Dr Song and the Massage of Joy

Well yes, I must confess, I did visit the local Chinese Massage Parlour today, or should I address it more fittingly as Mandarin Medical Centre, here in the Lavender Hill red traffic light district - (roadworks were snarling up Lavender Cross last week.) Apparently my continuing back pain needs Acupressure. It certainly helped, the pummeling I received from the lumbar-angel of mercy (well actually upper back, but I lack the knowledge of the correct term): I sang a few bottom B's after my visit to the treatment room in the tower of Dr Song.

It's been a tough but wonderful several days. The Bard School meet was joyous on Saturday: especially given the blessed 3 hours of reprieve 5 minutes before I was due to head out (late... or So I Thought) to St Mary of the Angels, Ladbroke Grove. A reciprocal blessing on your faulty alarm clock/mobile phone dear Indomitable one. Sarah Keith hooked up with bag carrying duty, and, guitar-on-back and apple-juice-to-hand we ventured to the Pilgrim Paths of Nothilgate. Equipped with provisions for lunch of a homemade-shopbought pizza and spinach + ricotta sheltered in pastry variety, the timing was SPLENDID and with Indomitable de Nordwall and Helen Munt of the Blessed Guitar Strings (BGS for short) we gathered in the Lower Hall of the Exchange of Wisdom. (Tango lessons were going on next door in the Upper Hall of Dance and Light, where the Bardfair stalls where gathered in October. Merrily did we feast and pray, talking of Marthe Robin, and 50 year slumber fasts.

(For those of you listening in laxlidden, a slumber fast in this context does not imply a half-century nap, but the exact opposite: 5 decades without sleep, and sustained by daily Eucharist and water. Oh yes, there was the weekly experience of the bitterness of Christ's Passion, including the usual marks of the body of the Lord.)

We were joined by the most wondrous nuns: brimming over with joy and holiness and music - truly, the Saints are the Doctors of Song: they had come to practise the beautification of the Mass of the Feastday of Christ the King. Their voices were bell like and childlike and joylike: clear with the light of the love of the Lamb.

Mass music also saw Peter Kingsley and I play our composition Beautiful Flower, (youtube harperharmer channel for a previous couple of performances) and Indomitable and I duetted. The Mass setting by one of the Sisters of Charity was so enjoyed, and not merely by mortals, to judge by the nuns joy-filled faces. A symbolic (but highly literal to the tune of £40,000 worth of gold) crown was processed around the church, as we raised our voices and struck the piano keys and Mankind was rededicated to Jesus Christ, King of the Universe as the Pope had asked us to in 1925. (Apparently).

....Which was a bit different to the goings on in the basement of Soho House, about 4 hours later, after we Bards had heated and feasted our Cider and Song in the Lower Hall once more after Mass. (About 15 of us  altogether gathered round tables and candles and guitars and verse and the piano and the Balalaika.) I rushed across town to meet the coatcheck girl Remi (also known as Remihemidemisemiquaver) and descend to the Baron Barran von Barran-Barran von Barran 40th Barran-Birthday Bash. (I usually call him Baz!)

Close personal A-listers hob-bopped with mere benefit claimants, while the papz flash-mobbed the Celebrity crowd. Due to my close contacts with the Sloe Solutions publicity machine, I managed to get hold of a few electronic picz which I will attach by way of example: Hello! thought the combo of my beard and Baz's 'No! but it's November?!' tan weren't great copy, so, gentle reader, the joy of  TEE-chnology means they should appear 'Ere here-lere! (That used to be the entrance exam to Sandhurst some do say... if you pronounce those three words in the appropriate manner it should sound like a Chelsea Father greeting a Counties gymkhana winner and announcing that the prize he is bestowing is merely a subscription to the above-mentioned Celeb Mag: Speak "Oh Hello! Friend", and enter the warrior caverns of Moria. )

Sorry... Distraction! Anyhow; yes I got a few shots which, if he's listening somewhere in cyberspace, are to be printed up and Baz Birthday presented. Juan and I spoke at range about Morley College where he's studying singing; Randle Macdondle nearly headed home to Macdondle Mansions at 2345 (very pleasing to type that number... note to self) but thought better and reported that eventually he reached the night shelter at gone 2am. Tired And Emotional. We convened Sunday pm for Tomato Juice and Halfling of Pride with Sarah Keith. One was debriefed of events after his departure.

Sunday was a long day. St Ann's by 0920: Father Dermot managed a 45 minute Mass, the choir gathering confidence as we progressed through the Hymn points, then into the Hall for a shnuffle of Kafee und Kuchen from Jose and Karen and chats with Katrine then a swift lift a la Norbiton from Carmen.

My doing too much-ometer was on a Sunday setting, so I leisured into the Anglican St Peter's in the town and chatted to Steve plus Carol (Vic other 'alf), Mary (Carol's mum) and Peter (the Vic). A sweeeeet little girl named Lydia gave me my first chocolate coin of the season. It was really nice.

Home to Clappers via an also swift train and an eventually arriving 345 bus (again- nice to type!) after a deelicious Moussaka an' stuff at the Sheesha Cafe in Norbers, plus hour long chat to mum. I do hope that new phone contract has already gone through!

10 minutes - the entire length of my eventually also arriving and much anticipated Nappers... well! I ask you; then up the Hill to Claphamshire and HTCC's Connect Service. Dominic (harperharmer lookalike) on Bass, Suzie McKinnes (mother of Skye with an e) leading, plus Barney and Suzie and Rosie and Piers and with lots of other folk milling and playing and singing (and really rocking) AND worshiping and patting the dog and eating donuts, or drinking Winter-Welcome Hot Chocolate, and praying and preaching and sound desk managing and ohp screen setting-up and ALSO "Altar" shifting - someone  said once that a la CofE it should be referred to as the Lord's Table. Can anyone confirm? Certainly it was very table like last night with it's eazy Band Coat Stand function. Says more than I should comment about, that. But then again there've been some funny things getting onto altars in the occasional Catholic church too...

Then, after Olivia Kilby's talk about The Nehemiah Project - will I do that fundraising L.M. I feel called to do? - home via Varan @Sainsbury's and then a couple of hours with Mike Cayton (licensed to Play) giving  Harmer's Harmonium an outing and the 12 string and the 3rd real 6-string and the new keyboard and working out the music for Twas the Month before Christmas, our concert with Joey Draycott (r'sal tonight at Kensington Square.) Michael, that's good news about what you told me - and I hope St Joseph and St Cecilia are praying hard for you... here's looking forward to Friday in Kingston!

And then, as I said, drinks with Sarah and Randy and bed.

Aviary and I met this morn in Esca, Clappers for toast and 'oney and one... well alright he gave her two sausages and I did see Ramona, the waitress muse.

David the Vic from HTCC has asked me to concoct a poem called the Clapham Common Christ, (almost completed last night) along the lines of  When Jesus Came to Chelsea which he'd heard online (hh channel again if you wanna listen...)

Rupert Brooke was right... love and fame feed the muse.