Well I managed to get through Holy Week without any serious harm. Four Services and a Funeral plus a Singing Group practice on Wednesday night – all went well. This is largely thanks to the maintenance work put in by our organ tuners and the return of sufficient power to the working parts of the instrument at Holy Trinity Burslem. It was gratifying to receive a small round of applause after the Postlude on Easter Sunday. Afterwards I had a pleasant Sunday lunch in Hanley with my best mate before going to see Beauty and the Beast at the new Cineworld complex. Great performance by Ian McKellen as the enchanted clock Cogsworth.

 Still recovering from my nasty walking accident in Vietnam… the cuts have healed over leaving small scars, and the swollen ankle is almost back to normal. Following my GP’s advice, I have been exercising when opportunities have arisen. In fact, I have probably exercised my ankle more whilst playing the organ than walking. Nonetheless, today, I enjoyed a short walk to check out the fairly recently completed Golden sculpture near Tunstall.

Golden is a modern art sculpture installed in the Chatterley Valley, on the outskirts of Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent in May 2015. The £180,000 artwork is installed on the site of the former Goldendale Ironworks and was designed by the award-winning public art sculptor Wolfgang Buttress, who designed the Rise sculpture in Belfast. It is one of the tallest public art sculptures in Britain (Wikipedia)