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Yesterday I sat for 4 hours with
my wife in a lay-by just outside of Aylsham because my car
decided to pack up on me. After two AA roadside servicemen
could not find a fault we were eventually towed back to
Fakenham, arriving home at 8pm, absolutely shattered. We had
a lucky escape because the engine failed in the middle of
the road and we just glided to the side. If we had been on a
motorway I think you would be sending my family bereavement
cards.
What do you do for 4 hours
without any books in the middle of nowhere waiting for a
yellow van to arrive which never seems to come. The answer
was music. We moved from Classic FM, to Radio 3 and to Radio
2. My wife and I have a wide taste in music and we can both
be excited by a pop concert at Wembley Stadium as well as
visit to London’s Opera House.
On Saturday we were treated to
one of the most exciting concerts we have had in Fakenham
Parish Church by Fakenham Choral Society. With a choir of
90, an orchestra of 50, 4 trumpeters playing from the
Balcony, 4 international soloists and the use of a massive
Verdi bass drum, the 500 sell-out strong audience was
enthralled as we listened to ‘Verdi’s Requiem.’
From this we move to Friday to
the annual School’s Musical Evening when all the Schools in
Fakenham will come together for a concert which will range
from Jazz music to children’s songs. Dads, Mums, Grannies
and Granddads will pack the church for this annual event
which always has standing room only.
Music is certainly a gift from
God, and as the Angels sang at the birth of Jesus Christ so
Sunday by Sunday our choirs and congregations throughout the
world sings praises to God. Music often unites people of
different cultures and traditions and sitting through a
Civic Service last Sunday at St Anthony’s RC Church in
Fakenham we finished with a hymn by the great Methodist John
Wesley. I think that Wesley would have been delighted to see
Anglicans, Salvationists, Catholics and Methodists singing
the praises of God together
So all I can say that if you are
preparing for a long journey, and you may have to wait 4
hours to be rescued by the AA in a lay-by, then take some
CD’s with you, a good book and a flask of coffee.
Adrian Bell
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