Celebration Echoversary
Dear Readers of Mary’s blog,
It’s been a long time since the last posting – more than six months since we advertised our pre-Christmas CRISIS fundraiser.
But today, on the anniversary of the Echoes of Mary Celebration, it feels fitting for me to take to her airwaves once again. I’d like to share a few thoughts and memories and also to ask your advice.
At just the moment I’m writing this a year ago we were arriving at the West Norwood Crem to be greeted by so many friends and family, all brightly dressed as we had asked. We were deliberately a little early so there was opportunity to talk to lots of people before the ceremony. It was a seriously hot day, as those of you who were there will remember.
There was quite a bit of faffing around in the sunshine as we sorted final details of pall-bearers (you can’t have uneven heights), as well as making sure there were adequate seats for those that needed them – particularly the three heavily pregnant ones (whose lovely offspring, Griff, Raphaella, Theo, will learn what a fine occasion they attended). And making sure the live feed for friends across the globe was working properly.
Once Simon & Garfunkel had ushered us all in to Bridge Over Troubled Water the tributes from Valerie Grove, Sally Tonge, Jo Cameron and Bridget Greeves were fascinating, humorous, reminiscent and moving. The singing of Guide me O Thou Great Jehovah and Ar Hyd y Nos / All through the night sung in both languages was much enhanced by the thirty or so regular singers attending and Malcolm Aldridge’s stirring accompaniment on the chapel organ. The recording of my singing of Wolfram’s Lied from Tannhäuser accompanied by Richard Mapp – which Mary had heard and enjoyed the afternoon before she died – felt successful. The words of comfort from the Celebrant Joanna Adam were simple and strengthening. And we all came out to We’ll keep a welcome in the hillsides – which would have made Mary smile.
I think we could all feel her smiling during the aftermath – or aftersing – conducted by Steve Copeland, when much pink prosecco seemed mysteriously to vanish.
So, dear readers, this is Blog 591, and I’m looking for your thoughts and advice about how best to keep this remarkable resource available. I’m not particularly au fait with blogs and websites and at the moment if you google Mary it all gets a bit circular. Can anyone suggest a way in which this might be redesigned – possibly good use of keywords and references? – so that some of the Storyworks wisdom and wit can be picked up, passed on, freely used.
And now, getting towards the time we had said good bye to Mary, I’m going to post this blog and look forward to any thoughts and comments.
PS: Abiding love my dearest Mary.