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DAILY SERVICES AT GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL
SUNDAY
7.40am Morning Prayer 8.00am Holy Communion 10.15am Sung Eucharist with Children’s Church 3.00pm Choral Evensong
MONDAY - SATURDAY
8.00am Holy Communion 8.30am Matins 12.30pm Holy Communion 5.30pm Choral Evensong (said Evening Prayer on Mondays)
(4.30pm on Saturdays)
See our website for details of services and any changes or closures.
A Gift Aid scheme operates at the Cathedral, which allows the Chapter to claim back 25p per £1 for donations. Many of you do so already, and we are grateful, but if you are a visitor who pays Income Tax in the UK, you could make your donation go further by doing this. There is a Donorpoint at the West end of the Cathedral where you can use your credit card to give a donation, and this can be gift-aided as well
Printed by Perpetua Press, 20 Culver Street, Newent, Glos. GL18 1DA Tel: 01531 820816
NEWS
NOVEMBER 2015
C Chad Frideswide Hugh Oswald
‘FOR ALL THE SAINTS…’
Agatha The Virgin and St. Anne Alban Patrick
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Gloucester Cathedral News
Mission Statement: ‘We aim to produce a Christian magazine which is widely accessible and which informs, involves and inspires its readers.’
Cathedral Chapter
Dean: The Very Reverend Stephen Lake
Canons: Lay Canons: Nikki Arthy Dr Andrew Braddock John Coates Paul Mason Jackie Searle Dame Janet Trotter Celia Thomson
Chief Operations Officer: Emily Shepherd
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Cathedral Office, 12 College Green, Gloucester GL1 2LX Telephone: 01452 528095 Email: [email protected] The Clergy may be contacted through the Cathedral Office at the above address and telephone number. Gloucester Cathedral News Subscriptions A year’s postal subscription for 10 copies of Gloucester Cathedral News may be obtained by cash or cheque for £12 made payable to ‘The Chapter of Gloucester Cathedral’ and sent to the Cathedral Of-fice at the above address.
www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk
Cover picture: ‘A Miscellany of Saints’ Taken from the Christopher Whall windows in the Lady Chapel, Gloucester Cathedral.
Photographs and cover design by Richard Cann.
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The Editorial Team consists of: Richard Cann, Sandie Conway, Pat Foster, Barrie Glover, Stephen Lake, Christopher and Maureen Smith.
Editor: Maureen Smith
The next Editorial meeting is on Wednesday 11th November 2015.
"We are happy to receive articles, handwritten or typed. We regret that, due to the limited space available, and to enable us to continue to produce a lively, varied and informative magazine, we can normally only accept articles of 400 words or less. Articles over 400 words will only be accepted at the Editor’s discretion.
The Editor reserves the right to alter articles as necessary, without losing the general sense.
Contributions can be emailed to: [email protected]
or you can leave them at the Cathedral Office at the address given at the front of this booklet.
You may also email Maureen Smith direct: [email protected]
Disclaimer: We try very hard to make sure details are correct before going to print, but things can change! Please check with the Cathedral Office and the notice board. Please note that articles do not represent the opinions of the Chapter, the Church of England or the editor - only the writer!
The Editor for December/January is Maureen Smith.
The deadline is the 5th November
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December looking ahead…...
Wed 3 * Spirit of Christmas - Concert in aid of Muscular Dystrophy.
Sat 5 11.00am Coffee Concert. 2.00pm Caring Chorus Informal Concert. 7.00pm Gloucester Choral Society Concert - Handel’s Messiah.
Wed 9 5.30pm Evensong - BBC Live Broadcast.
Thu 10 * Concert in Aid of ‘Meningitis Now’.
Sat12 11.00am Carols on the Hour sung by Choirs of the Cathedral 4.00pm & Christmas Market in the Cloisters. Listening Post Concert.
Thu 17 7.30pm Ecclesiastical Carol Concert.
Fri 18 * Police Carol Concert.
Sat 19 11.00am-4.00pm Carols on the Hour sung by Adult Choirs.
Sun 20 4.15pm Britten’s ‘Ceremony of Carols’ Sung by the Cathedral Choristers 6.00pm Messiaen’s ‘La Nativité du Seigneur’ - performed by Jonathan Hope
Wed 23 3.00pm Family Crib Service 6.00pm Christmas Carol Service
Thu 24 CHRISTMAS EVE 3.00pm Family Crib Service 6.00pm Christmas Carol Service 11.30pm Midnight Mass
Fri 25 CHRISTMAS DAY 10.15am Sung Eucharist
Sat 26 ST STEPHEN’S DAY (Boxing Day) 3.00pm Carols for All - Gloucester Choral Society.
