“April brings the primrose sweet,
Scatters daisies at our feet.”
“April is the cruellest month” [T.S. Eliot, The Wasteland]
“Sweet April! many a thought
Is wedded unto thee, as hearts are wed;
Nor shall they fail, till, to its autumn brought,
Life’s golden fruit is shed.” [Longfellow, An April Day]
April is, apparently, Poetry Month and on 30th April in the USA people carry a poem in their pockets [well, that’s what it says on the web……]
We could be forgiven for not having much time for poetry this April with so much going on. The season of Easter has a poetry of its own, of course, in its wonderful liturgy and you can follow it through from Palm Sunday, through the Monday-Wednesday evening Communion and Meditation services, Maundy Thursday and the Foot-washing, the Good Friday Meditation and Liturgy and the final glory of the Resurrection on Easter Day. In between services you can come down to earth with a cleaning morning on Saturday 11th, or help with the flower cross – anyone is welcome to drop in between 10 and 12 to put a few flowers in, no skill required!
Then before the Easter flowers have had time to wilt we’re into The Spring Fair on Saturday 25th – our big fund-raising event when all the money raised goes to charities supported by the parish. Details can be found each side of the Diary pages – what you can do and what you can expect. All the fun of the Fair!
And don’t forget the Annual Parochial Church Meeting on 21st April – this is open to everyone [though you have to be on the Electoral Roll to vote] and is your opportunity to hear about the business of the parish and have your say.
The churchyard
I was cautiously hopeful last month that something might be happening with the lottery grant but not over-optimistic about the timescale. It seems I may have been too cautious because Camden are planning to appoint a project officer in the next couple of months and have begun some preliminary clearing. As with all redevelopment projects the initial stages may seem a bit alarming but it’s not as bad as it looks: 3 dead or dying trees were taken out and the bushes at the front of the church cut back [perhaps rather further than we expected but it does open up the view of the church] and several trees had their crowns lifted’ – a curious expression meaning cutting off some of the lower branches. A big difference has been made to the area in front of the bench which once famously overlooked London – the view can never be entirely restored but with the help of our volunteer gardeners it is becoming a nicer place to sit. Rumours that the work involves demolishing walls would appear to be wildly exaggerated – indeed it includes making sure walls don’t spontaneously demolish!
Name dropping
Apropos the above – part of the scheme is to have a recorded Tour of the Churchyard that can be downloaded to an ipod and Camden were hoping to get some famous voices but aren’t having much luck. Who do you know who might do this? I’m sure some of us must have some useful contacts – it’s not paid, I don’t suppose, but shouldn’t take long to do and I’m sure a bit of publicity would arise. Please let me know.
We feature several tributes to Diana Raymond, a much loved and long-standing member of the congregation, this month; Father Jim is back from Rio de Janeiro and writes about his experiences; Mother Sarah and the pilgrims are back from the Holy Land and no doubt will be offering us some insights next month; and there’s a review of the Sidwell Memorial concert; as reported last month St Stephen’s Church is back in action and we have an article from Michael Taylor about the restoration. And where do you stand on the Fairtrade v Traidcraft debate? Not sure? Read the article.
Lots to read and lots to do.