Hail The Day!

A Memory of Cannock.

One year, for Ascension Day, a curate at St.Luke's decided that we, the choirboys, should ascend the church tower and sing appropriate hymns. (Was it the Rev. Pollett?)

All of us lads dutifully made our way, fully robed in cassocks, ruffs and surplices I might add, up through the external door on the north side of the tower, past the bellringers loft. There followed an interesting, narrow, stone spiral staircase to negotiate but at last were emerged onto the tower's roof.

It was a cold Thursday morning at ground level but up there it was far worse with the wind whistling through our vestments. Our surplices billowed out like spinnaker sails and one was blown right over Chris Underwood's head.

We sang just a couple of verses of 'Hail the day that sees Him rise' at 'allegro vivace', (i.e. rather quickly), took a swift and unusually short blessing and scurried back down to the relative warmth of the choir vestry. Hot cups of sweet tea were served and they certainly revived us and thawed our fingers which had clutched our hymn books.

I do believe this was the only time that this special Christian day was marked in such a manner!