.
* Times of these events will be published in the December/January edition.
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CONTENTS Page Remember, remember… John Paul Hoskins 4 All Saints and All Souls Richard Cann 6 The Origin of All Souls Day Maureen Smith 7 Iconography (attributes) of saints etc. Richard Cann 9 Lock Up Your Brooms or Loose Them! Maureen Smith 10 ‘The Father of English Hymnody’ Maureen Smith 11 Around the Community 12 Our Cathedral in Local Art John Melhuish 14 Three Choirs Festival: Gloucester 2016 Peter Cottingham 16 Comemorating the Centenary of WWI series: The Glos Rgt at Gallipoli Barrie Glover 18 A Soldier’s Cemetery John William Streets 20 Pin Making in Gloucester George Marchant 22 “Cider with Rosie?” No, I am a Gin and Tonic Man. Norman Habgood 24 Jottings from the West End Hump ’n Harry 25 Diary of special services and events 29
Please consider a voluntary donation of £1 to help cover the cost of this magazine
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Remember,
remember ...
N ovember is a month for remembering. It is the
time of year about which Paul Verlaine wrote: Les sanglots longs des violons de l’automne blessent mon coeur d’une
langueur monotone. Tout suffocant et blême, quand sonne l’heure, je me souviens des jours anciens et je pleure … (‘With long sobs the violin-throbs of autumn wound my heart with languorous and monotonous sound. Choking and pale, when I mind the tale the hours keep, my memory strays down other days and I weep …’)
No longer simply Keats’ ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’, the darkening days of November often find us in more melancholic mood, wistfully recalling things past and apprehensive about what lies ahead.
This mournful act of individual and collective remembering will be particularly appropriate on Remembrance Sunday and on Armistice Day itself three days later, when we will continue to remember and give thanks for all who have given their lives in the service of freedom and of peace.
Slightly earlier in the month, on 5th November, we ‘remember, remember … gunpowder, treason and plot’. The details of this conspiracy 400 years ago against James 1 are now largely forgotten, although Guy Fawkes himself lives on in the popular memory. Depending on your point of view, the Gunpowder Plot was either a bid for religious freedom or an act of attempted terrorism. Certainly it took place at a time of heightened social division, as well as anxiety about both the continued existence and the rightful powers of the state. Perhaps in our own time we should be doing more to ensure that it ‘never be forgot’.
For Christians, the beginning of the month of November sees our annual remembrance of All Saints and All Souls. On these days we
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November special services and events:
Fri 30 Oct – Mon 16 Nov PANCREATIC CANCER AWARENESS MONTH. The Cathedral tower will be lit purple to help raise awareness
Fri 6 5.30pm REQUIEM EUCHARIST: – Duruflé. Service to remember those who have died in the last year
Sat 7 9.30am FEIG BRUNCH AND BOUNCE. Free Entry - All are Welcome. 10.00am PUDSEY TEDDY BEAR PARACHUTING . The Golden Valley Kite Fliers. Bring along your teddy bears to parachute along a zip wire high in the Cathedral Nave and raise lots of money for Children in Need
Sun 8 3.00pm ROYAL BRITISH LEGION SERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE. Gloucestershire gathers to recall those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Sat 14 11.00am COFFEE CONCERT by Students from Birmingham Conservatoire. Tickets £6 available on the door (to include refreshments). All proceeds support
the Outreach work of the Cathedral Choir. 7.00pm GLOUCESTERSHIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CONCERT
With Young Musician 2015 winner Rebecca McNaught. Conductor Glyn Oxley. (See page 25).
Sun 15 3.00pm EVENSONG FOR ROAD PEACE. Join with us to remember victims of road accidents 5.00pm SWITCH ON OF THE CITY’S CHRISTMAS LIGHTS.
Wed 17 6.00pm JUNIOR VOICES PROJECT CONCERT. Voices of the Cathedral Choir, Cathedral Junior Choir and choirs from schools around Gloucester. Admission Free. Sat 21 GLOUCESTER CROSS CHRISTMAS MARKET 7.00pm GLOUCESTER CHORAL SOCIETY CONCERT. Orff, Bernstein & Brahms. (See page 25).
Thu 26 12.30pm ORGAN RECITAL by David Pope - Assistant Director of Music, York Minster
Sun 29 6.00pm ADVENT CAROL SERVICE BY CANDLELIGHT. A
dramatic and majestic service to mark the
beginning of the new Christian Year.
