Another carol service, this time at St. Andrew's, Fulham Fields, so within walking distance, although there is a bus which halves the journey time. I got the bus there, but walked back afterwards.
St. Andrew's is quite a lively church, with a lot of social activities going on, such as songs and stories for children followed by refreshments and lunch on Wednesday mornings, and a homeless project on Saturday mornings. They are very much a community church, with a lot of outreach activities.
The church itself has been extensively refurbished, so that the back is now taken up with a kitchen and serving area, which can be screened off if required. There are no kneelers in the pews, so they obviously don't go in much for kneeling during their services.
There are two other clergy as well as the vicar, the curate being the Rev. Lesley Bilinia, whose arrival was reported in the local paper - she was previously married to an African who died - or was killed - I can't remember which. Anyway, that's where her unusual name comes from. I was speaking to her later, and she seemed very pleasant and cheery.
The service was the usual nine lessons and carols, with the carols being lead by a large robed choir. The first two verses of "Once in royal" were sung by a soloist and then the choir, before they processed from a side chapel into the choir stalls.
A number of people did the readings, which were all very clear, since they have a microphone on the lectern.
Not that they would have needed to shout to make themselves heard, even if there hadn't been one - the area now used as a church is fairly small compared to its original length.
In addition to leading the congregational singing, the choir also sang a large number of pieces on their own - virtually all familiar one, which was rather nice. After all, it is a carol service for the congregation as well as the choir, and it's nice to listen to things that are familiar and you know won't grate on your ears, as some modern works do, with their lack of predictability.
I found myself sitting next to our local MP, whom I'd always thought was an atheist - though the fact that he was attending a carol service probably doesn't indicate anything about his beliefs these days. If they get invited to something like that, they go, like Nick Clegg or Ed Milliband. No refusing because it's against their conscience to sing carols and say prayers they don't believe in.
The church was quite full, with a lot of hearty singers in addition to the chair - most people seemed to be joining in. There were quite a number of families there, with small children, and provision had been made to keep them occupied at one side, under the supervision of some adults - I recognised one of the supervising adults, who apparently is a regular attender at that church. I also saw several other people that I knew, and that I didn't know went there - it's a small world.
After the service there was mulled wine and mince pies - Mr. Kiplings or Mr. Tesco's, rather than
home-made, but delicious all the same. And the mulled wine I suspect also came ready-made in a bottle. Actually, shop-bought mulled wine is very good, and much better than my attempts to make it myself, though the home-made mulled wine that I had one year at the Dicken's Museum in Doughty Street was the most delicious I have ever tasted. I asked for the recipe, but my efforts weren't remotely as good.
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