“I promised to give you all some indication of what we are doing with some of the very generous gift you gave us.
First, however, the Diocesan Staff gift of a Swiss Railway Clock! It is safely hanging in the 'Railway Room’. Alas, while the clock keeps time, the GRR (Great Ruardean Railway) is still not running. This is due to the Episcopal Controller still mastering the electronics of the wiring.
The case of Christmas wine was duly and happily broached over the festive season. Very good too.
We thought about a more enduring remembrance and have bought a state-of-the-art turntable (for records not steam engines!). Though we thinned our old collection of vinyl discs we wanted to keep a number, especially some boxed opera sets - including the complete Ring Cycle. We had toyed with the idea of transferring these to CDs but musicians (daughter and son-in-law) advised on keeping them and upgrading the (physical) pick up. Hilary researched that our Bose (CD/Radio) would play if we added a clever gadget called a phono-pre-amplifer. We found both a good turntable and the pre-amp (very neat and compact) in the High-Fi shop in Guildford itself - very helpful staff! It only remained to find some sort of cabinet to put it all in and on. We found a suitable cabinet in Ross-on-Wye and there you are. So when listening to, say, The Dream of Gerontius with Peter Pears and John Shirley-Quirk, conducted by Benjamin Britten, we do so on the Guildford turntable! Thank you.
You may know that we have some original old map prints. In an antique shop in Ross-on-Wye, casually lying about in a very battered frame we found a Norden-Kip map of Surrey dated 1607. I have reframed and remounted it myself and it now hangs on our walls. You will be pleased to know that it does include Aldershot, Crundal (sic)and Loxwood as well as old Surrey including Lambeth.
After presiding and preaching in one of the three parish churches in this Benefice at Christmas Midnight, the local paper gave as a headline: Ex-Bishop leads Service.
We realise the dire state many of you are in by reason of the flooding - including massive disruption to traffic. We looked at the picture of the Wey between Guildford and Godalming (Independent 7 January) in amazement.
We have been thinking of you. But it is now time for a most final adieu. Christopher and Hilary