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The workman in the photo is cleaning the risers in front of the names of Canadians who died in WW I. Everyone here at the Menin Gate is preparing for tomorrow’s Remembrance Day events. I’m feeling I also need a good wash today, after visiting the very detailed and realistic museum in Ypres which recounts all the horrors that happened in and around this once beautiful medieval town. So many lives ruined and lost all for a few feet of mud tossed back and forth between opposing armies. Such a waste of an entire generation. However, if there is one… Read More »Wash again and ever again this soiled world

Boats in Toronto came out of the water about a month ago, but here everyone is still sailing (yes, Bruce.) I had a wonderful ten days at St. Cecilia’s abbey, but those concerned about my conversion to Roman Catholicism can just relax. (If I were to attend a horse race would you worry that I’m going to become a jockey?) The life style of the nuns was fascinating to observe from outside the cloister, but I was never allowed inside the convent grounds, and I was denied the sacrament since I am not part of that particular country club. So… Read More »Isle of Wight: Sailors' delight

    How cool was it to hear “Gaudeamus omnes” sung by the nuns at mass on All Soul’s? That was the excerpt on the Norton anthology recording that I listened to as a teenager and first got me interested in chant. The Sisters do sing very well and the Abbey chapel has a very good acoustic. I had a bit of time to explore the Island again. I took in Carisbrooke Castle which provides lovely views over the green fields from the top of the stone walls. I also visited Quarr Abbey, the modern building and the old ruins… Read More »Gaudeamus Omnes

Not the best of sailors on the calmest sea, I thought I would die on the choppy waters of the Solent, particularly when the warning announcement instructed passengers to remain seated for the duration of the voyage due to rough weather. The 30 minute crossing seemed like an eternity. It took me a day or so to adjust to the quiet life of the convent. I still had the urge to explore the Island and hopped a bus up to Osborne House, the palace with beautiful grounds where  queen Victoria lived happily with her family, mourned Albert, and died in… Read More »Ticket to Ryde

I wandered past Westminster Abbey. A small group of onlookers had gathered around barriers blocking our entry to the Abbey. Apparently a state visit from the King of Qatar required that the Abbey be secured by dozens of London police. We stood around for about half an hour and the crowd grew into quite a large bunch of curious people. 7 mounted police with perfectly matching white motorcycles, helmets and fluorescent green vests pulled up and stopped in formation. The sun broke through the clouds and lo, the royal couple and their entourage swept out of the abbey, were escorted to… Read More »Standing room only

I arrived in London to find my local Russell Square hosting a multi-cultural art, music, dance and food festival. This feels so much more like Toronto than the medieval time warp I’ve been experiencing in tidy Cambridge. Here people of every age, shape and size are all peacefully hanging out enjoying art, music and food. In a way, sublime. My Sunday adventure included Matins at the Temple church who have excellent music, and I knew someone in the choir – Giles the Magnificent from Selwyn. Then I toured Shakespeare’s restored Globe theatre – absolutely worth the ten quid since you can’t… Read More »That's more like it

I will miss hearing the psalms sung every night by Cambridge college choirs. The objects in the photo are not wash pots. Those are metallophones – gongs in the gamelan orchestra that has just performed in King’s College Chapel. This is a pretty rare sight so I had to snap the photo. This group was not as accomplished as my niece’s after school gamelan club ( yes, Ursula.) The piece was a premiere of Missa Gongso for choir and gamelan. The real problem is that you should really enjoy gamelan under the stars on a humid sweet-smelling night in Ubud,… Read More »Moab is my wash pot

One reason Cambridge is so peaceful is that students are not allowed to park a car within 5 miles of campus. That’s why there are thousands of bicycles in town. Students must live within 3 miles of Great St. Mary’s in the centre of town, so this is definitely not a commuter campus. You have to live here, so it’s easier to commit to the rowing team, the choir, the amateur dramatic society and to support your friends in their extra-curricular activities. Students are not allowed to work, so no part-time jobs on weekends. You’ll need that time for studying.… Read More »There are rules

There’s a lot of anxiety around campus about Lord Browne’s report which is going to attack the two most sacred elements of higher education. Money for research is going to be slashed, and tuition fees will go up. This is a shame since Cambridge is on top of the world for research right now, and any kid from a disadvantaged family can certainly get here if they have the marks. This will inevitably change. People are already talking about a “brain drain” to North America, and students who will be left in insurmountable debt. It’s not looking good. (P.S. Lord Browne’s… Read More »Cambridge conversations

Ely’s medieval lantern I handed off my Selwyn Service Magnificat today. Maybe I should have been able to write more than 4 minutes of music in three weeks? But there’s so much to look at. I went to Ely yesterday to see Sarah admitted to the Foundation of Ely Cathedral as Director of the Ely Cathedral Girls’ Choir. Then the choir sang Evensong for the feast of Saint Etheldreda and we processed down that huge nave in twilight with incense, singing the Patronal hymn for Etheldreda. It was a very medieval moment. There was a “drinks” reception in the Lady… Read More »3 weeks, 4 minutes