tWwxcxz Commonwealth influence on jubilee anthem A PLATINUM jubilee anthem has been composed and recorded to commemorate the Queen’s 70 years on the throne, the i reports. EIIR: The Platinum Record is a two-part composition by Anton van der Mere and features London Community Gospel Choir. Soprano Lesley Garrett and West End actor Rodney Earl Clarke also feature on the recording. One segment ‘The Four British Nations’, by composer Olga Thomas, is inspired by Elgar and includes state trumpets, as well as chants and shouts of ‘vivat Regina Elizabetha’. During Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953, the same Latin words, meaning ‘long live Queen Elizabeth’, were sung during a choral performance of Hubert Parry’s ‘I Was Glad’. A second segment, ‘We Thank You From Our Hearts’, celebrates the Queen as the ‘mother of this nation’ and includes vocals from the London Community Gospel Choir, the Australian didgeridoo, Caribbean steel drums and Hindi, Maori and Swahili chants – sounds from across the globe, highlighting the Queen’s influence on the Commonwealth.
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Get a loaf of this Campaign says we knead a week to celebrate real bread Feature by Sarah Olowofoyeku
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T’S time to rise to a challenge. Real Bread Week, which begins today (Saturday 19 February), encourages people to buy real bread – dough without additives – from local, independent bakeries or to make their own real bread. The week is run by the Real Bread Campaign – a bid to get people baking and eating additive-free loaves. Bakeries and community sites are encouraged to run classes or other activities. The campaign is passionate about providing people with the means to bake or buy their own Real Bread loaves, which are nutritious and made without chemical raising agents. And it has benefits beyond the physical. Real Bread Week aims to ‘share ways of making bread better for people, communities and the planet’ says Chris Young, the campaign’s coordinator. ‘Making Real Bread is so therapeutic and doing so with other people can be a catalyst for all sorts of conversations,’ he adds. ‘People chat through things while they’re kneading together or waiting for the dough to prove that they otherwise might not talk about.’ He adds that the appeal of bread is that it is a staple food. ‘It can be, and is, made and enjoyed by people of all nations, cultures, colours, gender identities, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds, belief systems and income levels.’ Bread has been a staple for people across different times too. More than 2,000 years ago, Jesus used bread to provide for people when he turned five loaves and two fish into a meal for a crowd of 5,000. Bread was also part of the last meal that he shared with his friends before he died, a food he told them to remember him by. But Jesus also told his followers about a different kind of bread. He said, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry’ (John 6:35 New International Version). When he said this, Jesus recognised that eating good bread was important for physical satisfaction, but to be spiritually satisfied, people needed him. Regardless of our personal circumstances, following Jesus can give us hope, peace and deep satisfaction. Millions of people have found that it’s proved to be true – will we try it too?
Bread is a staple food
19 February 2022 • WAR CRY • 5