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Saturday 21st November 7.00pm – 8.30pm
GLOUCESTER CHORAL SOCIETY CONCERT
Orff, Bernstein & Brahms
Conductor: Adrian Partington
Tickets: £10 - £32.50
Visit www.gloucesterchoral.com for ticket details.
Presents an evening
with
THE STUART SINGERS Directed by Helen Sims
on
Saturday 14th November 2015
at 7.30pm To be held at Gloucester
St John’s Church, Northgate Street
Tickets £8.00
Including refreshments
Contact Mrs Marsh Tel: 01452 728283
All proceeds to
Quedgeley Methodist Church Refurbishment
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recall those in whom the grace of God has been at work before us, both those whose lives are an example to the whole Church and those whom we have known more directly and who have encouraged us more personally in our faith.
November ends with another act of remembering. The feast of Christ the King sums up the annual cycle of recalling Jesus’ incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension and sovereignty. It is a moment of ‘remembering forwards’, looking ahead to the full coming of the Kingdom of God.
Remembrance is at the heart of the Christian faith. Our faith takes history and time extremely seriously. The Bible tells the story of the relationship between God and his people: a story of sin and failure, but also a story of God’s constant love despite our failings. Throughout history, the people of God stumble and fall. But the God of eternity intervenes decisively in our history, breaking the power of our inhumanity by defeating the powers of sin and violence and death, through the love that conquers all.
Every time we gather for worship – and especially when we fulfil his command to ‘do this in remembrance of me’ – we remember the historic events of the life, death and triumph of Jesus Christ. Because our faith is so securely rooted in past events, we also (as it were) remember the future together as well.
The salvation that Jesus ushered in 2000 years ago has not yet fully arrived, but so certain is our hope that we dare to act – outrageously! – as though it were already here. We mourn and grieve at the signs of darkness and evil in our world. But we also walk by faith and by hope and by love, and we believe that the kingdom of God will prevail.
To put it another way: the past is history; the future is a mystery; today is a gift – which is why we call it the present. Remembering both our past and our future in God’s providence gives us confidence to trust in God today. The letter to the Hebrews puts this promise well: ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever’.
John Paul Hoskins.
Chaplain to the Bishop of Gloucester
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All Saints and All Souls
The church’s calendar is such that, if one wanted, a celebration could be held on almost every day of the year for a feast day or a saint’s day. There are two main periods of preparation – Lent for Easter and Advent for Christmas. Lent sees its climax for three days – Good Friday to Easter Day, and Christmas, in the main, two days, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
There are, however, a pair of days that one seems to ignore – November 1st and 2nd - All Saints and All Souls.
The origin of All Saints' Day cannot be traced with certainty, and it has been observed on various days in different places. The feast of All Saints, on its current date, is traced to the foundation by Pope Gregory III (731–741) of an oratory in St. Peter's for the relics "of the holy apostles and of all saints, martyrs and confessors, of all the just made perfect who are at rest throughout the world" with the date moved to 1st November.
The formal commemoration of the saints and martyrs (All Saints' Day) existed in the early Christian church since its legalization and, alongside that, developed a day for commemoration of all the dead - All Souls' Day. All Souls' Day is a day of prayer for the dead, particularly but not exclusively one's relatives. In Western Christianity the annual celebration is now held on 2nd November and is associated with All Saints' Day, (1st November) and its vigil, Halloween or All Hallows Eve (31st October). Richard Cann .
**********************************************
God creates out of nothing. Wonderful you say. Yes, to be sure, but he
does what is still more wonderful: he makes saints out of sinners.
Soren Kierkegaard.
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Josh Saunders, Alex Stefanyszyn and William Peart
Invite you to a
Concert of classical choral singing and instrumental work
on
Saturday 21st November 2015 from 11.00 am to 12 noon
in
Gloucester Cathedral's magnificent Chapter House.
Tickets £5 on door. Refreshments included.
All net proceeds for volunteer work in Borneo.
Josh Saunders was former Head chorister of Gloucester Cathedral and is now progressing his music career as a tenor.
Alex Stefanyszyn was a chorister of Gloucester Cathedral and holds a music scholarship with Kings School, specialising in the violin.
William Peart is the Organ Scholar at Gloucester Cathedral
Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd November
Reading Latin course:
THE ROMANS AND THEIR GODS
These colourful figures lighten up the literature of the Romans. A weekend course for students who have some Latin.
