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This
page contains news and reviews of the events that have taken
place at
Norwich Citadel recently. Details of upcoming events can be found
on our Weekly Bulletins
and Special Events pages.
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Ladies Fellowship - July 2010
Many of us know songster Margaret Mann for the wonderful floral
displays we often see around the Hall as she has been a long-standing
member of the Flower Team. However there is much more to
Margaret, as those who are familiar with her will testify.
From an early age Margaret was encouraged by family members to practice
her needlework, and this she obviously enjoyed. In our July meeting,
she gave us a consummate talk on the art of quilting. [read
more / hide]
Margaret took us through the history. The word quilt is
derived from the Latin culcita, meaning a padded and tied
mattress.
Quilting originated for its utility, as the techniques produced a
thicker padded fabric either for warmth or for protection.
The first
evidence of quilting is found in Asia sometime before the first
century. A quilted linen carpet dating from that time was
found in a
Siberian cave tomb.
Margaret brought with her a number of things she
has made over the years and these were passed amoung the members to
handle and see the very different patterns and techniques which she had
used to make each item. Many types of quilting exist today.
The two
most widely used are hand-quilting and machine quilting.
Looking at
the beautiful stitching that Margaret had achieved on her
work it was
hard to believe this had been done by hand as it was so even and
neat.
It was aknowledged that this must have taken years of practice and
patience.
All those that attended the evening were grateful to Margaret
for sharing her hobby and obvious passion for her subject. We
all
agreed that we didn’t know there was so much to quilting and
the
history alone is well worth taking a look at. Mo Smale
thanked Margaret
on behalf of all gathered and presented her with a small token of our
gratitude. Jo Osbourne brought us an Epilogue and closing
prayer.
2nd August will be our Strawberry Tea, and we
look forward to welcoming our new Officers.
For further imformation and tickets at £3.50 please see Jan
Allen 01508 570011.
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(Jan
Allen June 2010)
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Norwich
Citadel Band - Annual
Wymondham Music Festival
As part of this year’s Wymondham Music Festival the corps
band at Norwich Citadel took part in a partnership Brass Band Concert
with the Wymondham Area Schools Brass Band.
Y.P.B.L./Deputy Bandmaster Andrew Gibson assists the school
band’s conductor, Andrew Murray in rehearsing and instructing
the band, and at Andrew’s invitation members have taken part
in Y.P. Corps “Music United” events at Norwich
Citadel. The invitation from the Wymondham Festival
organisers gave the opportunity for the joint concert, and a large
congregation attended on a warm July evening in historic Wymondham
Abbey.
Under the enthusiastic leadership of conductor Andrew Murray, Wymondham
Area Schools Brass Band contributed “Joy of Youth”,
“Hallelujah”, and “Pastime with
Henry” in the first half of the concert. Bandmaster
Richard Woodrow acted as compere in the second half of the concert, and
conducted the band in “Heralds of
Victory”, “The Call of the Righteous”,
and “The Shepherd’s Song”.
Bandsman David Winch was the tenor horn soloist in
“The Old Rustic Bridge”. The evening
concluded with both bands combining in “The Flag Still
Flies”, and “Walk Tall”.
(Bandsman
Brian Cushion 10/07/2010)
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Music
School in a Day - Saturday 3rd July 2010
On
one of the hottest days of the year, a second music school in a day was
held at Norwich citadel. More than 60 took part in Singing
and Brass workshops followed by a concert in the evening. In
addition to the home corps many other corps were represented and most
encouragingly, a high proportion had either never before attended the
Army or had not done so for some while. [read
more / hide]
The event was
aimed to offer a relaxed atmosphere of inclusion with some new music
and some old. A very helpful weaving of music and spiritual
teaching
took place during the day which was well received. Although
some who
had not played or sang for many years found the music challenging, all
seemed to enjoy the event greatly. Leaders for the day were
Christine
Lee (Goldthorpe), Ann Howlett-Foster (Cambridge), Hilary Winch (Norwich
Citadel), Dean Jones (Lower Earley), Matthew Peek and Richard Woodrow
(both Norwich Citadel).
The compere for the evening was Cathy
le Feuvre who added her excellent experience to the event.
The aim of
the day was to encourage those who have the least time to enjoy
fellowship together in the 20s to 50s age range, not an easy thing to
do as most have limited leisure time and another Saturday away from
home is always hard to find. However as a way of encouraging
those
particularly who do not have a spiritual home the format of the day
seemed most successful.
