Mind the gap!

With Easter being very late this year, there is a large liturgical gap this month following Candlemas on 2 February; Ash Wednesday actually falls in March. Even so, we fill it with two services of Choral Evensong. In addition, on Saturday 15 February, the girl choristers are singing Choral Evensong in Portsmouth Cathedral, and the next day, they and the boys are going through their paces at the Abbey’s inaugural wedding fair, Experience your Romsey Wedding.

Looking back for a moment, as well as playing a full part in the major Christmas services, boys, girls and men made a valued contribution to the George’s Trust Christmas concert. The boys also took part in the Romsey Singers’ performance of Britten’s cantata St. Nicolas; several of them sang solos very confidently.

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Our Epiphany Supper raised over £500 towards the cost of this year’s tour, which this year will take us to Hereford Cathedral. Guests were treated to a beef, ginger and bay leaf casserole, and an array of mouth-watering desserts. The entertainment this year comprised a couple of short comedy sketches, piano duets by Tim Sledge and Simon Grant and accomplished solos from Oliver Corbett on violin and Nathaniel Taylor on baritone horn. We’re very grateful to them and also to all the ladies and gentlemen who worked so hard on the catering to make the evening such a success.

Finally, we would like to mark two milestones: firstly, Robert Fielding has now completed ten years as a very hard-working Organist and Master of the Choristers; secondly, Nicho Newman has now reached the end of his time as a treble and a long-serving, exemplary head chorister. We hope he continues on the back row in the choir under Robert’s expert direction.