More details: www.lingua.co.uk/latin, [email protected] Tel: 01452 731113
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We are very excited about the Agincourt concert and will raise our banners. We have had our fill of mediaeval jelly, but Saint George and his dragon are still with us and we might use them as part of our decoration for the evening. They won’t be much use for Christmas. Saint George would make a very odd Father Christmas and no self-respecting dragon would want to be a reindeer! We welcome Emily Shepherd, our new Chief Operating Officer and look forward to her strategic planning. It should be a very interesting time for her and we wish her well. We are so very blessed to be here and bedsocks will increase our blessings. It Is a time for remembrance and we think of so many old friends with real affection. Up the Corbels, Vermin Operatives of the World unite. Christmas is coming and we can’t wait for the Advent Carol Service; we do love candles! Salutations all round, God for Harry, England and Saint George.
Humph ’n Harry.
Half-Term Family Fun at Gloucester Cathedral
27th, 28th & 29th October 2015 10.45am – 3.15pm
BROTHER SIMEON’S SEARCH
Help Brother Simeon the Scribe find his quill pen!
Collect your Free trail from a Welcomer at the entrance
THE BIG DRAW Collect a clipboard, paper and pencil and get drawing! Sketch a
sculpture or your favourite part of the Cathedral
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The origins of All Souls Day In the 900s, a French pilgrim returning from the Holy Land was shipwrecked on an island with a cave from which belched heat and gas, (possibly volcanic?). Whilst there, he met a Christian hermit who lived near this cave. The hermit explained that he sometimes heard demons in the cave complaining about all the souls that are released from purgatory through the prayers and sacrifices of the monks in Cluny, France. When the pilgrim returned to France, he visited the monastery of Cluny and recounted the hermit’s story to the Abbot, Odilo, who was deeply moved by it. He subsequently redoubled the monks’ efforts in assisting the souls in purgatory. Thus, he dedicated the day after All Saints Day (November 1st) to all the souls still in purgatory (November 2nd). The practice eventually spread throughout France and then to the universal Church so that November 2nd became All Souls Day.
Maureen Smith
Charity Christmas Cards The Cards for Good Causes Christmas card shop will be open again this year from 30th October to 16th December at St Michael’s tower at the Cross, Gloucester.
The shop opens daily, except for Sundays, from 10am to 4pm.
We stock cards from 25 national charities and some local charities, as well as a range of Christmas items
such as advent calendars and wrapping paper.
New volunteers are always very welcome and needed to cover either a morning or afternoon. Tea or coffee provided!
Interested in finding out more? Please contact Di Hodges on 01452 615036.
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Iconography (attributes) of
saints etc.
The Oxford English Dictionary has, as part of its entries for ‘attribute’ – ‘a conventional symbol added to identify the personage represented’ – and this, in church art (iconography) is the way in which a particular saint can be identified – painting, stained glass, sculpture etc. included.
Visitors to a building such as Gloucester Cathedral are faced with a wealth of such material – especially stained glass – which portrays saints as well as biblical and historical scenes.
In order to translate what one is looking at, a knowledge of the Bible – both Old and New Testaments – and the lives of the more well-known saints, is a distinct advantage.
Take the west window of the nave – subject is water and baptism – Old Testament scenes to do with water in the bottom row – Noah, Moses and Naaman. The next two rows illustrate scenes from the life of Christ and, in the top row, three baptisms from the records contained in the New Testament – Paul, Cornelius and the Jailer of Philippi.
There are a multiplicity of images of the Virgin Mary around the Cathedral. She is usually dressed in blue and may also have a lily – her ‘attributes’. Adam (pictured above) – usually with a spade – south ambulatory Kempe window.
Eve (pictured above) – a distaff and spinning bobbin – Lady Chapel – Whall, first window on your left as you enter.
Adam
Eve
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Jottings from the West End:
Greetings from us Corbels
Humph ’n Harry
Novemberitis! Mr. H. gets it every year and this year he has it badly and is whirling around waving lists in all directions. Humph departed to the allotment at once on the pretext of a bumper season for spiders and an imminent invasion of the shed with total destruction of all his gin flavoured crisps. November is a strange month, not quite Winter, but almost, and with Christmas only weeks away PLANNING is the order of the day. Fireworks, crackers, advanced party poppers, Christmas parties and FOOD are all causing Mr. H. deep thought. For Children in Need he is proposing to abseil from the tower and do a quick recce to see what is happening about the solar panels. We are promised an Arctic winter and a little extra warmth would be nice. The bedsocks, which were a feature of his election manifesto, have arrived - with a strict warning that Father Christmas will boycott any stray sock hung out on Christmas Eve! Otherwise, nobody will know whose sock belongs to whom. The procession of Christmas lights will soon be here. Last year, Mr. H. had a most unpleasant ride on a camel, whose teeth were worse than his! Humph will write the Christmas cards while Mr. H. goes to the Gloucester Cross Christmas Market, provided that he can remember where he put the cards. Mr. H. loves the Market and will hope to make some serious money with his juggling. There is always a nice glass or two of mead and the juggling helps the Breakfast Club. Humph is a nightmare for presents and this year he is giving himself a trip to Waterstone’s. The coffee is good, the chairs are comfortable and there are some wonderful new books on Agincourt. Mr. H. is providing him with an alarm so that he will remember to come home in time for Evensong!