Nearly £200 was raised in a retiring
collection for a Kenyan School project when Martin Carr explained to
those gathered how a small amount of practical help to those in
greatest need can have a dramatically positive effect which was perhaps
a good summary of the day!
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(Bandsman
Bruce Johnson 04/07/2010)
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Music
of Two Cities - 28th
June
A special concert entitled “Music of Two Cities”
has taken place at Norwich Citadel. Organised by bandsman Matthew Peek
the event featured special guests – the male voices of
King’s College Choir Cambridge –
“Collegium Regale”, and the corps band. Despite
heavy commitments, which include singing the services at
King’s College, Cambridge the 8 choral scholars comprising
“Collegium Regale” were able to take part in a
Monday night event which was attended by a large congregation.
[read
more / hide]
Bandmaster Richard Woodrow acted as compere with leader Tom Recknall
introducing the choir’s contributions.
The
band commenced the concert with the exciting march,
“Salvation Song”,
and as prelude to Bandsman David Woodrow’s prayer, played the
reflective music of “Shekinah”.
“Collegium Regale” commenced
their programme with music from the 16th century
– “Verbum Caro Factum
Est”, and continued with an example of 20th
century choral writing in
Daniel Gawthorp’s “There is Sweet Music”.
The congregation
responded warmly to these fine presentations of daily chapel worship at
King’s College. The choir also presented different styles of
music with
lovely singing in Negro Spirituals – “Little
Lamb”, and “Steal Away”,
and from soloists, Tom Keen, “Blue Moon”, James
Neville “Lullabye”, and
Matthew Sandy, “Danny Boy”.
Contributions by the band included
tenor horn soloist David Winch, in fine form, in “You Love
Me” and as a
finale, “Servants of God” and “On
Parade”.
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(Bandsman
Brian Cushion 02/07/2010)
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Norwich Citadel 128th Corps Anniversary - 26th-27th
June
The 128th Corps Anniversary meetings at Norwich
Citadel were led by Captain’s Alistair and Lucy Mann -
Captain Alistair having left Norwich Citadel corps to commence officer
training at the I.T.C. some six years ago.
The Celebratory Week-end got off to a good start with a fun and
fellowship “Barbecue and Social Evening” taking
place on the Saturday evening. [read
more / hide]
Captain Alistair’s Sunday morning meeting theme -
“The Unopened Gift” – was based around
the parable of the talents. In
a busy Sunday morning meeting schedule Captain Alistair commissioned
his former Sunday School teacher, Alison Fiddy, as Cradle Roll
Sergeant. A further corps link was marked with the dedication of George
– baby son of Shaun and Julia Harvey – the Captain
having been best man
at Shaun and Julia’s wedding in May 2007. In
keeping with the meeting
theme the corps songsters reprised their meeting contribution
– “Take
My Life and Let it be” as a benediction. A number of comrades
knelt at
the mercy seat, and thanks were expressed for all the gifts,
consecrated by soldiers of the corps in the service of God and the
army, over the past 128 years.
Taking as her theme -“An
Overflowing Cup”- in the evening meeting, Captain Lucy Mann
reminded of
God’s promises to Abraham, and from Ephesians at Chapter 3 of
the
riches of His Glory together with an understanding of the breadth,
length, depth and height of God’s power. All corps music
sections made
appropriate and supportive contributions throughout the days meetings.
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(Bandsman
Brian Cushion 02/07/2010)
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Ray
Sutton Welcomed as Adherent
Ray Sutton grew up in the corps at Norwich Citadel, was a Y.P. Band
member, and a “decision Sunday promise” prompted
him to become an adherent member after a period away from regular
church attendance. [read
more / hide]
When attending “First Sunday” and Christmas and
Easter meetings, at the invitation of his sister Sheila, a member of
the corps Songster Brigade, Ray felt the warmth and friendliness of
corps members.
In personal testimony he indicated he had never
lost his love for the army and always maintained a Christian way of
life. Becoming an adherent member enabled him to fulfil his Sunday
School promise of many years earlier.
Ray thanked the congregation for fellowship and support when he was
welcomed as an adherent by Lt Colonel Brian Knightley.
