East & West Magazine Spring 2018

EVENTS
You cannot beat Burns for pure expression of English, and so
here is his description of what Burns Night has become:
‘Some hae meat and canna eat, and some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit.’
HIGHLAND HEARTS
The Scottish made their presence felt
for the club’s annual Burns Night
celebration. Members and guests
gathered in the Smoking Room for drinks,
and then went downstairs to the Dining
Room for Scottish fare led by the great
chieftain o’ the puddin’-race, the haggis.
Organised by Andy Macdonald and attended
by Micky and Muff Steele-Bodger, whose
idea it originally was, the evening included
poems, speeches and a lecture about the
life of Robbie Burns, delivered by Dr David
Purdie. And as for Micky? ‘Gie him strong
drink until he wink...’
Katie Dowding replies for the lassies
The arrival of the haggis
Keith Wallace addresses the haggis – sort of
The club’s musical life swells and fills the clubhouse. It reached
St James’s Church over Christmas with the tri clubs’ carol
service. Back at the clubhouse are the evenings of jazz.
SPIRITUAL JAZZ
Spike Wells is no ordinary musician. A
recording by Dizzy Gillespie sparked
his interest in jazz. He took up the
drums in his early teens and later had lessons
with former Miles Davis drummer Philly Joe
Jones. He read Greats at Oxford, where he
met former club chairman Iain Wolsey, and
qualified as a solicitor. After practising law
for 22 years, he developed a strong sense of
vocation that led him to become a deacon in
the Church of England when he was 49 and
a year later to take early retirement from the
bank and become a stipendiary curate at St
Peter’s Church, Brighton. He now works as
both a priest and a musician, and brought his
choice of musicians to the club in February.
The Spike Wells trio underway
Tri club carols
As a prelude to the winter party, the
club joins the other two clubs in
St James’s Square for a joint carol
service at St James’s Piccadilly. Members
and guests from the East India, the Rag and
the In & Out feel how much they are part of
th St James’s parish community, thanks to
the church’s remarkable vicar, the Rev Lucy
Winkett, well-known to listeners of BBC
Radio 4’s Today programme.
Our Christopher Wren-designed church is
a centre of worship throughout the year, and
also has a world-class reputation for classical
music concerts, which also take place all year
round, too. Among musical treats in May
are Brahms’ Symphony No 4 in E minor and
music by the Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir.
For more, visit SJP.org.uk
CHRISTMAS
Three clubs come together in their parish church
Members and guests in the Smoking Room
Spike talks us through the tunes
The protagonists
Fishing
We learn how Holy Willy meets Cutty Sark
thanks to Donald McPherson
Club carol
concert
Members and guests filled the church
Casting
competition
Some but not much fishing was had in
the winter months. Among activities,
the section went grayling fishing at
Wherwell. Highlight of the season was the
annual dinner and casting competition. After
an excellent supper, in company with the
Lawyers’ Fishing Club, and after listening to
angling poetry by Alasdair Shaikh, members
and guests went to the East India Room
for the annual casting competition, where
fixtures and fittings take the place of eddies
and swirls.
Now summer is upon us, we are looking
forward to a series of reservoir days and the
section’s rented water on the Loddon.
Members and guests in the East India Room
The casting competition commences
Carl Statham
Joint winners Stephen Beverley (left) and
Jonathan Stevens from the Lawyers’ Fishing Club
In a break with tradition, the club fielded
professional singers for its annual carol
concert, rather than an invited schools
choir. The Gentlemen of Hampton Court
produced a glorious collection of carols both
for them selves to sing and for members and
guests to join in.
Members and guests enjoyed drinks, dinner...
The Gentlemen of Hampton Court led the singing
...and carols
The chairman gives a reading
Caricaturist at the party in the club afterwards
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EAST & WEST – SPRING 2018
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