At six O'Clock this evening I attended the Choral Evensong to celebrate the 80th birthday of the Queen at St Nicolas Church. The choir was at full strength, and there was a brass section to give extra oomph to the hymns and anthems (which meant I could sing even louder than usual and not be heard!).
The highlight for me was 'Zadok the Priest', an anthem sung at every coronation since King Edgar's in 973, but more recently (since 1727!) sung to Handel's music - just hearing it makes you picture the archbishop holding the crown above the young queens head. I had a fantastic view of the guest organist (Mr Bowie) playing the long introduction to the anthem, and best of all could see his feet tap-dancing on the pedals; something I've loved to watch since seeing the introduction to the film of The Bostonians.
Afterwards I spoke to the High Sheriff of Berkshire and his wife and told them how much I'm looking forward to going to their garden party that is coming up shortly.
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