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(Bandsman
Brian Cushion 19/06/2010)
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Ladies
Fellowship - June 2010
June’s Ladies Fellowship was not the place for those of a
vegetarian disposition. It was however a good place to be, to enjoy
fellowship, learn about the production and marketing of lamb and listen
to the witty repartee of Ian Middleton. [read
more / hide]
Ian is an old friend of the Ladies Fellowship, he was
brought up in the Salvation Army and his parents still soldier at the
Mile Cross Corps. Whilst cutting and jointing a whole carcass of lamb
Ian explained the various parts of the animal and the different and
changing fashions in the jointing of the meat. He told us that the cost
of rearing a lamb and bringing it to sell could far outweigh the
eventual sale price and that the price we paid in the super markets did
not always reflect the true value of the product. It has been
the aim
of the super stores to corner a market in certain areas. Once achieved
they can then charge a true or inflated price. This could only be
accomplished when other suppliers had ceased to trade. I.E.,
the
decline of the local and high street butcher. Of course there
are many
people who will not eat lamb due to its age and the cuteness of these
creatures as they amble around the countryside in springtime. The fact
is that if we all stopped eating lamb there would be little point in
rearing them nowadays.
The carcass brought by Ian had cost £99
and he was worried that those present wouldn’t want to pay
the high
price for the meat on offer. In the end it was all sold and
as one who
bought some of the cheaper cuts I can only say that it was tender and
absolutely full of flavour, beating my super market equivalent hands
down. Lt Col. Dorothy Knightly brought another informative
evening to
a conclusion with some words of scripture and a prayer. On
July 5th we
will welcome Margaret Mann who will bring us an evening of
quilting.
Tickets are now on sale at £3.50 for the biannual Ladies
Fellowship
Strawberry Tea. Tickets are obtainable from Jan Allen and everyone is
welcome to attend this event, which takes place on 2nd August
2010.
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(Jan
Allen June 2010)
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First
Sunday - The Big
Sing - Sunday 6th June
Guest compere was Canon Roger Royle from BBC Radio 2, where he
presented the popular Sunday Half Hour programme for 16 years until
2007, and is currently a regular Pause for Thought contributor on the
breakfast show. He has also presented “Good Morning
Sunday”, and “Songs of Praise” on BBC 1.
Major Rosemary Dawson
organised the event, and
following an opening prayer by Lt. Colonel Dorothy Knightley, welcomed
the large congregation, Canon Roger Royle, and all music participants. [read
more / hide]
The
congregation responded enthusiastically and warmly to the amusing
anecdotes which Canon Roger Royle introduced to his compering duties,
and his informed and pertinent comments aided appreciation of, and
participation in the evening’s music making.
Following
pre-meeting music by the corps band, which also accompanied
wholehearted congregation singing in “Guide me, O thou great
Jehovah”,
and “Crown Him with many crowns”, the first of the
3 choirs
participating in the event were introduced by Canon Roger Royle.
Norwich
Cathedral Choir, was conducted by Master of the Music – David
Lowe, and
it’s contributions were representative of daily Cathedral
worship. Most
typical was an evensong Magnificat setting from St. Luke’s
gospel. The
range of repertoire and expertise of the choir was evident from the
congregations response to the choirs presentation of “My
Beloved
Spake”, Sir Hubert Parry’s –
“My Soul There is a Country” and Faure’s
“Cantique De Jean Racine”.
The Broadland Youth Choir, conducted
by Carole Tims has established a fine reputation since it’s
formation
in 1992. Contributions ranged from “Irish Blessing”
and Mozart’s
“Jubilate” through “Down by the
Riverside”, and “Rhythm of Life”, to
“You Raise Me Up”, and “Be Still for the
Presence of the Lord”.
The
first contribution of the corps Songster Brigade, conducted by Songster
Leader Hilary Winch was the stirring and exciting setting of Psalm 95
–“Sing for Joy”. “Lord of
Heaven and Earth” was a reflective and
thoughtful contrast, and the songsters final contributions were
“The
Majesty and Glory of Your Name”, and a fitting conclusion to
a fine
evening of praise and worship to God – “High and
Lifted Up”.
In
his scripture message Canon Roger Royle spoke of the importance of
music and especially singing in worship – particularly in the
powerful
combination of Psalm and song.
C.S.M. Hazel Sommerville thanked
participants and all present who contributed the sum of £523
to aid the
Big C Appeal which helps support cancer sufferers in Norfolk and
Waveney.
