Some people breathe a sigh of relief when the holidays come. Everything seems to slow down once school’s out. No choir, no Sunday school, less traffic – have you noticed how Hampstead empties during the holidays? But for others it can be a bleak time when everyone else seems to go away, everyone else has a family to spend time with, everyone else has the money to go on holiday. We all lead very different lives but the one thing we have in common, the church, has enough members to embrace all lifestyles. If you feel like the only person who can’t afford to go on holiday look around – there’s bound to be someone else. If you think you’re the only person without a family or friends to visit look around – you get the idea. And the church is always here. Bible study continues through July, there’ll always be coffee time for meeting your friends – and if they’ve all gone away maybe that’s an opportunity to talk to someone new, a visitor perhaps, or just someone you’ve never thought of talking to before. There’s Antony and Cleopatra [se page 22] and a concert given by the Choir of the 21st Century on [page 23] And Churches Together in Hampstead are offering a picnic on the Heath on 18th – see Andrew’s notice below. So it’s very much business as usual at hpc. And we have our new deacon to get to know – Emma has written about herself and her family on page 7.
The Volunteers Fair on 27th June displayed all the different ways in which members of the congregation keep the church running. Cleaners, flower arrangers, gardeners, sidesmen, servers, readers, sewers [that doesn’t look right – ‘people who sew’], intercessors, coffee and food makers, workers with the children’s groups, stewards and probably others were all represented by their co-ordinators who were all looking for more volunteers. Perhaps over the summer you’d like to think about what you could help with – either as a summer stop-gap or permanently. A list of opportunities and the people to contact is at the back of this issue and if you can’t see what you’re looking for Katherine or one of the churchwardens will have the details.
And there’s lots to do around London if you’re bored even if it’s only sitting in Trafalgar Square watching the tourists [I admit to a particular affection for Trafalgar Square] or strolling round the National Gallery marvelling at how much of it is free. There’s the river, the South Bank, Greenwich – lots to see there and all free – the National Maritime Museum, the Queen’s House Gallery, the Painted Hall and Chapel in the Royal Naval College – these last two spectacular buildings I’d completely overlooked until last week – ‘Shame on you’ the attendant said, and then admitted she’d lived in Greenwich for 40 years before finding them. I didn’t excuse myself by pointing out that at least I lived a little bit further away. If you’ve never seen them they’re well worth a visit. And the carpark is finished in the same surface as the proposed paths in the ABG so they tell me, though possibly not the same colour. If I’d known before I went…….. perhaps it’s a good excuse to go again.
The work in the churchyard has reached a stage of alarming chaos – but I’m assured it will rise phoenix-like from the ashes of destruction. No interesting ancient remains have been uncovered. I’ve often dug up bits of pot and wondered, just slightly, if they might be something more exciting than an old flowerpot. Mesolithic man, bronze age settlers and medieval farmers in the area must have left their mark somewhere and we know the land was being farmed by the monks of Westminster from about 986. Surely they dropped the odd artefact? The churchyard, of course, has been used for burials since at least the 14th century but the Additional Burial Ground was a field until 1812. And it had a well so presumably a spring – a source of water, a gently sloping south-facing site, sounds ideal for a settlement to me. But we’ll never know. Meanwhile, work on the paths is to start soon and this will inevitably restrict access – bear with us. It will be better when it’s finished. Quite a lot of work has already been done in repairing walls in the old churchyard and some of the more notable or particularly badly damaged monuments. Have a wander one day and see how it’s going.
But if you’re still not convinced and are pining for a packed diary we can offer trailers of some events in September. For instance you could make a note that Apple Saturday will be on 4th September, the Friends of the Music Garden Party on 12th ; Harvest has been postponed to October 11th to allow for the new autumn placing of the Hampstead and Highgate Festival which starts on 24th. Details of the Festival have been around the church in brochures already though we do seem to run out quite quickly – they have a website www.hamandhighfest.co.uk and we’ll put more information in the September magazine.
But let’s not think too much about autumn yet – it is summer and, while we can, let’s enjoy it. Even George Meredith, not noted for his cheery outlook, serenaded ‘sweet July’ with its ‘violet lightnings’ and ‘shining blooms’ !
Summer
Judy East