This morning I went for my Friday prayer walk. It’s the darkest Friday of the year. I got up in the dark; I walked along the beach in the dark. I remembered friends who are living in dark times…
I’m reading ‘Birdsong’. It’s France in 1916. Stephen has led his men out of their trenches… ‘Once more in ragged suicidal lines they trudged towards the pattering death of mounted guns. Bloodied beyond caring, Stephen watched the packets of lives with their memories and loves go spinning and vomiting into the ground. Death had no meaning…’
For many in our world this is their dark reality; others it’s a picture of their dark reality. Christmas speaks about Jesus coming to a dark world…
There was a sharp frost. I remembered the old phrase ‘The darkest hour is just before dawn’… and The Mamas and The Papas singing it in the sixties. The sun was rising over the sea…
Yesterday’s TV news yesterday showed ‘The Prime Timers’, a choir from Warwickshire care homes, singing in a Christmas carol concert in Stratford-upon-Avon. With an average age of 94 they’ve broken the world record. They’re the oldest choir in the world!
These senior citizens aren’t focusing on the darkness of advancing years… Christmas speaks about people walking in darkness seeing a great light.
The sun rose. Sea, beach and sky were beautiful… I continued to sing The Mamas and The Papas… ‘This is dedicated to the one I love’
Before the soldiers in ‘Birdsong’ went over the top, many to their deaths, they wrote letters to their loved ones back home. Stephen wrote: ‘Dear Isabelle, …I write to you as the only person I have ever loved…’
The Prime Timers brought light and joy, performing to around a hundred and fifty friends and loved ones…
Christmas tells of a mother dedicated to the one she loved; a man who brought light and love… and shows us how we can be light and dedicated to the ones we love.
malcolmsmusings.org 
Malcolm, what a touching post. Your walk, read, and sharing of this amazing choir! WOW! So many live in the darkness ~ dread and doom ~ Lord, help us to be a light. For unto us your child was born~ the light of the world. God, people need Hope! And you! God bless you, Malcolm.
On another note~ thank you for sharing Birdsong. I’m a fan of war history ~ because their lives and stories fascinate me. They’ve seen a darkness I can never imagine.
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Birdsong is graphic in it’s depiction of the horrors of war. It certainly made me appreciate more fully how awful it was.. yet sadly conditions like this still continue!
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timely reminder for me living alone wi depression
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Really sorry to hear that Graham. I hope and p;ray that you’re feeling better soon. Might you be coming this way soon?
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its not atop of my agenda when you feel life is inert.
i have been communicating with jill and she’s kept me upto date with the cruelty and speed of Alzheimer’s.
i didn’t wanna burden her too much with my stuff when she’s handling real issues with new life learning skills
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That’s a wonderful picture of the senior choir-and what an achievement! Love the Santa hats! 🙂
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It certainly is a great picture, Nancy – and it was good to hear them too!
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I love the one senior lady in the back, smiling like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland.
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On the TV report, Grant, there were lots of senior smiles!
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Excellent!
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