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(Bandsman
Brian Cushion 07/06/2010)
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Ladies
Fellowship - May 2010
We are so blessed within our corps to have people with a wealth of
talent and skills who are willing to share. One such person
is
Angela Vokalek who has spent her life learning, teaching and judging
the art of floristry. Angela gave of her time, knowledge and talent to
the delight of all those who attended our May Fellowship evening. Many
Ladies made a special effort to attend this particular event and they
were not disappointed. Angela gave us a background to her
work as
she demonstrated a number of flower arrangements using different
flowers and containers with varying colours and themes. We were given
many useful tips and encouraged and inspired to be adventurous in the
future when we might have a go ourselves. Supplying all the
materials used Angela generously donated the arrangements and sales
made £50 toward this years Helping Hand Appeal. Those who
managed
to purchase one of the lovely floral arrangements were delighted with
their bargains. Meryl Turner gave a heartfelt vote of thanks and
presented Angela with a large box of Belgian chocolates. Jan Allen
presented some Alphabet poetry and read from the bible to bring the
evening to a close. Prayers were said for all our members who are far
from well and we especially remembered Margaret Myhill and Pamela
Russell. Our next meeting takes place on 14th June when we will welcome
back Ian Middleton with (The best of Lamb). Ian will be bringing us
some cuts of Lamb that we will be able to buy if we wish. On
5th
July we will see more of the talent within our church when Margaret
Mann joins us for an evening of Quilting.
(Jan
Allen May 2010)
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An
Evening with the Songsters - Sunday 9th May
Lt. Colonels Brian and Dorothy Knightley are in temporary charge of the
corps during the 3 month Sabbatical Leave of C.O’s Majors
Denis
and Olive Lomax. As part of corps section support during this time the
Songsters undertook leadership of last Sunday nights meeting.
A Sunday night meeting at Norwich Citadel was arranged by Songster
Leader Hilary Winch, and led by Captain Richard Welch. The Y.P. Band
accompanied congregational singing and contributed
“It’s a
Great Day” as well as sprightly marches at the start and
conclusion of the meeting.
The songsters presented “We Preach Christ”,
“Look at
the World”, and “I’ve Got Joy”,
and used dance
and vocal items to focus attention on a wooden cross during a moving
depiction of the Easter message.
The varied and interesting choice of music, and congregational songs
included enthusiastic participation in “These are the Days of
Elijah”, and following Captain Richard Welch’s
bible
thoughts the songsters final contribution was “Let Christ Be
Lifted Up”
(Bandsman
Brian Cushion 12/05/2010)
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Music
United - April 2010
The event was organised by YPSM Sophia Grimshaw, and her team, and a
follow up to a similar day held last year. Following the
success
of a similar event, held last year, friends of Y.P.Corps members, as
well as those responding to Y.P.S.M Sophia Grimshaw’s
invitation
to local schools, joined the Y.P. Band and Singing Company for a day at
the Army. [read
more / hide]
A total of approximately 50 instrumentalists and singers took part on
this occasion, and YPBL Andrew Gibson, YPSCL Lindsey Johnson, and SL
Hilary Winch were supported by Royal Marine conductor –
Steven
Green in music leadership for the day.
Steven is the son of Assistant YPSM Heather Green.
The fun day of activities and music making concluded with a celebration
concert, and those family members and supporters attending, responded
warmly and enthusiastically to all the items presented. These included
band items “Spirit of Youth”, “Swing When
You’re Winning”, and “Tomado de la
Mano”, and
“I Just Come to Praise the Lord”, “He
Reigns”,
and “Let Me Tell You” by the choral
group.
Bandsman Matthew Peek compered the proceedings and interviewed two of
the delegates, asking them what their highlights of the day were. Piano
accompanist was Cameron Johnson, and everyone took part in the chorus
“Our God is an awesome God”. A memorable day ended
with the
choral group singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”,
and the
band playing “Dance Like David”.
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(Bandsman
Brian Cushion 02/05/2010)
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Class
Brass - 10th
April
A well attended concert entitled “Class Brass”, and
featuring music student members of the corps band, raised the fine sum
of £362 which will support students travelling with the band
on tour to the USA and Canada in October. [read
more / hide]
Taking part were Alexander Gibson (Royal Northern
College of Music) – Cornet; Nicholas Giles (Royal Northern
College of
Music) – Euphonium; and Craig Baker (Royal Welsh College of
Music and
Drama) – Cornet. Piano accompanists were bandsman Percy
Sommerville,
and songster pianist Beverley Baker.
