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King Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, drove back the invading Danes and restored the city after the Dark Ages. The city was his capital and his statue dominates the Broadway. His descendants became the first Kings of England. William the Conqueror came here to claim the crown of England. The present Queen came and presented the Maundy money in 1979 to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the Cathedral. The Cathedral was begun in 1079 and the Nave was re-modelled in the 14th century; it is said to be the longest cathedral nave in the Perpendicular Gothic style. At 556 feet from east to west, it is the longest medieval cathedral in Europe (even longer than St. Albans) and one of the most beautiful. Also here is one of the country's leading boys' independent (or "public") schools, founded in 13B2 (most of the original 14th century buildings remain) by William of Wykenham, Bishop of Winchester. Boys who are, or have been, pupils at this school are known as "Wykenhamists". So there you are - at Winchester, if you hadn't already guessedl (I wonder whether the Chairman of our Library Board, Dr. Robert G. Wyckham, might have an ancestral connection there.) As in Salisbury, I visited Winchester Cathedral and once more experienced the overpowering feeling of history and timelessness - it has "always" been here and always will be. What made the visit even more uplifting was the glorious sound of the mighty Cathedral organ playing continuously, both sacred music and "popular" - even some lighthearted - modern tunes. Why was this musical treat happening, literally "bathing" us in sound whereever we went in the Cathedral? Well, like Salisbury, the Cathedral here is also suffering from age and attacks from "enemies within" - this time the Death Watch Beetle which burrows into timbers and weakens them to the point where they must be replaced. The damage here was in the tower, and already the bells had been removed because of their great weight, and the huge timbers have to be replaced. The organ music was part of a 24-hour "Organ-A-Thon" to raise funds - the two Cathedral organists and an organ scholar were taking turns to play the organ continuously for a 24-hour period, hoping to raise 24,000 (or $48,000) during this time. We were there in mid-afternoon and they had reached 15,000 since 8:00 p.m. the previous evening. There were numerous volunteers around with large baskets accepting donations, and for special "request numbers" you paid a bit more: at one point, suddenly, the jolly tune of "I do like to be beside the seaside" broke out and all of us there were delighted by the slightly irreverent but happy sortie into everyday life amidst the dignity of the historic and holy place. (It brought back memories of Reginald Dixon at the organ of the Tower Ballroom at Blackpool, for those who are old enough to remember!) We were, of course, treated to lovely sacred and classical music from Bach to Handel to Elgar and many more; and I don't care what anybody says, there is just nothing like it when you hear it beautifully played in such surroundings. Next Meeting There will not be a meeting this month or next, so the next meeting will be on Wednesday, September 25th at 7:00 p.m. The next Newsletter will be in September, with a reminder about the meeting on the 25th. Have a lovely summer! Tony Scammell Editor