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Marie Curie Carol Service at
Southwark Cathedral
seasonal readings by a host of
celebrity guests including Alison
Steadman, Greg Wise, Josh
Whitehouse, Michael Elwyn and
Olivia Williams.
The Marie Curie Christmas Star tree.
Canticum are described as one
of the most musically versatile
chamber choirs in the country
and this was certainly in
evidence this evening. They
performed traditional Christmas
songs and Carols, including
John Rutter’s Shepherd’s Pipe
Carol and Hector Berlioz’s The
Shepherds Farewell (a personal
favourite of mine), as well as
less well-known works such as
The Star has Come by Roderick
Williams. Congregational carols
S
upporters of Marie Curie
were out in force for the
annual Carol Service at
Southwark Cathedral on
10th December. The
Cathedral itself had minimal
Christmas decorations but
that is largely, I am sure, to
not needing to compete with
the beautiful natural
surroundings. On entering
the Cathedral one can’t help
but be stunned by the sheer
proportions of this beautiful
Anglican place of worship.
Becoming a Cathedral in
1905, the pre-existing
building is believed to date
back to the 7th Century and
is mentioned in the
Domesday Book. Today, the
Cathedral serves over 300
parishes populated by 2.5
million people. It benefits
from an extension built in
2000 that includes meeting
and conference rooms, a
library, Education Centre,
shop and refectory.
Andrew Nunn, Dean of Southwark
Cathedral.
were punctuated by seasonal
readings from the celebrity
guests. Most were not religious
texts and ranged from
passages from Shirley
Valentine, brilliantly performed
by Alison Steadman in a
convincing Liverpudlian accent,
to The Twelve Days of
The evening was hosted by
Alexander Armstrong and
featured carols by candlelight,
performances by the renowned
chamber choir Canticum and
L to R: Tony Kyriakides, Michael Elwyn, Josh Whitehouse, Alison Steadman,
Olivia Williams, Meredith Niles (Executive Director of Fundraising and
Engagement, Marie Curie), Alexander Armstrong, Greg Wise and Andrew Nunn.
Christmas by John Julius
Norwich (who died earlier this
year) in which the recipient
writes to the sender of all those
birds, maids-a-milking,
drummers drumming etc and
tells him exactly what she
thinks!
We also heard more about the
work of Marie Curie, who have
extended their support to
patients and families of those
with all terminal illnesses, not
just cancer. We heard from a
very brave Kim Bunn, who
introduced herself as a 37 year
old widow, whose partner died
two years ago after a five-
month illness. He was 39.
Through Marie Curie she was
able to stay with him, in a
hospice, until the day he died,
allowing him dignity and
dedicated care when he
needed it most. They supported
him, her, and their families
before, during and after with
compassion and a deep
understanding of his needs.
Lighter moments of the Service
were provided by a ukulele duo,
performing (in their own words)
a couple of ‘well-known English
folk songs’, which actually
turned out to be George
Michael’s Last Christmas, and
Noddy Holder’s Merry
Christmas Everybody!
The highlight of any Carol
Service is, of course, the
chance to sing Hark! The
Herald Angels Sing at full
volume, and it was very
tempting to join in the descant
with the choir. A very rousing
end to the occasion.
My companion and I were then
invited to the marquee for the
drinks reception. We were
greeted by servers offering
glasses of very good quality
Prosecco and delicious
canapés. These included little
cones filled with cubed
beetroot and mild goat’s
cheese; herbed blini with a
swirl of smoked salmon and
cream cheese; cocktail
sausages with mustard
dressing and bite-sized fish
cakes. These were plentiful and
welcome, being about 9.30pm
by this time, but well worth the
wait!
It was a delightful evening and
along with the raffle, they
raised over £84.000 for this
fantastic charity.
Guests enjoying the concert.
Canticum Chamber Choir.
Visit The London & UK DatebooK on www.thedatebook.co.uk
JULIA BURT
THE LONDON & UK DATEBOOK
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