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“Cider with Rosie?”
No, I am a Gin and Tonic Man.
It is possible some of you may have seen BBC’s new adaptation of Laurie Lee’s famous book ‘Cider with Rosie’.
Again, as in previous articles, the floodgates opened and brought back vivid memories of being a TV extra in the first ‘Cider with Rosie’ in 1970.
I had to report to a hall situated near to St Rose’s Convent, Stroud, for a costume call and was obliged to have a haircut because my hair was too long for the time period. We were then bussed to Slad for the evening’s filming. The male extras were told by the Director to really let ourselves go. The first World War was over and we knew we were not going to the Front.
Many years later, I corresponded with a lady teacher from Iowa who took English Literature. It turned out that her class were discussing the book, ‘Cider with Rosie’.
On a visit to England she came to stay with my mother and myself. Whilst here, she hired a car and, with me acting as a navigator, we ended up outside the Woolpack Inn.
On entering, my friend asked the barman where Mr Lee lived. The barman pointed out the house and Mr. Lee was in the garden. My friend then went and spoke to him. He told her he couldn’t speak to us then as his Agent was due, but asked us to return the following evening. This we did and we found Mr. Lee sitting in his chair. (No-one but Laurie could sit in his chair)!
We were with him a little over an hour. I shall always remember him saying that on a trip back from America, looking out of the aircraft window as it neared England. To quote him, ‘I saw a black ribbon of night approaching’.
As the title suggests, ‘No Cider with Rosie’, I’m a gin and tonic man!
Norman Habgood.
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The more obscure saints are very often portrayed very beautifully. Take the window at the intersection of the north and west walks of the cloisters – it faces you as you look from the door at the bottom of the nave. William Morris workshop 1923 – the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus in the middle, with Saint Agnes on the left holding a lamb (her attribute) and Saint Dorothy on the right. The legend states that, on her way to her execution, Saint Dorothy was asked by a scribe named Theophilus to bring him roses and apples from the ‘Paradise’ that she claimed she was going to. Along the route a child with a basket of three roses and three apples appeared and Dorothy asked the child to take them to Theophilus. Look closely at the contents of the ’bouquet’ Saint Dorothy is holding in that window! Saint Thomas – the doubter – Great East Window – a spear and the Girdle of the Virgin Mary! If you want to know the answer - ask me to explain!
Richard Cann.
*******************************************************
Saint Dorothy
Wednesday 28th October
1.00pm - 4.00pm
FELLOWS AUCTIONEERS VALUATION DAY
Free expert valuations of your unwanted Antiques, Jewellery and Watches in the Chapter House
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Lock up your Brooms
or Loose Them! That was the timely warning to Yorkshire householders at Guy Fawkes’ Night time in the mid 1800’s! A local man recalls: ‘In the days when there were no County police, if not wise enough to security lock up your yard broom, of a certainty it would be stolen; and if ever you did see it again, it would be in the
evening of the 5th November soaked with tar, in the hands of some fellow, rushing like a mad thing along the street with your property blazing in front of him. I have known scores of brooms which were stolen – aye, and stolen them myself – but I do not recollect an instance of the thief being prosecuted. No, if you did not secure your broom, it went, and that was very much the end of it. There was more fun running with a stolen broom than a bought one.’
Maureen Smith. Source: ‘The English Year’ by Steven Roud.
************************************************ And talking of Guy Fawkes Night -
did you know that….
The first recorded fireworks in England were at the wedding of King Henry VII in 1486?
They gained popularity during the reign of Henry VIII and by Elizabethan times (1558 - 1603) there was a fireworks master. Elizabeth 1 created this post so that someone would be in charge of organising firework displays for great occasions. James II even knighted his fireworks master after a particularly excellent display of fireworks at his coronation.
Source: Woodlands Primary School/Project Britain
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Today, the Folk Museum commemorates the past use of its building by an interesting gallery devoted to pin making. The display includes the illustrated history of hand pin making and a number of early machines.
George Marchant.
