Thank you Santa, this is lovely.
| The CBB http://www.the-cbb.co.uk/ | |
| The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P completed 23/12/09 http://www.the-cbb.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=7078 |
|
| Author: | Secret Santa [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 5:47 pm ] |
| Post subject: | The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P completed 23/12/09 |
This is set in the Christmas holidays after RIVALS, and will probably be posted in 3 parts. “Right, that’s enough!” said Mollie Bettany, getting up from the arm-chair in which she had been sitting. “My babies are going to be wanting me badly. Madge went up to David at least ten minutes ago! Thank you, Grizel, for playing for us!” “My pleasure,” said Grizel Cochrane, blushing. For the past hour, she had been playing, and those of the assembled company who wished to join in had been singing, Christmas-carols. Joey Bettany had sung almost every carol, as had her brother Dick, and even Robin Humphries knew several of them now, although she was not yet eight years old. Grizel got up from the piano-stool and stretched, inelegantly. “I’m stiff now, but that was great fun – we must do it again another evening!” “I wish we could go carol-singing,” said Jo. “Remember when we used to go in Taverton – you often came with us!” “Yes, it was fun,” said Grizel, reminiscently, “but I also remember how cold we used to get, and how your sister used to worry that you’d take chill.” “I wonder, though – couldn’t we sing at the San, do you suppose?” “I don’t think Madge or Jem would allow either you or Robin to be out so late, not with you having been so ill just a few weeks ago,” butted in Dick, smiling at the young sister who had so nearly been taken from him. “Well, I wasn’t actually meaning at this time of night, and anyway, it’s nearly supper-time. I was thinking more in terms of just after they’ve had their rest, or perhaps just after their Kaffee und Kuchen – it will be dark by then.” “Well, maybe, but what would you do for music? You can’t trail a piano around the wards with you!” “I don’t think we’d be let go on the wards, anyway,” said Joey. “But there’s a big space in the middle where there’s a piano, and Jem’s let people give recitals and so on there. The people who are up come downstairs to listen, and the nurses keep the doors open on the wards so almost everybody who’s in bed can hear. I wonder if Jem’d let us go and sing for the patients?” “It would be a lovely thing to do, certainly,” said Dick. “Could I go too, do you think?” asked the Robin. “I expect so, if we aren’t too late and don’t stay too long, but we won’t be allowed to do that, anyway. So let’s make plans. What shall we sing?” “Let’s ask Jem first whether we can do it,” said Grizel, sensibly. |
|
| Author: | Lesley [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 5:52 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P with love from Santa. |
That's a lovely thought. Thanks Santa |
|
| Author: | PaulineS [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 6:23 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P with love from Santa. |
I hope Jem lets them sing. Thanks Santa |
|
| Author: | Alison H [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 6:25 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P with love from Santa. |
What a lovely idea. |
|
| Author: | ChubbyMonkey [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 7:30 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P with love from Santa. |
What a sweet idea! Thankyou Santa. |
|
| Author: | Abi [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 9:42 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P with love from Santa. |
What a lovely treat that will be for the patients - I hope Jem lets them! |
|
| Author: | Sugar [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 12:51 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P with love from Santa. |
lovely idea |
|
| Author: | Cath V-P [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 1:07 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P with love from Santa. |
Thank you Santa, this is lovely.
