The first piece of furniture we ever bought when we were first married was this sofa. It cost an arm and a leg in those days but we were determined to have it because it matched a chair I had been given as a twenty first birthday present from my godmothers. It cost another arm and a leg to be re-upholstered a few months ago and so I ask myself - why is that not me sitting on it? I was pretty corpsed but elated yesterday after the Advent Carol Service. Kimberlyexcelled herself once again by drawing everything together - music and words - into something magical. The twist this year was that apart from the Bible readings, every word was written by members of the two congregations. The theme was 'the day my baby was born' - an emotive subject for many - and what with the seasonal frisson and the glorious music, there was an electricity in the church that defied the damp walls and the puddles on the floor to leave us all wrung to the withers. Mr Blethers, who was responsible for the music, had no voice and had to pretend to be Monteverdi on the organ and the tenor from Rothesay had just enough voice to see him through his verse of 'In the Bleak Midwinter', but as Mrs B points out in her far better account of the affair than this, it all maybe served to add to good tension.
So I needed that sofa, doggies.
PS - don't worry, I didn't sit on the floor or curl up in a dog bed, but chased the opportunists back to their rightful place - in front of the fire. It's a dog's life.
2 comments:
Oh, the game of Chinese whispers.
The original theme was 'the day I gave birth' -- to include other forms of generation, not least creation & incarnation.
But in any case, it was splendid. And your Joseph piece with G's reading helped turned the tide when the service was feeling fragile. Thank you (both) for doing it.
Ah so picky! You know I'm one for the gist rather than the detail. That's why we have you, dear.
Post a Comment