WENT THE DAY WELL?- HELP FOR HEROES RECITAL: 29 JUNE

Two extraordinarily enterprising sixth formers at St Paul's School: Alex Bridle and Tom Jackson have set up a most dynamic fundraising programme for Help for Heroes using the line from John Maxwell Edmonds' (1875-1958) World War One poem of the same name as their inspiration.  For more details go to  http://wentthedaywell.co.uk/

Tom has a younger brother, Harry, who is a Chorister at St Paul's - in fact he is the Drapers' Chorister.  This family connection led to many hundreds attending a recital held in the cathedral that featured the choristers and Simon Johnson the cathedral organist.  There was a beautiful programme of music ranging from 7th Century plainsong, through Handel and including twentieth century works by Benjamin Britten and John Rutter (born 1945). 

But the highlight was undoubtedly the first performance of Ben Parry's setting of Edmonds' Went the Day Well.  It is a most interesting piece very beautifully constructed and certainly requiring careful listening a number of times to appreciate fully.  Ben had met Alex and Tom when he taught at St Paul's School.  For more details of this interesting and clearly inspirational composer, conductor, teacher and performer go to http://www.benparry.org/

Most fundraisers would think that setting up a recital evening with the Duchess of Gloucester as principal guest as well as a large number of City well-wishers, including the Lord Lieutenant of London - Sir David Brewer, would be resting on their well-earned laurels.  But they are driven by their cause and were shortly about to embark on a sponsored cycle ride from John o' Groats to Land's End. Totally impressive.

Incidentally in a brief meeting with the Duchess of Gloucester she recalled her recent visit to Drapers' Academy and was still clearly impressed with the changes the Principal, Matthew Slater, and his team were already achieving in the relatively short time the Academy has been open.

Do support Went the Day Well if you can.

ST PAUL'S SERVICE OF THANKSGIVING: 21 JUNE

A magnificent service, where some three thousand were present, was held at St Paul's on Tuesday morning the celebrate the 300th anniversary of the completion of Christopher Wren's cathedral building.

One of the leitmotifs of my Master's year has been a series of memorable services at St Paul's: the City Guilds Service, the Loriners' Company 750th anniversary service and the Sons of the Clergy celebration.  Each is magnificent and entirely appropriate in its own way.

Tuesday's service included as a theme contributions from every part of the diverse team that maintains St Paul's at the heart of City of London life.  So, in addition to the Dean and the canons there were prayers offered by members of the IT, Marketing, Finance and Works departments, people who work in the Cathedral Shop and the Cathedral School as well as the friends and volunteers whose support helps keep the cathedral going.

An imagined nineteenth century view of old St Paul's.  In the hundred or so years before the cathedral was finally destroyed it had decayed considerably.  The spire, that was the tallest in England, was accidentally burnt and entirely destroyed in 1561 and the general fabric of the building was quite dilapidated. 

We were reminded during the service of the vicissitudes that attended the hugely ambitious rebuilding of a cathedral after the somewhat dilapidated medieval one, described somewhat imaginatively by John Evelyn as 'One of the most ancient pieces of early piety in the Christian world', had been destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. Rebuilding took forty-five years.  Although it was an act of great civic faith there were the inevitable wrangles over typically recurring issues when it comes to big projects.  These covered the 'usual suspects' of project scope, the original plans were much reduced, and cash-flow management; at one point Wren had his salary withheld and it was only reinstated after much wrangling.

HM The Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and HRH Duchess of Gloucester were the principal members of the congregation that also included the Lord Mayor and other members of the civic City and representatives from many of the livery companies. 

After an hour and a half of a beautifully presented service it was out into a blustery June day but with a useful reminder of the great legacy of Christopher Wren and those who helped him create a magnificent religious space.

SONS OF THE CLERGY, 357th ANNUAL SERVICE, ST PAULS: 17 MAY



Not this year's service but it gives a passing impression of this most impressive splendid and impressive service 

 With the only exception being great national events, such as the recent Royal Wedding, without doubt the most impressive service in the Church of England's year is the Sons of the Clergy Service held at St Paul's in May each year.  The service is also certainly unique as it has been held annually without a break since the Sons of the Clergy were founded in 1655.  Its original purpose was to help Church of England clergy who were faring badly under the puritanism of the Commonwealth.  This year was thus the 357th service. 

Today the religious struggles of the mid-seventeenth century are long passed and Sons of the Clergy continues to be a major charity helping clergymen and their families for more details go to http://www.sonsoftheclergy.org.uk/

To return to the service at St Paul's.  As a major charity of the Church of England it was a splendid affair.  Massed choirs, massed bishops, marvellous hymns and the general ebb and flow of the service with the City and Livery present in full regalia created a great momentum that assailed both the senses immediately and the spirit in slightly slower time.

Afterwards there was a dinner at Merchant Taylors' Hall where I was fortunate to sit next to David Rossdale,  Bishop of Grimsby, who turned out to be great advocate of academies.  It was good to share experiences that, in many ways, despite the differences between rural Lincolnshire and East London were very similar.  Incidentally I did not find out at the time but he is a fellow blogger: www.davidrossdale.wordpress.com

UNITED GUILDS' SERVICE ST PAULS: 1 APRIL

The nave of St Pauls looking towards the altar.

