by Father Stephen Dingley
Dean’s Introduction
As I write this introduction to the Proclaimer, it’s nice to know that the Cathedral is once again, if not quite warm (it is never really warm in winter), at least not freezing! A few weeks ago I got up to the sound of the carbon monoxide alarm going off in the basement which contains the Cathedral boiler. Of course, that meant the boiler had to be switched off immediately and the engineers called. When the engineer came, shone his torch on the inside of the boiler, and asked me if I could see light outside—and I could—it was clear that at the age of well over 40 years, the boiler had reached the end of its long life.
Fortunately, as we were expecting this might happen sooner or later, we had already got plans for what to do in such an eventuality. Indeed, we were intending to replace it anyway in a couple of years. An emergency system has now been installed, and the engineers can begin the major process
of stripping out the old boiler and installing a new system which should be more robust and significantly more efficient—which is good for the environment and good for our pockets. Another project currently going on is to upgrade the emergency lighting in Cathedral House. This is required by current fire safety regulations, and will make the house safer for all who work in it, for our visitors—and for me too. We are taking the opportunity to rewire the whole house (which needed doing rather soon in any case). So that’s a bit more disruption until around Easter. But then hopefully house and church should be back to normal.
On a more joyful note, the Cathedral choir have recently recorded Choral Vespers for BBC Radio 3. Choral Evensong (or Choral Vespers from Catholic churches) is one of their longest running programmes, having been broadcast weekly since 1926, apart from a brief shift to monthly in the 1970s. Our choir’s recording was broadcast on Wednesday 3 December, and repeated on Sunday 7 December. You should still be able to listen to it on BBC Sounds when you receive this issue of the Proclaimer—it will be available for 30 days since its transmission. For our choir to be chosen to record for this flagship broadcast is a great honour, and the choir certainly rose to the occasion, singing beautifully for the glory of God and to bring beauty, peace and uplift to the thousands who listen. Many thanks and congratulations to Elizabeth, to John and Alexander (the organists) and to the whole choir. Many thanks as ever to Melinda Heathcote and Bryden Isbister, and to all who have contributed to the contents and production of this issue of the Proclaimer. May God bless all of you and your families and friends as we celebrate once more the joyful season of Jesus’ birth.