Crossing the coast at Formby

Wednesday
After a good flight, but virtually no sleep, we arrived into Manchester about 8.30 am, but it was a good hour and a half before we finally got away. The first thing was, they’re doing a lot of construction at the Terminal, and so some planes, including ours, have to park at an outlying spot, and passengers bussed in, slowing down the process. At least it meant by the time we got through passport control to baggage claim, our cases were coming along the carousel. Next we had to find where to get the shuttle to the Hertz car rental which is no longer with the other rental companies, but at a nearby hotel. The buses are supposed to go every 20 minutes, but we were waiting ages, and it was cold, so we finally gave in and got a taxi to the hotel! Eventually we were on the road to Janet and John’s- just about 20 minutes away. We had a cup of tea and a chat then went up the road to Bernard’s, Roger’s Dad. Janet did us some bacon butties for lunch, then Roger and I decided to try go have a nap for an hour or so, as in the evening we were going to a concert by the Lymm District choir, which Janet sings in and John accompanies for, and we didn’t want to be falling asleep during it! They were performing Bob Chilcott’s St. John’s Passion, a work I wasn’t familiar with. Chilcott’s setting of words from St John’s Gospel presents a dramatic yet optimistic retelling of the Passiontide story. The work combines thirteenth- and seventeenth-century English poetry with texts from the King James Bible and, as with Bach’s great Passion settings, the role of the Evangelist is taken by the tenor soloist, who provides a narrative throughout. The work also includes five well-known hymn texts set to new, original melodies. It was a great work to hear and meditate over, on this eve to Maundy Thursday.