The Parish Magazine February 2026

PARISH NOTICEBOARD — 7
Claude
writes
on 'the
street'
I was fortunate enough to be given tickets
to 'My Fair Lady' at Sonning Mill, over
the Christmas and New Year period. I was
delighted because it is one of my favourite
shows.
Originally, it was produced in Broadway in
1956.
Barbara’s cousin, who lived in Canada,
sent a vinyl copy to us as there was no
internet in those days.
The show didn’t come to London until
a couple of years later and there was a big
splash about it. By then, I knew all the
songs!
On the day that Barbara and I saw it in
London, the star didn’t seem to perform
very well — he was not as good as on the
record.
I noticed that he said, 'Damn, damn, damn'
rather pathetically and not as forcefully as
he should have.
The next day, it was pointed out that he
was an understudy.
Julie Andrews played Eliza Doolittle
in the original stage show but not in the
original film version when Eliza was played
by Audrey Hepburn. I remember there was a
bit of an argument going on at the time.
The film went on to win to win eight
Oscars.
I have always liked the music and
remember all the songs. My favourite is ‘On
the Street where you live’, which is probably
one of the best known. It even made the pop
charts for a little while.
We are very lucky to have such a great
little theatre on the street where we live!
From the
editor's
desk
The Parish Magazine — February 2026 15
With help of some friends . . .
Whenever I am asked how I manage to find, edit and write articles for
this magazine I am always reminded of a lesson my first newspaper
editor taught me on the day I told him that there was no news.
He sent me out to walk around the streets of London. I was not
to speak to anyone, but keep my eyes and ears open, and not to come
back until I had a story.
The result of my walk produced my first front page, story! And this
is almost still the case today when I sit down to produce The Parish
Magazine — the only addition is that I find praying also helps!
This issue has been no exception, except that it has reminded me
that producing this magazine would not be possible without the help
of our Ministry Team and other regular contributors who I have met
through St Andrew's Church, people such as Claude, whose lighthearted
stories I know are enjoyed by many readers, Colin Bailey, who
regularly updates us from around the world about the continuing
persecution of Christians because of their faith, Anne Elgeti who keeps
us informed about improvements and changes in the NHS, Harriet
Nelson who advises us on the ever changing fashion world, and Phil
Mason, who attends Church occasionally with his brother-in-law —
who is a regular. Phil is a graphic designer as well as being a talented
musician and cartoonist.
He is one of our contributors that I have known the longest — I
worked with him many years ago when I led a team of press officers and
he worked in an adjacent office.
There are many others, of course, and they all demonstrate just how
talented a congregation we have with many different interests and
some fascinating hobbies.
Take James, for example, who is pictured below with one of his
remarkable models that he makes from discarded packaging. This one is
very topical as it is of a village bedecked with snow. Once he has created
it, he usually dismantles it and builds something different.
If you have a hobby or interest or club activities that you would like
to share with us, please let me know — it will help to keep The Parish
Magazine fresh and interesting. We all have a story to tell!
MutareHawk, Dreamstime.com