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Dubliniversary
Today (18th April) marks the one-year anniversary of me moving to Dublin… an event that I’m choosing to call my Dubliniversary. Not that I’m planning to celebrate the day in any particular way - except perhaps for a couple of drinks after our concert this evening.
I arrived in the city last April in the middle of an abnormal heat wave, with nothing more than a suitcase and the promise of a singing job in the cathedral choir. I had no place to live, no friends, and no day job. I was also leaving behind a very comfortable life in Edinburgh that I had established over the proceeding 12 years. And for what? Why had I quit a well-paid job, said goodbye to all my friends, and moved out of my lovely flat? Was I having a mid-life crisis or something?
Basically I had only one reason for coming to Dublin, and that was to try out the cathedral lay clerk lifestyle. It had been something that I’d always wanted to try ever since, as a boy treble, I had visited and sung in some of England’s finest cathedrals. I had missed the chance of being a cathedral chorister, but I could always dream of singing at the very highest level one day as an adult.
But why come to Dublin in particular? Wouldn’t it have been easier to go for a lay clerkship in Scotland or England? Well, I did enquire about becoming a lay clerk in Edinburgh, but was told there were no places available (interestingly, now, a year later, they have just issued an advert for a tenor), so I had to look further afield. And the problem with a lot of English cathedral roles is that the weekday Evensong services typically start at 5.15pm or 5.30pm - with call times for the choir being between 4.45pm and 5.00pm. So unless you have a day job with flexible working hours, or you happen to be a school teacher, then the start times can be a bit of an issue.
In Christ Church, however, our weekday Evensongs start later in the day at 6.00pm, and the choir warm-ups begin at 5.20pm. And that later start time, coupled with the fact that the choir only sing on Wednesdays and Thursday outside of the weekend, means that the singing role is a lot more compatible with a career.
So that’s why I’m here in Dublin. But what has the last year been like? Well, I’ve really enjoyed it. It was a big upheaval to start with, but it helped a lot to have a ready-made group of potential friends available in the choir. I’ve also grown to love this city and the Irish people, and have started to feel much more at home. The job market for IT people is also quite buoyant at the moment, so I’ve not had too much bother finding work. I’ve also got a rather cool, if quite pricey, apartment that’s only about a 10-15 minute walk from the city centre.
As to how long I’ll stay here… who knows? At the moment, it’s quite open-ended. I’m certainly planning to be here till at least the summer of 2009, and then I’ll have a think about what I want to do next. That might mean moving back to Edinburgh, going elsewhere, or staying here in Dublin. When I first moved to Edinburgh, it was only going to be for 2 years, and I ended up staying for 12 - and it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility for that to happen again.
April 18, 2008
Italy Tour
On Easter Monday the Christ Church choir head off on tour to Loreto, Italy, to perform at the International Sacred Music Festival. The choir will join the Orchestra of the Marche Region to perform Handel’s Messiah.
St Patrick's Concert
This evening we’ve got a concert at Christ Church, as part of the St Patrick’s Day Festival celebrations here in Dublin. It’s a bit of a mixed bag - with music from 8 different countries - which is a lot of fun to perform, and hopefully to listen to as well.
The full programme is:
Mozart Missa Brevis in D (K194) - Austria
Bach Cantata 182 “Himmelskönig, sei willkommen” for Palm Sunday - Germany
Araujo Los Coflades De La Estleya - Latin America
Poulenc Seigneur, je vous on prie - France
Pablo Casals O vos omnes - Spain
Howells Hills of the north rejoice - England
Traditional (arr. Runswick) She moved through the fair - Ireland
Chilcott The Making of the Drum - Africa
Parry I was glad - England
Gainful Employment
I got a phone call this afternoon from one of the recruitment consultants I’ve been dealing with recently. And it’s some tentative good news.
One of the companies I had an interview with earlier this week is planning to make me an offer. The details won’t come through till Monday, and there are some formalities to go through as well, but I’m really pleased.
New Dean
It was announced at the start of the Eucharist on Sunday morning that the archbishop has appointed the Venerable Dermot Dunne as the next Dean of Christ Church.
Dermot Dunne is the current archdeacon of Ferns, and was formerly dean’s vicar of the cathedral under Dean John Paterson from 1999 to 2001. His installation as Dean of Christ Church will take place on Thursday 29th May 2008 at 8.00pm.
- Statement by Archbishop Neill on the new appointment
- Statement by Archdeacon Dunne outlining his vision for the cathedral
Lent Begins
On this day - Ash Wednesday - every year I make some kind of public proclamation about what I’m planning to give up (or take up) for Lent.
Last year it was booze and caffeine - and I managed to avoid both for the full six and a half weeks. The year before I gave up alcohol and also went on a diet - the diet actually extending past the end of Lent for 6 months in all; helping me lose a total of almost 5 stone in weight.
This year, because my weight has been gradually creeping up over the last year or so, I’m going to go back on the diet. I’ll be using an online food diary called nutra check to record everything I eat and drink over the next 46 days, and will be limiting myself to 2000 calories a day (which is a reasonable target for a guy my size). I’ll also do 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day. And the plan is to lose at least a stone in weight before Easter - and hopefully more.
I’m not giving up alcohol as such, but I’ll be cutting right back. After all, booze can contain quite a lot of calories, and I’ll be wanting to reserve most (if not all) of my daily calorie allowance for food. I’m also not giving up on the caffeine either, as the withdrawal gives me awful headaches, and I get very sleeping - and I just don’t need any of that at the moment.
I am, however, considering a new thing - but I’m not sure whether I’ll manage it. I was thinking of going vegetarian for one day a week, just to see if cutting down on my meat intake will make me more healthy. I just don’t know at the moment whether my culinary skills are good enough to be able to prepare tasty and nutritious vegetarian meals.
Give it up for Lent
With Ash Wednesday fast approaching next week, I’m trying to decide on what to give up for Lent.
In recent years I’ve given up alcohol and caffeine - both of which have been quite hard to do, particularly the caffeine one. And a few years back I took up something for Lent: being completely honest with people. But that one turned out to be a bit of a disaster, and almost lost me some friends.
This year, for some reason, I don’t think I want to give up the booze. But I guess I can still cut down. I might try the caffeine thing, which will be okay as long as I can get past the week-long cold turkey of headaches, shaking, and sleepiness.
I’ve also decided that I’m going back on a diet. I’ve let my weight creep up over recent months, and really need to do something about it. And a daily calorie allowance will help me limit the alcohol consumption (because, when it comes down to it, food based calories are always better than liquid based ones).
Christmas cards
In case anyone is wondering, I’m not sending any Christmas cards this year. After discussing the matter with a friend recently, I decided it would be much better to take the money I would have spent on cards and stamps, and donate it to charity instead. So I hope you aren’t offended by not receiving a card.
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