On the farm and Canterbury festival

 I’ve participated in events of the Canterbury festival for at least 20 years. In earlier years it was with my mother who died in 2009.(She would be 112 this year). Then I would regularly attend with my sister who passed away last year. The farm has almost been like a second home to me because I have stayed in the farmhouse Garrington at least 55 times over the years . This year is an opportunity for a reunion with my nephews and nieces Robert, Philip, Helen and Carin. In past years I used to go to talks and on walks as well as concerts but this year I just arranged for four concerts. The first was the Festival chamber Orchestra who provided program titled “passion and celebration”the program was organized by Ian Crowther an oboist and I particularly enjoyed a piece by Albertini for two oboes and orchestra. The second was the BBC Big band. They played “a swinging celebration of Gershwin” .  It was great big band music but a bit too noisy for me so I only stayed for the first hour. The third  concert was an evening with “Tenors unlimited”.  Lil and Robert joined me. It was a wonderful selection of opera, popular music songs excerpts from My fair Lady, Les Misérables, Rigoletto, Phantom of the Opera etc.

The fourth concert will be on Saturday night in the nave of Canterbury Cathedral, where the Canterbury choral Society will sing Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers. I will be attending with my four nephews and nieces in memory of my sister who sang in the Canterbury Choral  Society, and also with whom I used to regularly go to this last concert of the festival each year.

On the farm, there is continuous activity and the equipment seems to get more and more complicated and larger.There is about 3700 acres under management, managed by four men. They have just purchased a new driller. 

 Helen is here and is towing two tires around the farm practising for pulling the pulk when she skis to the south pole in January. There is a wonderful bench that was donated to the farm by Roberts contemporaries at Wye College commemorating the lives of and Anne David Spencer