Amongst each of their three
contributions Alexander played “Song
and Dance” (Philip Sparke),
Nicholas played “Slavische Fantasie”
(Carl Hohne), and Craig played
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“Concerto for Cornet” (Philip Sparke). Bandsman David
Winch, tenor
horn, joined the soloists in a brass quartet –
“Rousseau”, and Samuel
Gibson and Cameron Johnson (trumpets) joined Alexander and Craig in
“A
Flourish of Fanfares”.
Bandsman Matthew Peek was compere for the
evening and interviewed each young bandsman concerning the challenges
and experiences of college life, and each took the opportunity to
witness to their ongoing Christian experience.
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(Bandsman
Brian Cushion 14/04/2010)
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Ladies
Fellowship - April 2010
Our April meeting started with a call to prayer for a number of our
members and those who find themselves in poor health. We were
particularly mindful of Gill Burton, and Ian Munday at this time.
[read
more / hide]
It was time to say our farewells to Major Olive and
Jan Allen thanked her for her support and fellowship over the past
three years. On behalf of the fellowship she was presented
with a gift
as a memento of her time with the Norwich Ladies Fellowship.
Jan did
not say what the gift was but hoped that Olive would find a place for
it in her new home or office and was sure that she could find a lovely
photograph of William to go into it.
Our speaker for the
evening was Mike Hardy and with a string of attributes ascribed to him
he was introduced to the Ladies. Mike was an archaeologist,
historian,
published writer, researcher and lecturer among other things.
With the
aid of slides he talked about the evolution of the historic house and
gardens that we see around Great Britain. Their influences
and origins
to present day. He has recently researched the history of a
house at
Thornham, owned by a Lord and Lady.
Major Olive brought another very interesting evening to a close as she
gave her final Epilogue to the assembled Ladies.
Next
month our meeting will be held on the 10th May and we have our own
Angela Vokalek. She will be giving us the benefit of her skills and
talent in the area of floristry. Please note our meeting for June
has
been moved to 14th of the month due to holidays.
Ian Middleton
(Butcher) will be bringing us the best of Lamb.
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(Jan
Allen April 2010)
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Easter
Weekend 2nd-4th
April
Easter weekend meetings at Norwich Citadel were led by General John
Larson (Rtd) and Commissioner Freda Larsson, supported by Sunderland
Monkwearmouth Band.
| In the Good Friday
morning meeting General Larsson brought a powerful
message around St Mark’s account of the Crucifixion, and
centred
on Jesus and His unconditional love for us all. Traditional and new
Easter songs were included in the meeting – the Y.P. Band and
Singing Company presented helpful contributions in “Here at
the
Cross” and “Via Delarosa” respectively.
The songsters
sang “At Calvary” standing beneath a stark Cross
and
amongst flowing red silk which extended |
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the tiered platform to
represent the events of Good Friday. Several members
of the congregation knelt in acts of re-dedication following General
Larsson’s mercy seat invitation. [read
more / hide] |
Following the morning meeting a mid-day march of witness and open-air
meeting took place in the busy city centre shopping area.
An Ecumenical service took place in Norwich Cathedral on Good Friday
evening when the address was given by General Larsson.
On the afternoon of Easter Saturday General Larsson gave the
opportunity to hear and dialogue with him about his book
“1929” and to obtain signed copies.
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A Music Festival entitled “An Easter Celebration”
took
place on the Saturday evening of Easter Week-end when Sunderland
Monkwearmouth Band was the visiting musical section. A near capacity
congregation enjoyed the two introductory items from the band
–
the march - “Light-bringer”, and “Prelude
to a New
Day”. Following Major Denis Lomax’s introductions
band
soloists |
were
Joseph Beattie, cornet – “Victorious”,
Paul Hutchins, tenor horn – “A Time for
Peace”, and Colin
Neil, trombone – “The Eternal Quest”.
Norwich
Citadel songsters presented two lilting and stirring items –
“We Preach Christ” and “High and Lifted
Up”.
In his compere role General John Larsson drew on his widely travelled
experiences as the army’s international leader to give
interesting insights into world wide army banding. These included bands
marching up steep hills at an altitude of 12,000 feet in Bolivia
without any apparent ill effect, the enthusiasm of
band’s
in India, and African band’s taking part in hour long marches
at
special congress parades. Following the band’s playing of
William
Broughton’s “Gowans and Larsson
Overture”, which
contains many familiar melodies from the musicals, the General
indicated that he was pleased to renew acquaintanceship with the
arrangement.