Sources: Folk Museum display; Article by Nigel Cox www.gsia.org.uk/reprints/2005/gi200504.pdf
Sunday 15th November at 5.00pm
SWITCH ON OF THE CITY’S
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
‘THE NUTCRACKER’
A service to celebrate the switch on of the Christmas lights in the city and the start of the
festive season.
Meet the city procession headed by Father Christmas, the Town Crier, civic leaders, samba bands and local children
carrying giant lanterns depicting characters from the famous ballet story The Nutcracker - ever popular at
Christmas: mice and a mouse king, gingerbread soldiers, dolls, snowflakes, a sugarplum fairy, the nutcracker and a
land of sweets and fairies!
Join us as we sing carols together and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.
Refreshments in the Cloisters.
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Pin Making in Gloucester
Brass pins were first made in Gloucester in the mid-1500s, but the trade was greatly expanded by John Tilsley (or Tilsby) in the 1620s. By 1632, he employed more than 80 ‘boys and wenches’ and this gave rise to the following verse:
The ladies, Heaven bless them all, As sure as I’ve a nose on, In former times had only thorns And skewers to stick their clothes on. No damsel then was worth a pin, Whate’er it might have cost her, Till gentle Johnny Tilsby Invented pins in Gloucester.
Pin making continued to grow and was the city’s main industry by 1735. Gloucester probably became the largest pin making centre in Britain by 1763. By 1800, there were nine pin factories in the city, employing 1,600 workers. One of these was founded by William Coucher in 1743, in the Westgate Street buildings that are now the Folk Museum. Pins and pinheads are still found under floors in the museum. Various partners later joined the firm, including John Tovey, an enormous man weighing 23 stone. Pins were made by hand in those days, using a labour-intensive process involving some 12-14 stages, each performed by different workers. The early stages included drawing out brass wire to finer gauges, which required considerable strength. Pointing the ends was a hazardous process involving rapidly spinning grindstones that generated an unhealthy dust. Pin heads were cut separately and fixed on to the body of the pin. This was often done by out-workers in surrounding cottages or workhouses.
Machines were developed in the 1820s and pin making was fully mechanised by the 1840s. The Folk Museum company (now known as Kirby Beard & Co) successfully adapted to this, probably using machines driven by shafts and belts, powered by a steam engine. However, other local firms went out of business and when Kirby Beard moved to Birmingham in 1853, pin making in Gloucester came to an end
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‘The Father of English Hymnody’ Isaac Watts, popularly referred to as ‘The Father of English Hymnody, was born in Southampton in 1674. His father was a schoolmaster and committed religious Nonconformist. Young Isaac subsequently had a very strict upbringing.
From an early age, Isaac displayed a propensity for rhyme. During family prayers one morning. Isaac saw a mouse running up a bell-rope in the room and started to giggle. When his incensed father asked him to explain his behaviour, he responded:
‘A little mouse for want of stairs ran up a rope to say its prayers.’
Receiving the cane for his misdemeanour, he cried:
‘O father, father, pity take And I will no more verses make.’
He fortunately didn’t keep that promise! Indeed he subsequently wrote over 600 hymns amongst them the perennial favourites, Come let us join our cheerful songs, Jesus shall reign where're the sun and When I survey the wondrous cross. Isaac of course, also wrote the hymn which is so often sung at Remembrance-tide, O God our help in ages past. Interestingly, this hymn was written after the death of Queen Anne and the accession of George I, which marked the end of the persecution of Non-conformists. The references to the ‘stormy blast’ were directed at the Stuart-supporting Jacobites, at that time very much out of favour, ‘their ‘presumptuous boasts and hope blasted’. Isaac Watts is remembered in the Anglican Calendar on 25th November the date on which he died in 1748.
Maureen Smith.
Sources: Wikipedia and ‘Glory, Laud and Honour’, by Peter Harvey.
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In Memorium: It was with immense sadness that we heard of the recent death of Sarah Vaux. Sarah was a faithful member of the Cathedral community and will be greatly missed by us all. We extend our deepest sympathy to her husband, Len and their family and friends.
Sarah’s funeral was held at Gloucester Cathedral on Monday 19th October.
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Congratulations to Robin Jenner on the publication of his book, ‘Eighteen lives from the Eighteenth Century’. The book, which is published by Austin Macauley, will be available from November 30th. Robin also has another claim to fame! He is the longest
serving volunteer in the Cathedral Gift Shop.
YOUR HELP IS URGENTLY NEEDED!
Volunteers are urgently needed to help with serving coffee after the 10.15am Eucharist
on Sundays mornings.
