...to speak to a dinner organised by the Catenians. V. agreeable, friendly, rather grand. Dinner began with the official prayer for the Pope, and finished with Grace after Meals followed by the Loyal Toast to the Queen...I was responding to the toast of "Our ladies and our guests". It was all fun, and there was dancing afterwards, which I much enjoyed too. Apparently ballroom dancing has made a big comeback just recently, because of TV's Strictly Come Dancing. I enjoyed being twirled around the room and it took me back to the days of Army dances and balls in Berlin in the early 1980s when J. was a young subaltern and I was wearing my wedding dress trimmed up with a coloured sash...
The Catenians gave me a simply huge bouquet, which was v. kind, but posed something of a problem: how to take it all the way back to London? However, it gave me much pleasure as I took it back to my hotel room, and I enjoyed it the next day, when along with my luggage it accompanied me to Mass at the "Hidden Gem" church in Mulberry Street. I love this church, which I've previously only visited on busy weekdays, and it was a pleasure to be there for Sunday Mass, and we had "Soul of my Saviour" and "Hail, Redeemer, King Divine"...and afterwards I took the bouquet to the side-altar in that glorious sanctuary, and now it is there in all its glory, all properly with water and everything, and it should last for the whole week and quietly remind the Lord of all the things I prayed to him about...
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"Soul of My Saviour" and "Hail Redeemer", two of my favourite hymns; can't remember when I last heard them. I can remember the whole church singing and nearly lifting the roof with HR, now, hardly anyone sings. One reason is that the choir has the hymns/songs pitched so high that men and non choir women can't join in.
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