In a Bible reading and thought Commissioner Freda Larsson gave a
reminder of the need for Christ’s people to respond to His
demand
to carry out His work. The 3 day Easter story was then portrayed very
clearly in the band’s playing of the epic music of Major
Leslie
Condon’s “Easter Glory”.
Visitors, holidaying with family and friends, were among large
congregations that enjoyed an abundance of flowers, and floral displays
arranged by members of the flower team and displayed around the citadel
building on Easter Day.
Fine
congregational singing was a feature of all Easter week-end
meetings and on Sunday morning songs included “Christ The
Lord”, “Thine is the Glory”, and “Crown
Him with many
crowns”. The Singing Company presented
“Risen”, and Sunderland
Monkwearmouth band played the march “He Lives”.
The General enrolled
cousins Matthew Frost, and Daniel Frost as senior
soldiers, and following the Bible address 3 people knelt at the mercy
seat.
Following the
Sunday
Morning Meeting another march of witness and open-air meeting took
place in the busy city centre shopping area.
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The final meeting of the week-end commenced with a stirring account of
the Festival Fanfare “St Francis”, and other band
contributions included the trombone ensemble, “Glory
Be”,
selection, “Gift of Love”, and the vividly
contrasting
music of “Vitae Aeternum”.
The songsters presented “Covenant” and bandsman
Eric
Skipsey was the soprano cornet soloist in “Trumpet
Voluntary”. In his final Bible address of the week-end the
General urged the congregation to believe in Christ without having seen
Him as the Lord urged His disciple Thomas in the immediate aftermath of
His Resurrection. |
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(Bandsman
Brian Cushion 05/04/2010)
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First
Sunday - 7th March 2010 - Christ in the Passover
Guest speaker at the March
“First
Sunday” meeting at Norwich Citadel was Barry Barnett
– a
representative of “Jews for Jesus”, whose talk was
entitled
“Christ in the Passover”.
A table was prepared with symbols of the Passover and Barry explained
the significance and meaning of each item, giving the Jewish names.
Members of the congregation participated by lighting the candles,
tasting the bitter herbs (a reminder of the suffering of
God’s
people) and tasting the apples nuts and raisins (representing
God’s redemptive power). Other items included
unleavened
bread, a silver salver, and 4 cups, roasted egg and lamb
bones.
Barry then spoke of Jesus sharing the Passover meal with his disciples
and how John had declared that Jesus was the Lamb of God.
There are 150,000 Christian Jews world-wide out of a total of about 15
million Jews.
Barry came to faith through attending an Alpha course and now witnesses
through the “Jews for Jesus” organisation.
(Bandsman
Brian Cushion 13/03/2010)
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Ladies
Fellowship - March 2010
It was Debra Preston’s
third visit to our fellowship
and one that had been eagerly looked forward to. Debra had
worked her
way up to Executive Housekeeper of Europe’s largest hotel,
The
Grosvenor. She has a wonderful talent for relating the behind the scene
stories and this time it was the turn of the rich and famous and the
special events evenings that take place there. Whilst Debra
worked at
The Grosvenor she oversaw three Royal visits a week as the hotel was
used as a venue for charity events. She told us that Prince
Phillip
was the patron of eleven hundred charities. There was a huge
amount of
work that went into the security of each of these visits including
sniffer dogs and a private toilet facility along with rooms
that had
to be isolated from other hotel guests. [read
more / hide]
She told us of very difficult guests with sometimes bizarre
requirements. These ranged from the simple, (Elton John’s
seventy-four pink towels for a two-night stay), to the seventeen page
requirement list of Elizabeth Taylor. Miss Taylor was said to
have preferred to stay at The Dorchester and staff at the Grosvenor
said they were welcome to her, as she never wanted the same thing
twice. She once asked for her name to be embroidered on all her
pillowcases. These were done at much expense and were only used on the
one occasion. Over the years the hotel was used during the night as a
film set with crew and stars moving into the hotel with their own
catering and all the disruption caused by filmmaking but everything had
to be kept from the guests.
Debra has encountered a lot of famous people over the years, from
entertainers, film stars, crowned heads and politicians.
