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Southwell, Easter 2010
We found it quite easy to get our bearings in Southwell, England’s smallest cathedral town: one cross roads, a hotel, an excellent baker’s shop and the Minster, which has watched over the town for 900 years. Oh, and “the best preserved Victorian workhouse in England”. Life seems to have got more comfortable in the last century though – forced labour giving way to Ferraris and tweed.
With luggage safely stowed in the hotel and some huge sandwiches from the bakers, we sat on the grass outside the Minster and gazed at the splendour of the ancient building. Groups of Harlequins gathered after their various journeys and a choir formed on the green. In glorious sunshine, with wedding bells ringing out and the sound of the organ in the air, it was idyllic.
Within minutes of finishing lunch, a ‘welcome tea’ was served to us in a beautiful garden near the Minster. Oh dear. Here begins the first lesson: if you eat a large lunch and then go straight onto tea and cake, it will be very difficult to sing.
We rehearsed in the Great Hall in a mixture of excitement and nerves before filing into the Minster for Evensong. Once we were singing, everything seemed to fall into place. We sailed through the introit, processed in without anyone tripping over and even remembered to bow in the right place. The Purcell Magnificat was tricky, and perhaps the kindest thing that can be said is that we all finished at the same time!
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