As I was walking round a supermarket today, I heard someone whistling the theme from a Wallace and Gromit film. Later, as Janet and I sat in the Carnforth station cafe, trying to have a brief encounter, a child was sat at a piano in the corner, playing Beethoven’s ode to joy music. For me, these little musics conjured up deeper and richer realities. The Wallace and Gromit opened doors to memories of innocent fun. The Beethoven reminded me of the dream of a Europe no longer at war. OK at the minute, but this dream could be heading for trouble. Let’s hope this music will never be banned.
Maybe this power of music to bring up memories for us is part of the appeal of hymns to a certain generation of churchgoers: we need to discover what the ‘buttons’ are for people who have different cultures.
Carnforth was Janet’s ending point for today, and once again the scenery has changed: the sea has been visible through today’s drizzle, visible for the first time in many weeks.
God of the whole of me, speak to me, through reason, through emotions, through music and memories, through the love of friends, through my senses and my sense.