Along with her many amusing reminiscences, she told us of her personal
favourites, and the one or two who she really found
unpleasant. The one thing we all found surprising was her
statement that the richest and most famous people nearly always had
very grotty nightwear. Debra entertained us for over an hour and Ladies
found themselves laughing and enjoying all the intimate details of
people they had long watched on the TV and at the cinema. There was so
much to the evening that it is difficult to give a flavour in this
short commentary.
This was the last of the talks that Debra gives and we had enjoyed
every one of them. Gill Burton gave a vote of thanks for what
had been a fascinating evening, full of very funny and intriguing
anecdotes. She asked Debra if she had thought of writing a
book. She told us that a book will be published shortly but
had been written by a colleague. If you ever watched the TV
show Hotel Babylon and thought it was far-fetched think again.
Ladies Fellowship is an opportunity to hear and see the most
interesting and informative topics first hand. It is also an
opportunity to ask questions and find out things that you always wanted
to know and to share with others. In April we look forward to
Mike Hardy who will be bringing us Historic Houses of Great Britain.
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(Jan
Allen March 2010)
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Ladies
Fellowship - February 2010
Despite the cold and very wintry weather a good number of the
fellowship turned out for our first meeting of 2010. The subject for
the evening was Bulgarian Children’s Home and you might be
forgiven for thinking that this was going to be a slightly depressing
topic given some of the media coverage we have seen televised over the
years. However, far from it. We were presented with
a story of great Christian love and faith. An example of
putting into practice Jesus’ commission to his followers to
look after those less fortunate and take the Gospel message abroad
casting your bread upon the waters. [read
more / hide]
Mr Peter Barnes recalled how he was first asked to
visit a children’s home in Bulgaria some 19 years ago and of
the
appalling conditions he encountered. The progress
made has been
astonishing, and the improvement to the lives of the children
immeasurable. The work continues today under the name of
Krasif Aid.
KRASIF
AID was only founded in May 2008, and provides help and hope to the
people of Bulgaria and Eastern Europe. The need in Eastern Europe
remains great and is only slowly changing for the better. The most
vulnerable are still very much at risk and desperately poor. Many lack
adequate health and social care. They have well-established links
inside Bulgaria, and a number of significant people and projects. IN
CASE YOU WONDERED, Krasif is the Bulgarian word for Beautiful.
'How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of
those who bring good news.' Isaiah 52:7
Jan
Allen thanked Mr Barnes for bringing us up to date with his churches
work. Also for his Christian witness and work on behalf of
all
Christian people in spreading the word of God and representing the
Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Meryl Turners brought us a thoughtful
epilogue and prayer. Whilst having tea and coffee some ladies
expressed the wish to make a donation to this continued work.
A bowl
was placed alongside the biscuits, and £102 .10 was collected
and
presented to Mr Barnes.
Next month 1st March Tales from the Housemaids Cupboard with
Britain’s Top Mrs Mop. Not to be missed.
|
(Jan
Allen February 2010)
|
First
Sunday - February 2010 - Inspirations with Richard
Phillips
The February “First Sunday” meeting at Norwich
Citadel was entitled “Inspirations” and featured
Bandmaster Richard Phillips of Kettering. CSM Hazel
Sommerville welcomed the large congregation, and the bandmaster, and
his wife Lyn who supported the multi-media control team. In responding
to the warm welcome the bandmaster recalled previous visits to the
corps as piano accompanist to the International Staff Songsters and on
one notable occasion – accompanist to well known tenor and
radio programme “My Music” personality –
the late Ian Wallace. [read
more / hide]
In presenting music that reflected significant moments
in his life, an early reminiscence at Chatham corps which left a
lasting impression was the band marching back from the Sunday morning
open-air meeting playing the march “Flag of
Freedom”. The bandmaster
then played a stirring piano/band arrangement of the march.
Other
piano/band arrangements presented included “Put Your Hand in
the Hand”
– written for an army national music festival, and the first
movement
of Grieg’s First piano concerto.
In recognition of his
involvement with Gowans and Larson musicals the bandmaster presented
“Love Cannot Fail” from the musical
“Spirit” to an appealing band
accompaniment. Piano solos were included as well as piano/band
arrangements and in a reflective period the bandmaster indicated that
the words of the song “In His Time” became
important at a crisis time
in his life. The sensitive words and music of “Somebody
Prayed for Me”,
and “I’ll Follow Thee of Life the Giver”
concluded the “Inspirations”
evening.
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(Bandsman
Brian Cushion 13/02/2010)
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