Suffolk churches 191: Carlton Colville, Gunton and Flixton ruins (July 2021)

admin Blog, News 11/09/202111/09/2021Places, Suffolk churches, Summer

St Peter’s, Carlton Colville
For once, I should have trusted my satnav – or at the very least reminded myself of the exact location of Carlton Colville in relation to Lowestoft before I set off. I thought I had plenty of time, but my decision to drive through Herringfleet into Lowestoft made the journey nearly half an hour longer than it should have been, in part due to a single-track-road delay caused by an astonishingly large herd of farm machinery. But thankfully there were no serious consequences: only a few people had stayed on after the service, wandering about the church in no rush for anything to happen, as far as I could see. Which was a relief, as I felt pretty rough this morning. My church appointments had to be kept, but it had occurred to me that I didn’t actually need to get home today. I didn’t fancy a long drive after my church visits were over, and I hadn’t yet managed a walk in Loddon, where I was staying – which seemed a grave omission – so that morning I’d arranged to stay an extra night to enjoy a leisurely Sunday afternoon.

The church interior was decidedly ordinary, not helped by the tape stuck to the floor; but the acoustic was good. I started playing to an almost empty church, and gradually it filled as those attending the 10.30am service arrived, some perhaps early on purpose to hear the music. I played three movements of the Bach G major suite instead of the whole thing, and the usual two Irish airs - an abridged version of the previous day’s programme, of which I was glad, as my performance stamina left something to be desired. It was a friendly, understated visit, which entirely suited my Sunday morning physical and mental capacity.

Suffolk churches 190: Herringfleet, Pakefield and Kirkley (July 2021)

admin Blog 28/08/202128/08/2021Coast, Landscape, Music, Places, Suffolk churches, Summer

St Margaret’s, Herringfleet
Herringfleet was the only church on the Broads that I had yet to visit, as it was under scaffolding and full of builders the last time I was in the area. I’d arranged with the vicar that it would be left open for me, so I walked confidently up to the door at noon, only to find it locked.

Suffolk churches 189: Lowestoft and Oulton (July 2021)

admin Blog 12/08/2021Landscape, Music, Places, Seasons, Suffolk churches, Summer

St Margaret’s, Lowestoft
I’d arranged a full weekend of church visits in and around Lowestoft, with the result that I was giving at least two concerts, if not more, in two days. I’d slightly lost track of which ones were concerts and which weren’t. I took pains to stress they would be very informal: I was out of solo performance practice and my stamina wasn’t up to a full recital. But I knew that if there were more than a handful of people attending, they would feel like concerts anyway.

Suffolk churches 188: Ipswich - St Peter’s by the Waterfront, St Helen’s, St Mary at the Elms and St Mary-le-Tower (July 2021)

admin Blog 06/08/202106/08/2021Music, Places, Suffolk churches, Summer

St Peter’s by the Waterfront, Ipswich
By some miracle, I managed to find a parking spot without too much difficulty. The fact it was limited to 3 hours made the afternoon’s logistics a bit more complicated, however: I would have to move my car before going on to my next church, St Helen’s. Walking over the bridge to St Peter’s, I suddenly felt daunted by the prospect of visiting four churches in a day, and wondered how my stamina would hold out. Not my cello-playing stamina so much as my bodily stamina: I was, as usual, feeling unwell in multiple ways, and it had been a while since I’d visited so many churches in a day. And this was Ipswich, not the countryside – with accompanying navigation, car-parking and cello-carrying difficulties.

I forgot my worries as soon as I entered the church – another big, empty, beautiful space, this one used as an Arts and Heritage Centre. Two men were sitting along one wall, one reading a book and the other reading a newspaper. I enquired of Andrew, the manager, if they knew I was going to play. He replied in the affirmative, explaining they were volunteers. They didn’t say hello or even look up. Feeling a little awkward, I got on with setting up and playing, my awkwardness vanishing quickly in that delightful acoustic. A few people came and went, admiring – as I did afterwards – the remarkable and rare Tournai marble font, the Ipswich Charter hangings (framed fabric depictions of Ipswich’s history), and the Saxon coffin on display at the back of the nave.

Final church concert in St Bartholomew’s, Orford, on Saturday 4th September, 4pm

admin News 03/08/202103/08/2021Music, Suffolk churches, Summer

Please come and celebrate with me!
Tickets for my final church concert in Orford on Saturday 4th September at 4pm are now on sale at:
ticketsource.co.uk/500suffolkchurches
until 10pm on 3rd September.

They can also be reserved from Jacki Maslin on 01394 450799 (but please use the online system if possible, to minimise her work! Thank you.)
Ticket prices are £10-£20.

The programme will be (only) the Schubert String Quintet in C major:
Florence Cooke and Rosie Lowdell (violins), Kurosh Davis (viola), Sheida and Yalda Davis (cellos)

The concert will last approximately 1 hour without an interval.
Bring a picnic or your choice of refreshments for after the concert (in the churchyard, weather permitting) - or there’s a pub next door!
The proceeds from this concert will be split between Orford Church and the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust.

