Choir at St. Luke's Chelsea 2011

After lunch on Thursday December 3 the choir set off for St Luke’s church in Chelsea as they were to sing at the third annual Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Carol Service. The huge advantage of doing such things at a young age is that the boys don’t really realise how daunting an undertaking this really can be. To sing in front of a sell out crowd of 800 is a wonderful experience and opportunity, and one that I hope they will long remember.

After arriving they had a rehearsal with the organist / pianist and practised processing in and out. Then it was back to the vestry to await the pizza delivery man. I am not sure that Pavarotti prepared for a concert on pizza, but perhaps thinking again......

The service started with the traditional ‘Once in royal David’s city,’ sung confidently by Joe Trafford. His voice filled the church in that special way that can only be done by a treble. There was a mixed programme, with carols sung by the congregation, the St Luke’s choir and the Ludgrove choir. Readings given by Sam Whaley-Cohen, Donna Air and Elizabeth McGovern (Downton Abbey). Prince Harry gave a moving address in which he recalled his best friend Henry and praised the van Straubenzee family for their continuing commitment to the children of Uganda, where Henry was to have worked during his gap year before his untimely death.The two final items, ‘The Lord bless and keep you’ sung by the Ludgrove choir, and ‘We wish you a Merry Christmas’ by the St Luke’s choir brought the service to a rousing end.

After the service boys met up with their parents to enjoy drinks and sausages on the terrace in front of the church. A certain amount of celebrity spotting went on, Pippa Middleton seeming to be the most sought after photo opportunity! As we rounded up the boys at the end it was lovely to see a group of then in animated conversation with Prince Harry who was enjoying reminiscing about his time at Ludgrove.

On the way back to Ludgrove the boys enjoyed a picnic supper (their third of the evening), Mr Milne got lost in London as usual and a tired but happy group of boys returned to Ludgrove at 10.45. Many thanks, as always, to Mr Bellingham for his tireless preparation and his enthusiastic conducting!

GDAM