This is a great way of making new friends!
If you can help, please contact Jean Bouchard at
Alternatively, you can speak to Canon Celia, Jean Bouchard or any of the coffee volunteers in the Chapter House after the 10.15am Eucharist.
Around the
Community
21
EYE-WITNESS
Stories from the West Bank & Israel
Saturday 14th November 7.00pm
Palestinian Refreshment followed by talk at 7.30pm
Christchurch, Abbeydale
Heron Way, Gloucester GL4 5EQ
Come and hear first-hand from Theresa Mansbridge who has recently returned from the West Bank
What is daily life under occupation really like? What is the Israeli peace movement doing? What can we do to promote a just peace in Israel‑occupied
Palestine?
Tell Others – Bring your friends!
The Mouth and Foot Painting Artists
“THE NATIVITY”
During November, The Mouth and Foot Painting Artists will be constructing a unique collage with a local Gloucester youth group
this Christmas.
The artwork will depict a nativity scene painted by renowned MFPA artist, Jon Clayton, based on his original painting called
“The Nativity”
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A Soldier’s Cemetery
Behind that long and lonely trenched line To which men come and go, where brave men die,
There is a yet unmarked and unknown shrine, A broken plot, a soldier’s cemetery.
There lie the flower of youth, the men who scorn’d To live (so died) when languished Liberty:
Across their graves flowerless and unadorned Still scream the shells of each artillery.
When war shall cease this lonely unknown spot Of many a pilgrimage will be the end,
And flowers will shine in this now barren plot And fame upon it through the years descend:
But many a heart upon each simple cross Will hang the grief, the memory of its loss.
Written by John William Streets (killed and missing in action on 1st July 1916 aged 31)
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Cathedral Gift Shop
Advent and Christmas are not far off!
So don’t miss out on the beautiful range of traditional Christmas cards, decorations and gifts available at the
Cathedral Shop now.
From
gorgeous glass, olive wood from the Holy Land,
wonderfully scented candles, fair trade and hand-made,
to
books, cards and Advent calendars all reflecting the real meaning of Christmas.
New this year are fantastic hand-cut pop-up nativity cards .
And old favourites are back – our bespoke Cathedral advent candle,
delicious award-winning Christmas mead and angels everywhere!
A small shop offering a very warm welcome – just the place to start your Christmas shopping
and help the Cathedral at the same time.
Saturday 21st November
GLOUCESTER CROSS CHRISTMAS MARKET
We will have a stall at this year’s city centre Victorian Market so be sure to come and visit us to find some unique Christmas
Gifts and information about events and services at your Cathedral this Christmas.
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Our Cathedral in Local Art Gloucester Cathedral's best representation is, of course, itself - both internally and externally! And, a very beautiful building it is, too, both architecturally, culturally, socially, historically and, above all, spiritually! After all, it is God's Holy House of Prayer! (One may also add psychologically, too, to this list?). Preceding it was the seventh century Saxon church, followed by the eleventh century, Norman abbey until the sixteenth century's Reformation Cathedral. This most iconic building in Gloucestershire and Diocese has inspired some street artists to paint it around our city centre. Below are four examples:
1). Junction of Eastgate Street and Nettleton Road.
It is subjective, but, personally, this is the best one?! It's the largest, covering a two-storey building and including the Docks. Oversized, turquoise and light green shrubbery is dotted here and there around the cathedral's pink walls, lilac and blue roofs and brown windows. This on a black and light yellow background.
2). Gloucester Train Station (Platform 4).
This is opposite the British Transport Police Office. One rectangular wall panel shows the east end of the Lady Chapel with white, stone walls and black windows surrounded by green shrubbery and with a light and dark blue sky, all done in a ceramic tile effect.
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The enemy opposition was fierce, and General Sir Ian Hamilton's dispatch tells how the men made a determined rush with fixed bayonets and attained the summit, but the firing was so intense that there was no chance of digging themselves in, and they withstood attack after attack until every officer was either dead or wounded. By midday, small groups of men were being commanded by junior NCOs or even privates. The Commanding Officer, Colonel Jordan, had propped himself up in a shallow trench and fought on until being shot in the face, (he was later made a CMG) and at the end of the day there were only 181 of the 1,000 still alive or unwounded in all ranks. The battle, then, was essentially a defeat, and of course we now know that the Turkish Army was much stronger than expected, but that by no means was any reflection on the Gloucesters. Later the poet, F.W. Harvey, who was himself a member of the 5th Gloucesters, wrote the following:
Here's a health to every brother in arms - And now (in silence) another toast: Safe returned from war's alarms; To gallant friends - a mighty host Maimed and merry, hale and bold, Asleep with foreign earth for bed, To pledge our fellowship of old. Till doomsday reveille - the Glorious Dead!
