The organist’s blog

Funeral – Bromley
This one was at the church I regularly play for. This organ is a beast but I couldn't really let rip as the congregation was small.
Funeral – Hither Green
I belong to a site called Last Minute Musicians and this job was definitely last minute. Got a call from a Funeral Director yesterday asking me to do it. A small crematorium chapel with an electronic keyboard. It did the job.
Funeral – Bromley
Today I'm in the Good Shepherd Church in Bromley, playing for a funeral. I have a sneaky feeling I have been here before, but can't be sure. The good thing about this church is that the staircase to the organ gallery is a proper set of stairs, and not, as seems to be...
Funeral – Brockley
Today I'm in Brockley at a nice little church. The organ is small but sounds really nice. For some reason, no photo of the office. Clearly out of practice.
Funeral – Highgate Hill
Well, the dreaded lurgey seems to be diminishing so the organ jobs are coming in again. Today I'm at St. Joseph's in Highgate Hill. Unfortunately the priest didn't know how to open the organ so I ended up playing on an electronic keyboard. Did the job, but not quite...
Wedding – St. John’s Wood
A second visit to this church for another wedding. A really nice organ to play. The Bride came in to Promenade from Pictures at an Exhibition. This was a first for me, but it worked reasonably well. A little know fact - most brides take about 40 seconds (plus or...
Wedding – Dulwich
This was an interesting one! The wedding took place in the Old Library in Dulwich College, a really nice setting, and a lovely little organ. Bit exposed for my liking - I like to be hidden away, but today I had to behave myself as I was right out in the open! The...
Wedding – Isleworth
An interesting situation for the organist today. Perched on the balcony at the rear of the church with a sheet of half inch wood to stop me falling backwards over the edge and making an entirely different noise as I hit the floor. Tiny bit vertiginous!
Morning service
This morning I played at a 'high' Church of England who were unexpectedly down one organist. I am a heathen Presbyterian at heart, so a lot of this was new to me, and slightly scary. But I had a decent script to follow and it seemed go pretty well. Gloria, Agnus Dei,...
Wedding – Kingston
Not the best start to the day - had to drive to Kingston because the wretched SouthWestern train drivers were on strike. Ah well ... A small organ in a large church but it works reasonably well. Queen of Sheba to go out to. Good fun.