Bernard and Katherine

wish you a very

Happy Christmas 2024

and a peaceful and joyous

New Year

What were we doing in Chester? At short notice we discovered that my carol Sir Christëmas was to be the final item in Chester Cathedral's Carol Concert. So, on 14th December, we hacked up to Chester where we were welcomed as honoured guests. We think that Chester was the first church (let alone cathedral) to perform it, back in 2018: so this repeat is a compliment. It's a great choir, and they gave a cracking performance under their generous and inspirational Organist/Choir Director, Philip Rushforth: here it is, sneakily recorded, as our musical offering to friends and family this year:

Afterwards I was invited to take a bow, and we joined the guests' reception in the Chapter House. If you'd like to see it sung, you can do so on Christmas Day, on the Chester Cathedral YouTube channel: they're singing it in the Christmas Morning Eucharist, which is both live-streamed from 10.30 and saved on the channel to watch at any time. 

We revel in the time we spend with our granddaughters, Rowen and Bonnie. They are very loving and cuddly, and hilarious in the enthusiasm with which they hurl themselves into everything. 

Girls together: Ro and Bonnie with (L-R) Auntie Eleanor, Nana and Mummy

I'm very happy playing New Orleans-style jazz trumpet at Oxford's Bear Inn periodically, and occasionally elsewhere (for details of my regular collaborators, see Three's Company). I also play lead trumpet in a Big Band, Abingdon Swingtime.

In September I reconnected with legendary jazz guru (and renowned bass-player) Alyn Shipton at a college reunion: precisely 50 years ago he taught my mates and me to blunder through the challenge of playing jazz: we evolved into the Catte Street Rhythm Wreckers, whose final manifestation was as a marching band at Rachel's and Ben's wedding in 2019. Alyn and his regular guitarist Jez Cook turned out in November to play with me at a new gourmet pasta restaurant in Newbury. The pasta was very good... 

Katherine continues to play the violin as often as she wants: regularly in the Oxford Sinfonia, and also for other gigs - most recently in Dorchester Abbey (the Oxfordshire one!) in November. She doesn't show off as much as I do (!), but is in demand as the ultra-reliable rank-and-file player for the less confident to sit by and share music and jokes with: she's not intimated by conductors... 

We're not so busy that we don't find time for each other, and for our beloved Northumberland. In July we celebrated our 43rd Wedding Anniversary in the cottage. Katherine's pictured T-shirt came from Bach's birthplace (Eisenach) in June. We also took in Berlin, Weimar and Leipzig: curiously, in that month, we encountered more football- than Bach-fans.

At the end of  February, we're off to India's Golden Triangle: not adventurous travellers, we shall do it in some comfort.

With all our love,  as always,

Bernard and Katherine