Following on from the Mansion House Dinner of the previous night the livery companies came together for the 69th Service of the United Guilds of the City of London.

As always there was a great turnout and the cathedral was packed.  The Masters and Wardens in their multicoloured robes and regalia of office, the scarlet robes of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, the ecclesiastical vestments of the clergy and a large number of other uniformed officials complemented the rich decoration of the nave.  The wives of masters sat in rows between the pews and the altar in a splendid variety of hats.

There was a good turn out of Drapers.  So many in fact that the pew allocated to the Company could not hold all those who wanted to come and some members of the Company ended up in seats at the back of the cathedral.

The Very Reverend John Hall, Dean of Westminster, gave the sermon.  Part of it included a consideration of John Donne.  This was the second time in as many weeks, see an earlier post on my visit to Hertford College, Oxford, where this most interesting man had been remembered.  The final stage of his extraordinary life was spent as Dean of St Pauls.  He died in post on 1 April 1631 so the service was on the anniversary of his death 280 years ago.

We then went back to the Hall for lunch where we entertained Gavin Ralston, one of the lay canons, and Andrew Carwood, the cathedral's director of music. 

It was also good to see Dr Bill Frankland present.  He is our oldest liveryman having passed his ninety-ninth birthday last month.  He is still working as a doctor and has led the most eventful life including being a Japanese prisoner of war and treating Saddam Hussein, but he is professionally reticent on the latter subject.  He is a role model for anyone a few decades younger who may be suffering from a temporary lack of vitality. 

ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL SCHOOL CHORISTERS: 1 FEBRUARY

St Paul's choristers with their Director of Music.  One of the boys said during a question and answer session that he found the ruffs a little uncomfortable.

St Paul's Cathedral School is the school nearest to the Hall.  It is an independent co-educational school for children 4-13 and is situated in New Change close by the cathedral.  It is also the choir school for the cathedral and there are 34 choristers who board in a house near the school.  We have traditionally supported one of them.  For more details go to http://www.spcs.london.sch.uk/

On Tuesday there was a recital in the choir of the cathedral at six in the evening.  The atmosphere of St Pauls on a winter evening is a sublime amalgam of grandeur and peace; a great building anchored on its hill with only faintest hum of the City intruding.

The recital not only included some moving and delightful pieces of choral church music but also interviews with various choristers describing their life at the School.

This was followed by a reception in the Crypt around Nelson's tomb.  A post of 25 January noted that Nelson's funeral took place at St Paul's on January 9th, 1806.  I did not realise that in a curious piece of re-cycling, and I suppose desire for economy, he was interred beneath the black sarcophagus originally made for Cardinal Wolsey in the early 16th century.  The crypt is a very British place where memorials and tombs to British heroes, generally military,  are jumbled up with those of the lesser known.

Afterwards I was invited out to supper by the Master Girdler, Lord Strathalmond and his clerk, Ian Rees.  Ian is an old friend from my days in the Army.  They both looked after me very well..

A pitfall I managed to avoid was one that occurred to a most distinguished Master Draper a decade ago.  As he entered the Choir at St Pauls the Draper chorister, whom he had interviewed prior to entry a few months previously, gave him an enormous wink of welcome quite expecting one in return.

GARDEN OF REMEMBRANCE ST PAULS: 8 NOVEMBER

The City holds its Garden of Remembrance Service on the Monday before 11 November.  It is an open air event held on the north-eastern side of St Pauls. 

A wide cross section of the City attend led by the Lord Mayor.  This year he was travelling abroad and was represented by Lord Levene of Portsoken.

The current National President of the Royal British Legion is Lieutenant General Sir John Kiszely.  When were majors at Staff College thirty years ago we shared a house in a distant suburb of Camberley.  I can recall that he was worried about my getting out of shape prior to the Staff College summer holidays.  In good infantry officer style he took me through some tough 'beastings' to get me toned up.

But to return to the present.  The weather was quite ferocious which was not in any way relieved by the more experienced saying that it never rained at this service.  From the military historical viewpoint we were put through a reasonable replay of final stages of the Third Battle of Ypres - where Haig encountered the worst weather in Flanders for fifty years.

John Kiszely, in a pre-service talk in the St Paul's crypt, told us of the wonderful work that volunteers had done to make this year's poppy appeal a record breaking event.   In a single day a team of highty motivated and meticulously prepared individuals had raised over £250,000.  A great achievement.  For more information go to www.BritishLegion.org.uk

The crosses on the Field of Remembrance were planted by a wide range of City organisations including all 108 livery companies.  Throughout we were accompanied by the Royal British Legion whose flagbearers faced quite a challenge to keep their standards steady in the wind and rain.  The Band of the Scots Guards also did spendidly playing in such difficult circumstances.

A moving ceremony that allowed all of us to demonstrate our gratitude for the commitment of our Services past and present.