We went to a rather glorious central London Church, known rather egocentrically as St Mary’s London, which is near Paddington
The exterior, even on a dark and bum-bitingly-bitter January evening was delightful
the inside even more so.
The reason for my attendance inside a functioning church was not some latter day seeing of the light – ironic had that been so as everything was candle lit – but for a string ensemble playing by candlelight an arrangement of Coldplay songs.
These candlelit concerts are becoming quite a thing. Swifties, fr’instance, had the chance to pay a homage to their heroine at Southwark cathedral, which I must own is a sumptuous place.
We, two old Coldplay fans sat back, coats and four layers deep in our seats and rocked gently to the music. Here’s a clip – I gave up filming the ensemble due to the woman in front doing the same – seemed pointless to film her camera – and held the phone down just to absorb the music. Hope it gives some idea.
My name is Geoff Le Pard. Once I was a lawyer; now I am a writer. I've published several books: a four book series following Harry Spittle as he grows from hapless student to hapless partner in a London law firm; four others in different genres; a book of poetry; four anthologies of short fiction; and a memoir of my mother. I have several more in the pipeline.
I have been blogging regularly since 2014, on topic as diverse as: poetry based on famous poems; memories from my life; my garden; my dog; a whole variety of short fiction; my attempts at baking and food; travel and the consequent disasters; theatre, film and book reviews; and the occasional thought piece. Mostly it is whatever takes my fancy.
I avoid politics, mostly, and religion, always. I don't mean to upset anyone but if I do, well, sorry and I suggest you go elsewhere.
These are my thoughts and no one else is to blame. If you want to nab anything I post, please acknowledge where it came from.
Yes, the sad truth is we have hundreds of churches with minuscule congregations. Finding other uses is crucial. The same with pubs (the other staple of village life) nose so many have shut.
Churches are good venues for music. Often they don’t cost much and the acoustics can be amazing. This looked and sounded great. It must have been a fabulous experience.
It was excellent. And my DIL has enjoy the Taylor Swift equivalent which she loved. Yes, churches do have grand acoustics. Goes with having the best tunes, I imagine
TanGental 
This was good music. I knew the church well – walked past it daily and photographed the outside, including Sarah Siddons often
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I worked in Welbeck Street and had to visit the area often, with clients dotted about Marylebone and Edgware Road
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Who knows? Our paths may have crossed
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What a terrifying thought! You probably ran past me as I lugged another box of documents somewhere
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🙂
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Absolutely lovely I miss living in London occasionally…. I really do . 💜
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I can believe it. I often enjoy a day or two away from crowded streets before I have to return to the sanctuary of urban anonymity
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Yes , home is home and always in the blood.
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Awesome
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Very lovely. I’m sure the atmosphere was perfect for this music.
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It worked perfectly. The candles were a treat
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String ensemble etiquette seems to have changed since we last attended!
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You stand, you make jokes, but essentially you play bloody good music exceedingly well…
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I was thinking more of the audience chatter!
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We’re you shocked? My sensibilities have clearly dulled over many years
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Genuinely! P’raps this is the real North/South divide? We’re fisticated and you’re higgerant.
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Natch
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Yes, bliss.
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Hi Geoff, the candles look fabulous. I suppose the churches need to make money and using their space for concerts is a way to do that.
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Yes, the sad truth is we have hundreds of churches with minuscule congregations. Finding other uses is crucial. The same with pubs (the other staple of village life) nose so many have shut.
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I know about the churches and to a lessor extent the pubs. The English life style has changed.
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Yep, it’s not a static thing; fr’instance Lord’s and Twickenham are now joys to visit rather than the giant urinals they were when i first went…
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Now that is something very special! Thanks for bringing us along!
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It was joyful if a trifle chilly!
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Guess all those candles didn’t provide enough heat!
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None really
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And they’re supposed to be worse than gas stoves!
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Lovely, Geoff. Thanks for sharing.
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Wow, although I have not been there, your video gives me goosebumps. Must have been so special to hear those songs in this atmosphere.
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It was. If you get to enjoy a candlelit concert of modern greats than you’ll love it (assuming you resist the urge to grab the mike, Erika!)
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LOL… who knows… haha.
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Churches are good venues for music. Often they don’t cost much and the acoustics can be amazing. This looked and sounded great. It must have been a fabulous experience.
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It was excellent. And my DIL has enjoy the Taylor Swift equivalent which she loved. Yes, churches do have grand acoustics. Goes with having the best tunes, I imagine
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Now that has something to do with Luther I think. Made me think of this poem: https://poetrydispatch.wordpress.com/2007/10/21/ae-stallings-triolet-on-a-line-apocryphally-attributed-to-martin-luther/
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excellent!
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How very lovely.
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It was a small joy!
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Quite lovely!
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Indeed so
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A cheery winter distraction for brave souls.
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Death of a salemans! Oh my
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V powerful performance
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