Barrie Glover. (With acknowledgments: CAP OF HONOUR by David Scott Daniell. Sutton Publishing/1951/55)
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The Gloucestershire Regiment at Gallipoli
O God, whose face is against them that do evil, Grant that we, Thy Servants of the Gloucestershire Regiment,
May ever stand back to back against all evils that beset us, and Never turning our backs to Thee,
May steadfastly behold Thy glory in the face of Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Amen.
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The Regimental Collect (i.e. special prayer) of Gloucestershire's own regiment will have felt especially apt at the end of 1915 and into 1916 when it was ordered to sail for Gallipoli in Turkey. We now know that what seemed to be a good intention to take the pressure off the allies at the Western Front in Belgium and France turned out to be a disaster, not only for Britain but also for the New Zealanders and Australians who joined the campaign against the Ottoman Empire. Most of the 7th battalion that went out in June were not professional soldiers, but civilians who had volunteered at the outbreak of war, and who had had barely ten months' training. The Battle of Chunuk Bair, in August, was representative. The allies attacked some heights called Sari Bair in two columns, with the Gloucesters behind the New Zealanders, and the Royal Welch Fusiliers bringing up the rear. Alongside were the Australians whose armies (in retrospect) came of age in the fighting.
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A panel to the left of this shows the cathedral tower. Finally, seven panels to the left of this is the cathedral sandwiched between a Union Jack and the Docks, all in shades of brown! (not illustrated).
3). Greyfriars, Opposite Indoor Market Entrance.
This picture shows "Harry Potter" figures around brown shades of a "chunky" cathedral! To the right of this is a "1960's"- style brown cathedral (not illustrated).
4). Llanthony Road, Opposite Church Street, The Quays.
On two square building wall panels shows an eerie white and grey cathedral, with little detail.
If you know of anywhere else that has Gloucester Cathedral art (other than in the Cathedral Gift Shop!), then, please let us know. John G. Melhuish,
Photos by Chris Smith.
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Three Choirs Festival:
Gloucester 2016 Gloucester is proud to be hosting the 2016 Three Choirs Festival 23-30 July during which we shall be showcasing past and present Gloucestershire talent in addition to welcoming our usual roster of UK and International artists. In 2015, the festival celebrated its tercentenary, a milestone not reached by any other music festival. In 2016 we will interweave
the dual strands of past and future. The start of our fourth century is a natural moment for us to celebrate the new generations of composers, musicians, singers and audiences who cherish our music meetings and refresh the great British choral tradition. So in 2016 you will find a real celebration of youth, including the emerging superstar Finnish conductor Santtu Matias Rouvali, the National Youth String Orchestra and the winner of the 2015 Bromsgrove International Young Musician competition. In a year when we commemorate the 800th anniversary of the coronation of the nine-year-old Henry III in Gloucester Cathedral, we’re planning more links than ever before with local children, who will be visiting the Cathedral ahead of the festival to discover the sacred space and create their own musical reaction. In addition, an outdoor performance area will feature local emerging talent every day. We’re also working with our chosen charity Mindsong to present cherished memories and consider the way in which past and present collide for those living with dementia. With the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Three Choirs Chorus and our Three Cathedral Choirs we will celebrate new commissions from Joseph Phibbs, Philip Lancaster and Neil Cox alongside some of the great works from the choral-orchestral canon, including Elijah, to be sung, on his festival debut, by Sir Willard White.
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The glorious music will be enjoyed in a new festival setting. For the first time we will create a Festival Village around the Cathedral to provide our guests with entertainment, excitement and refreshment. Meals will be served in a marquee on the south car park with food provided by an award-winning chef. Picnic meals will be available and lighter snacks will be served from street food booths. The garth will be home to a champagne and Pimms bar for pre-concert drinks and a real ale and wine bar will be open on site. Save the dates and do come and enjoy the party! The success of the festival will also depend on our wonderful team of volunteers. If you feel that you might be able to offer some time during the festival but have not volunteered before, please contact the Operations Director, Peter Cottingham to find out more. Call him on 07816 445378 or email: [email protected].
Saturday 14th November 2015 at
7.00pm
GLOUCESTERSHIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CONCERT
With Young Musician 2015 winner Rebecca McNaught
Conductor Glyn Oxley
Event Sponsored by CJ Hole Estate Agents
Tickets £15, (conc. £7.50) from 0845 6521823 or www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk
