SAD NEWS TRAVELS FAR

I am so glad Kate Francis’s Notes from the Isles have continued in Scotland. I’ve enjoyed reading her columns for years. They are like letters from a family member updating us with the latest news in their life. It’s the first thing I read in each new issue.

What she wrote in the July 2022 issue (122) was a bit sad. In 2008, my wife and I went on a choir tour of Scotland with singers from several churches from Atlanta, Georgia. I was the organist who accompanied the choir. We sang in a number of churches around Scotland, including St Giles’ Cathedral, which was quite a thrill. One of the churches we sang in was the Old High Church, Inverness. The organ was not a large instrument, but it was built by a famous English organ builder, Henry Willis (‘Father’ Willis), and it was a treat for me to play it.

At that time, the church was raising funds to refurbish the organ. The members of our group and I made our contributions. I said at the time, I hoped to return once the organ work was done and play it again, maybe perform a recital. Years later, I read in an American organ journal that the work had been completed. I still had hopes of returning to the church someday.

Not long ago I read some sad news elsewhere, and Kate’s writing in the July issue confirmed that Old High Church had closed and held its final services. It somehow seemed appropriate to receive that news from Kate Francis. I’m sad to hear that a beautiful church has closed and that I will not have the opportunity for a return visit to play the organ again, but I am thankful for the memory of our last visit.

John Coble, Athens, Georgia, USA