Suffolk churches 187: Athelington, Tuddenham St Martin, Brightwell and St Mary at the Quay, Ipswich (June 2021)

admin Blog 30/07/202130/07/2021Places, Spring, Suffolk churches, Summer

St Peter’s, Athelington
Athelington was to be an unusual church visit: Mike, a sound artist and friend of Steve’s, was joining me to make a recording for BBC Radio Suffolk. My first, and no doubt only, radio broadcast church visit. It was the hottest day of the year so far – 27°C – and it was odd to think that just a month ago I was playing in Felixstowe church in a scarf and fingerless mittens.

We’d decided to make a video rather than just audio, and it was the video element I was more nervous about. If audio recording makes me feel self-conscious, video has this effect times a hundred. Still, I was glad finally to be meeting Mike, and knew it would be fun once I’d got over my apprehension.

I was looking forward to seeing inside Athelington – I’d tried several times to gain access – although I was worried it might be devoid of atmosphere, having read it was comprehensively restored by the Victorians. But it was tiny enough to satisfy even me, smelled just as old churches should, and boasted a handsome set of medieval bench ends; so I knew as soon as I entered that this visit would certainly be representative of my project as a whole, and that the acoustic would be conducive to happy recording.

Suffolk churches 177: Rickinghall Superior and Inferior (September 2020)

admin Blog 09/02/202110/02/2021Music, Suffolk churches, Summer

St Mary’s, Rickinghall Superior
Unusually, I’d had some extended trouble trying to gain entry to Rickinghall Superior: it was kept locked, with a keyholder address given on the door. But with no postcode and no phone number, I was relying on the road name, which was to be found neither on my OS Explorer map nor on Google Maps. I had no luck acquiring help on this matter until I was contacted by a CCT Local Community Officer hoping to arrange a few concerts, and I managed to get Rickinghall Superior on the list. In the wake of the season’s concert cancellations, I asked if it might be possible to go alone instead. To my delight and surprise, I was informed that the church was now open on weekends, so after arranging a visit on the same afternoon to its neighbour, Rickinghall Inferior, I drove northwards on another bright day feeling satisfied at the prospect of being able to tick off the two remaining churches in the area.

Suffolk churches 176: Poslingford, Wixoe and Stoke-by-Clare (September 2020)

admin Blog 21/01/202121/01/2021Music, Suffolk churches, Summer

The Suffolk Historic Churches Trust’s ‘Ride and Stride’ event on 12th September was going ahead, but my concert in Lowestoft remained cancelled, apparently due to having to leave the church locked for 72 hours before the Sunday service. I have since learnt that the fundraising total for the SHCT event far outstripped last year’s: perhaps more people than usual were desperate to get out on their bikes, and awareness of the increased financial pressure on village churches in 2020 was widespread.

Buoyed up by my concert in Trimley St Mary, I decided to make the most of open churches – as I did with Aspall in 2019 – making successful contact with several in the area around Clare where I had a few left to visit. Not expecting to fit in more than two or three before I had to get back home for the arrival of B&B guests, I set off on a sunny morning conducive to feelings of hopefulness. For the first time since March, I was managing a satisfying number of church visits. I thought it might be my last chance for a while: I was shortly going on holiday, and the virus restrictions were already starting to move upwards again.

St Mary’s, Poslingford
I received a warm welcome in Poslingford from one of the churchwardens who met me on the road as I tried to park in a tight space in my usual clumsy fashion. But there was no one manning the church and I was glad to have it to myself for a while. I didn’t expect this to last, but it wasn’t until I was packing up that another churchwarden arrived with a camera, followed by Don, with whom I’d been in contact, and Jean, his wife, clutching takeaway coffees from goodness knows where – Clare, most likely. They seemed to be settling for a little concert and so I duly took out my cello again and played them my favourite Irish air.

Suffolk churches 175: Trimley St Mary (September 2020)

admin Blog 12/01/202112/01/2021Concerts, Landscape, Music, Suffolk churches, Summer

St Mary’s, Trimley St Mary
My planned July concert at Trimley St Mary church – now the Two Sisters Arts Centre – was moved to September, with a limited live audience and a larger virtual one. I changed the programme and my co-conspirators: Rachel and Steve would join me on oboe and bassoon respectively. It needed to be easy to arrange and relatively pressure-free for all of us, and, most importantly, I wanted to be in the company of good friends. I needed to rediscover the joy of practising, rehearsing and performing even in the context of arm troubles and my accompanist’s, James’, absence.

Suffolk churches 174: Creeting St Peter and Palgrave (September 2020)

admin Blog 11/11/202011/11/2020Places, Reflections, Seasons, Suffolk churches, Summer

St Peter’s, Creeting St Peter
It was a beautiful afternoon when I drove to Creeting St Peter church, which had been left open for me. It took me a while to find it: for a church so near both Stowmarket and the A14, it was well hidden away.

I wasn’t sure what to expect of the acoustic: the church was crowded and dark. But I found a ray of sunshine at the front of the nave and set up there, and found the acoustic beautiful, as well as the wall paintings which I could see well enough in the dim light. It felt so precious to be there on my own, and once I was warmed up the pain in my left arm subsided. I had organised a concert in Trimley St Mary church near Felixstowe that week with friends, so practice was a necessity. I felt the obstacle to playing was as much psychological as it was physical – the diagnosis was cubital tunnel syndrome, a compressed nerve at the elbow – and that I needed to do this concert for my own sanity as much as anything. If the programme was lightweight, I hoped it wouldn’t do any damage.

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