|
|
| Author: | Secret Santa [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:03 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P with love from Santa. |
Ho, ho, ho - I think this will be four parts, after all, not three! Jem, appealed to over supper, was a bit dubious, but finally gave permission. The San had only been open a couple of years, and the vast majority of patients were English, although he had received one or two referrals from Austrian specialists. Many of the English patients had left it too late to seek a cure for the white plague that Jem Russell and his cohorts were battling so hard, and their trip to Austria was, all too often, their final journey. This was especially true of the children, who often came from poorer backgrounds and whose parents had scrimped and saved to send them away where they might have a tiny chance of life and health. The Chalet School sponsored a bed in the children’s ward, and it was never empty. And Christmas was a bad time of year for all the patients, who were wondering whether they would ever celebrate with family and friends again. Normally, Jem and Madge tried to keep the younger ones as far from the San, with its burden of sadness, as possible; nevertheless, they knew they could not keep the two entirely separate, especially as more and more girls were coming to the Chalet School while a relative sought treatment at the San. So in the end Jem gave permission for the carol-singing to go ahead, and said that he would warn the nurses to expect them at around 4:30 pm the next day, which would be Christmas Eve. “But please,” he said, “Do have a list of what you are going to sing, and stick to it. Nothing is worse than long pauses while carol-singers confer as to which song shall be next!” Grizel Cochrane and Jo Bettany were friends of long standing, despite the two-year gap in their age and the fact that they had very few interests in common. Grizel had left the Chalet School the previous July, and was now studying music in Florence, which she did not really enjoy, but which her father and stepmother had required her to do. Left to herself, she would have preferred to have studied PE at Bedford or Loughborough, but her father had refused to countenance it, and as she needed him to pay any fees incurred in her training, she had had, perforce, to go to Florence. However, this had given her an excuse not to go home for Christmas and, citing the length of the journey for such a short break, she had appealed to her friends at the Sonnalpe for hospitality that they had been only too glad to provide. It was decided that the carol-singing party should consist of Grizel, Jo and the Robin, plus Madge Russell, Mollie and Dick Bettany, and Ted Humphries, the Robin’s father. Gisela Mensch, a former Head Girl of the Chalet School and now married to one of the doctors, volunteered to come too, and to bring her violin. She and Grizel had occasionally played together during their school careers, and Grizel welcomed her offer. Next morning Joey and Grizel unearthed Madge’s copy of the Oxford Book of Carols and dreamt up a playlist that was far beyond the abilities of the proposed party. They ended up squabbling over it, and it was while they were arguing about the proper tune for some very obscure carol that Madge Russell finally intervened. |
|
| Author: | Alison H [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:25 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P Updated 21/12/09 |
This is lovely. Two things always really get to me on Christmas Day, pictures of members of the Armed Forces abroad and pictures of people in hospital, and it must've been so hard for those in the San and their families. |
|
| Author: | ChubbyMonkey [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 5:11 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P Updated 21/12/09 |
What a lovely idea - and so typical of the CS. Thankyou Santa! |
|
| Author: | Cath V-P [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:19 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P Updated 21/12/09 |
Oh, this is so nice! |
|
| Author: | cal562301 [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:19 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P Updated 21/12/09 |
Great idea! Wonder why EBD never thought of it? |
|
| Author: | Secret Santa [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:27 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P Updated 21/12/09 |
“No, girls,” she said. “You’re making this far too complicated. Some of us don’t know the carols you’re proposing, and there really isn’t any time to learn them. And if you thought for two minutes, either of you, you would know that you can’t ask Uncle Ted to sing a solo, he’d hate it. Bad enough asking him to take the bass part, although he can and will do that, but there is no way he would sing a solo, and you ought to have known that.” Joey went pink and said that yes, she supposed so. “But I do want to do Three Kings from Per-er-ersian lands afar and you do know it, don’t you?” “We do, but I’m not sure that many people do. I think you must stick to the old favourites, as that is what people want to hear. You can do the descants, if you like, but it must be carols that people know.” “We can’t just do carols in English, though,” objected Grizel. “Not everybody is English, after all!” “No, that’s true. I suggest you do a couple of well-known German carols, like Es ist ein Rös entsprungen or Susanni.” “And please,” interjected the Robin, “can we sing something in French?” “What about Il est né, le divin enfant?” suggested Madge. “Oh yes, I like him ver’ much,” and the Robin beamed at the company. “And Stille Nacht,” of course, interjected Joey, not noticeably squashed. “Oh, of course,” said Madge. “I tell you what might be rather effective,” said Grizel at that point, “and that would be to sing just the first verse of that, but in all three languages. Maybe instead of Royal David at the beginning?” “Maybe we could sing it as solos?” suggested Joey. “I could do the English, Gisela the German and the Robin in French. Could you sing Douce Nuit, ma petite?” “Of course I can!” said the Robin, but Madge privately resolved to sing it herself if the Robin failed. She was, after all, not quite eight years old, and however much the idea of singing a solo might please her, the reality might prove to be quite otherwise. And, gradually, the playlist was sorted out. After lunch, Madge insisted that Joey lie down for an hour, as she was obviously rather over-excited. The Robin always had a rest, and Grizel, too, was not sorry to lie on her bed with a book. |
|
| Author: | ChubbyMonkey [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:30 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P Updated 22/12/09 |
I do hope that it all goes off well! Surely Santa has to bring happiness, even in drabbles? |
|
| Author: | Alison H [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:06 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P Updated 22/12/09 |
The trilingual carol idea is wonderfully CS-ish .
