Last week I attended a memorial service for a man who had a great influence on my life.
Norman Routledge was my housemaster at school nearly 40 years ago. He saw me through what were unquestionably my most challenging and yet formative years.
There was a service in the school chapel. It was packed, not least because so many of my former housemates wanted to be there to pay their respects. It was an hour of memories, spiritual uplift, and above all culture.
We listened to the Andante from Bach’s Violin Sonata in A minor. It sounded wonderful in the huge acoustic of the chapel, started by Henry VI in 1441. As I listened I found myself gazing at the medieval wall paintings, and wondering why I had never taken time to look at them more closely whilst I was at the school.
My friend Julian Godlee sang Nella Fantasia by Ennio Morricone. I’d not heard it before. Accompanied by the wonderful Hill organ at one end of the chapel and with Julian singing from the other end, the effect was mesmerising.
The choir sang Te Lucis Ante Terminum by Henry Balfour Gardiner, one of my favourites. They sounded fantastic – the tenors sounded so much stronger than I remember when I was there. This was musicianship of a very high order indeed. I’m inserting it here, n case you’ve never heard of it. Cathedral music doesn’t get any better, in my very humble opinion. If you have a few minutes to spare, and trust my judgement, turn up the volume (even better put on headphones) and LISTEN.
As a teenager I was surrounded by this quality at every turn. World class in so many fields; architecture, sports, music, drama, and of course education.
Did I realise it at the time? Nah. Well, kind of. I knew it was special, but I had no idea just how special. Given another go, I’d have spent so much more time hoovering it all up. researching it, squeezing it dry of what it had to offer.
So what stopped me? It got me wondering about this. I think there are various possibilities:
- After a certain point, all this culture becomes overload, and you can’t take it in
- Learning how to appreciate something is a skill you acquire over time, and as a teenager this muscle is not fully developed
- It is all so much more vivid to a 55 year old because he has a sense of his own mortality, which as a teenager you completely lack – you think you’re going to live for ever
- Deep down, when you’re 16 you are far more interested in your love life and getting through your exams than you are in soaking up “culture”
- You don’t know what you’ve got until someone takes it away from you.
I know I was not alone in feeling like this. Many of my school comrades were saying they wanted to get together more often, so that we could indulge our senses again and relive some of what the place has to offer. I’m up for that.
After the service we went over the school hall, were we sang (?shouted) a couple of our favourite house songs as if we had last rehearsed them only yesterday. I accompanied on the piano (a Steinway concert grand, of course), and much to my surprise found that my fingers hadn’t completely seized up.
Action: buy another piano (the old one died) and relearn how to play it.
Note to self: appreciate what you have in front of you, staring you in the face right here and now. There probably won’t be another 40 years in my case, so better learn to soak it up while you can.
You only get one go.
Thanks for the memories, Norman. Your spirit lives on.
Thanks Michael. Great read as always.
Mike, ditto what Mikey said above, especially the different personalities for different methods of communications. I have a client who is totally different on email compared to phone or in person. In fact if I am honest I suspect and am “bolshier and braver” in email than other forms.
Keep up the good posts and PS is Mikey an “alter-ego” of Mike 🙂
(not sure who I have offended most with that suggestion) LOL
One of the joys of being called Michael: I can be variants quite easily. Mikey, Mick, Micky, Mikey, Michael – I’ve been all of them, and more! The Mikey who commented is a different one though!
Hi Mike
Entertaining as always.I am always struck by how self deprecating you are when writing about yourself and your work/life/etc.
The written “you” is substantially different to the confident, enthusiastic Mike Brown one meets in person.
A thought therefore: “Do we have different personalities depending on our method of communication?….and if so can we use different personalities/communication methods to our advantage?”
PS I know you would agree that its probably wise for me never to meet people face to face
Regards Mike
Mikey, what an interesting thought. I’m not so sure that I have a different online personality to my “real one”. I think it’s more a case of what I would like to think of as “growing up”! The confident and enthusiastic person you worked with 30 odd years ago is still the same, but maybe just a little wiser and a little but more able to be true about himself. Probably a case of being less worried about what people think of me. Rest assured, I still have the energy, it’s just tempered with a bit more self awareness!
I do quite like the idea though of creating a different online personality. Set up a new Blog and come at it as a weirdo of some sort – sounds like fun!
Thanks for the thought provoking comment. And no, you should continue to meet people face to face as you too are full of fun.