In some corner of England

I'd forgotten my bracelet in Church, so I went back. The gown-wearing congregation was eating scones, butter and jam, and drinking tea (what else?). All the meanwhile leaping into song as if they couldn't help themselves: All creatures of our God and King. The hymn had been too short, we had more to sing, the only way forward was to sing it some more. Three or four times, small groups started singing a couple of verses, before they stopped again. And it kept resounding, as we balanced our cups of tea and saucers, spreading some jam on the scones.

We were making small talk with a group of women (I was ahead of myself advocating a bottom-up putsch towards using TRADITIONAL LANGUAGE again, please someone, let's say the old BCP again). A quaker friend was relating some grand deeds of the quaker bunch who won't remove their hats. At some point she hugged me and I had not even known her before. I made it back home, the rays of sun were sparse -we're in England-, I saw a dead mouse on the way. I wondered whether that hymn was going to leave my mind anytime soon as I noticed my stepping in tune with it. I decided that I wanted to go to the cathedral for evensong. Just for the the pleasure of kneeling in there and asking for God's grace.

Here's for the cheesy midi file: I'm sure there are some better versions on the web, but I like the midi file, (a) because it's more rapid than the other versions, and close to our way of singing it, (b) because an emotionless midi-file does not colonise your own voice: you pick up the melody and then the hymn is yours for singing, you get to provide your own emotions! and (c) because I love cheesy midi files hymns in any case.

Yours in scones, jam and Britishness!


picture: http://cakes-direct.co.uk/images/creamteas.jpg