|
|
| Author: | Abi [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:15 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P Updated 22/12/09 |
Like Madge preparing to sing if Robin can't - not the sort of thing EBD would allow! |
|
| Author: | Secret Santa [ Wed Dec 23, 2009 6:22 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P Updated 22/12/09 |
Happy Christmas, Cath V-P. This is the final episode Finally, however, the afternoon passed, and after an early Kaffee und Kuchen the party, well-wrapped up, made its way to the San. Ted Humphries, who worked as Dr Jem’s secretary, joined them, as did Gisela, cradling her precious violin. When those patients who were well enough had assembled in the hall, the lights were turned out, and the carol-singers were illuminated by an old hurricane-lamp that Madge kept in the house in case of power cuts. Grizel gave the note, and Gisela started off with the German “Stille Nacht”. The Robin, despite Madge’s apprehension, managed her verse in French very creditably, shyness not being one of her faults, and then Joey took up the melody in English. The hall was the whole height of the building, and the wards on the upper floors opened on to galleries that went around, so that those who were confined to bed could still enjoy the occasional concert or similar event. Dr Jack Maynard, who had been tending a patient in one of the upper wards, came out of the ward on to the gallery in time to watch Jo sing her solo. Something in her posture, and her lovely singing voice, attracted him, and he remained in the shadows, watching, while carol after carol was sung, telling the story of the birth of the Baby, the visits from the Shepherds and the Magi, and concluding with Hark the Herald-Angels sing. Jo added a descant in some of the verses, her golden voice soaring above the melody. Jack, watching, wished suddenly that she were not still a schoolgirl, not yet 16, and a golden glimpse of his future lay before him. At the end of the final carol, Madge stepped forwards. “Thank you for listening,” she said in her clear, carrying voice. “It is never easy to be far from family and friends at this time of year, but remember, the Baby whose birth we are remembering just now grew up to be the One who promised that he will never fail you, nor forsake you. He reminds us that He is with us always, even until the end of the age. Amen.” |
|
| Author: | ChubbyMonkey [ Wed Dec 23, 2009 6:27 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P Updated 22/12/09 |
That was lovely. Thankyou, Santa! |
|
| Author: | PaulineS [ Wed Dec 23, 2009 8:37 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P Updated 22/12/09 |
Thank you Santa. I enjoyed that as I am sure the patients did. |
|
| Author: | Lesley [ Wed Dec 23, 2009 9:08 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P Updated 22/12/09 |
Anyone else singing along?  Thanks Santa, that was lovely |
|
| Author: | shesings [ Wed Dec 23, 2009 9:19 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P Updated 22/12/09 |
I was singing along, Lesley! Beautiful, just beautiful! 
|
|
| Author: | cal562301 [ Thu Dec 24, 2009 12:44 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P Updated 22/12/09 |
That was lovely and so moving. Thanks Santa. |
|
| Author: | Elbee [ Sun Dec 27, 2009 12:19 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P completed 23/12/09 |
That was lovely, thank you Santa. |
|
| Author: | Chris S [ Mon Dec 28, 2009 3:48 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P completed 23/12/09 |
Thank you Santa, that brought back memories of the carols we sang at school in different languages. The main difference being that nobody ever bothered to teach us the meaning in English. |
|
| Author: | Alison H [ Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:20 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P completed 23/12/09 |
Thank you, Santa. |
|
| Author: | Elder in Ontario [ Fri Jan 22, 2010 7:00 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Carol Singers. For Cath V-P completed 23/12/09 |
A very, very belated thank you for this - for some reason I've only just had chance to read it! But even though it's exactly four weeks since Christmas Day, that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the story. |
|
| All times are UTC | |
| Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group http://www.phpbb.com/ | |