The wandering organist

The Advent Carol Service at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Southsea always marks the beginning of the countdown to Christmass. I wandered thence yesterday and, although not over-employed (three hymns, O Thou, the Central Orb and the Bach Wachet Auf ) had a nice time and grabbed this photo while the choir rehearsed. Wandering back home the snow was falling, snow on snow between Farlington and Arundel, but in Portsmouth and Worthing there was nary a flake.

Today I was back in Findon for Trinity Sunday (45 years a church organist today liturgically), which coincidentally was the visit of residents of Schney in Bavaria, who are twinned with Findon. It was also an all-age service. The Vicar had, since it was Trinity Sunday, put down St Patrick's Breastplate which is theologically wonderful but crap for congregations to sing. It wasn't helped by the Mayhew book omitting a few verses and the vicar omitting a couple more, so we had the first verse, Christ within me and the last verse with its utterly unhelpful organ accompaniment (pinched from AMR which, since it's Stanford (d.1924), is out of copyright). Sitting by the organ console there were two people who knew it, as did the vicar. I couldn't hear much coming from the rest of the church... The readings and sermon were in English and German. I just about caught one word in 10 of the latter. During communion I played the Walton Elegy  (from music written for Richard III ), ...