus in the slum."

Getting in touch with your inner fascist

The riots have certainly brought out the Daily Mail reader in so many people. Not only the politicians (did I hear The Macaroon say they were caused by a lack of indiscipline?) and the usual suspects. People who are usually on the left, or at least liberally inclined, have spouted right wing racist drivel. Some of it, I'm sad to say, from a member of my former Union. A knee-jerk reaction from someone who's perhaps not the sharpest button in the knife-jar, but still...

Meanwhile, this.

Among other predictable knee-jerk reactions from the predictable jerks are some disturbing suggestions from the PM. Interfering with social networking sites. "If you're old enough to commit the crime, you will be punished." So does he mean to lower the age of criminal responsibility to punish kids after they've been arrested?

How to behave in folksongs - an occasional series

...inspired by this thread and comments on Making Light.

If you are about to go fight yon French and Spaniard, and your girlfriend begs you not to leave her thus, consider the possibility that her thusness may be the result of one of your recent visit together to yon green garden, and time your return accordingly.

Paul Woods: 1st June 1948 - 17th July 2011

I'm saving this url here for future reference (by me). It's on fb and I want to make sure I've still got it.
I wasn't able to get to the event celebrating Paul's life as I was in Bridlington, but I sang Nelson's Blood at Myke's Memorial Birthday Bash in Rotherham on Wednesday. The MC then followed it with the Vampire/Zombie version - "And we'll all hang upside down"!

Baroness Thatcher's office is closed

According to Nobody likes a Tory, Baroness Thatcher's office in the House of Lords is closed. 


For me, however, the impending demise of The Most Hated Woman Ever is completely overshadowed by the headline at number 5 in NEWS MOST VIEWED*. (But I would adopt the Hitler cat.)

*NEWS MOST VIEWED is in a pane on the right if you follow the "closed" link. It is obviously a dynamic feed and has now changed, so my reference to the headline at number 5 is no longer relevant. And I have no idea about the Hitler cat.

Vaseline Uranium Teddy Bear

This appeared on ebay, via Making Light. I wish I could adopt it as my screen name! Insertable radioactive cuddly toys R us?

Test Card

This morning I remembered I had started a blog but hadn't posted on it for yonks. I'd been a bit wary of revisiting it to be honest. It was a bit like leaving something out in the open air. It could have got rained on, people could have scrawled graffiti all over it, anything could have happened. But no. There it was, totally untouched. Not a single comment.

I had to do something with it before August 1st or Google would close it down. So I did something. I closed it down and started this.