The Food Of Love

TFoL Chapter 10

Dame Enid Spink,   Monica Baddingham,   Rutminster  and the river Fleet  are borrowed from.    Jilly Cooper.

Part 10

The Rutshire Youth Orchestra's  first  concert was scheduled  for  the  17th December at  the  Jubliee Hall  Rutminster.

“ It might sound like it's a long way off”.   Mark warned his young musicians.  But I can assure you the 3  months will go by fast.

You'll need to  practice at home as well as here if we're to be ready.

Now's the time for  jumping ship if you don't think you can be commited.

I'll  be furious if we get to a week before and someone says ' I don't think I can do this Mr Chatford'.  If anyone's thinking of going then do it now.”

He paused as if to give anyone who wanted to go their opportunity.  But no one moved.

“ Righto then.”   He  beamed.    “Let's start with   The Macbeth Symphonic Poem  by  Henry Hugo Pierson.”.

rehearsals were on Wednesday night.   So as Terrie had piano pupils to see to  Mark gave  him a lift to and from the Jubliee Hall  that he  hired for rehearsals.

At first Peter had been horrified.   He had no wish  for the news of his Mother's relationship with Mr Chatford to get out any sooner than couldn't be helped   amongst his peers.

Mark was  empathetic.   He could see how Peter might be given a hard time  about  being  ' Mr Chatford's Pet'   or some such rubbish.

“  It's no problem Peter.”  He told the anxious boy.   “ All we tell anyone is  that  I live a few door down from you.   Which is true  and that I know your Mum from  dog walking.   Also true.   We needn't even mention the cello lessons if you's rather not”.

This had earned him  lot's of points on the  approval scale.  And slowly  Peter was learning that away from their pupil/teacher   and  musician/ musical director  relationships  he and Mark  could become friends.

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Dame  Enid  Spink  had decided to  take on the running of the  Rutshire Youth Choir  herself.

Visiting  Mark  and seeing  how busy he already was  she suggested that for him to run the choir as well  was a bad idea.  “ Take on too much and you'll perform less well. “    She said in her no nonsense way.

|She was looking through what Mark had written so far  of the Uhtred Suite.   “ Don't be forgetting this”.   She told him.   It's going to be  fantastic.   “ I'd love to  conduct it  after you've got it's premier out of the way”.

She was equally  fulsome about  'Narnia' too.   Mark had  completed  the first 4  out of  the 10  sections. 

The orchestra wouldn't be learning it yet however.   They were working on the  Pierson and next  Schumann's work for piano    Scenes from  Childhood orchestrated by  Dame Enid.

Delivering the finished article was her main reason for coming today.

“ Bid's fair to to be a blinder of a concert”. She nodded approvingly as Mark fetched tea.

She'd taken a look at his work so far on 'Narnia'   and had  tried some of it out on the piano.

She could  just hear the brass representing  the  Great Lion Aslan  singing Narnia into being.  And the  many emotions of  Tumnus the Faun played on the oboe.

She was looking forward to hearing it very much.

Mark had been friends for some time with Dame Enid and she'd been a Musical Mentor  to him   in the days when his family  were trying to knock the idea of music as a  profession out of him.

She'd  known Aunt Letty since they  were at  St Hilda's together   even having been lovers for a  passionate 6 months  then friends ever after.

“  So then. How goes it with this  lady of yours  Young Chatford  ?” Enid boomed.   Her bluff  macho exterior masked a very romantic soul.   She'd been heart broken for Mark when Eleri had dumped him for Rannaldini.

Sad that he had not picked himself up and back into the saddle,   until he met Terrie    and he  looked to  have fallen like a balloon full of concrete.

“ It's going well”.    Mark beamed boyishly.   “ Really well. She's stayed over with me a few times  and we've told  her son about us.

He's handling it  brilliantly.   Though he's as strict as a  Victorian Patriarch”.   He chuckled.

“ I still haven't taken them to meet  Letty and Marjie though.   And it's high  time  I did”.

Enid held up her hand.   “ Fret not  leave all  to your  FairyGoddess-mother.  I'll  get Monica to do one of her special Sunday Lunches and I'll invite Letty and Marjie.   You bring  Terrie,   her Young Chap and did you say she has an Aunt living with her ?”

“ Elsie's her Godmother”.  Mark nodded.   “ But close enough for jazz”.

“ Splendid”.   Enid  clapped her hands.  “ Your ladies can meet in luxury then.    Monica won't let 'em lift a finger”.

TBC