Choir practice on Thursday evening, the 23rd of October, was a sight - and a sound – to behold. In the wake of the festal service the previous Sunday evening and the brilliance of the playing, the choristers (man and boy) were eager to find out more about the new organist, even if he had only been appointed on an interim basis.      

Charles Verney was meant to take the rehearsal, with Stanford George assisting (though nobody was entirely clear what the Vicar had meant by ‘assistance’). As agreed, Olivier Laverne would accompany the singing and play for the major services until further notice.

The evening did not go to plan, at least to start with. Stanford George’s train back from Leeds to Hartley was delayed because of a derailment, and Verney was now...

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