Some of us from St.Mary's Church have been reading John's Gospel leading up to Easter. To take a verse out of context, Jesus says that God gave him his disciples or friends for a purpose at a particular time. Someone I know who suffered a terrible personal tragedy was peeved that God didn't perform a spectacular miracle but then realised that the friends and NHS staff around her were chosen and were gifts to her at the time she needed them. At a crisis time like the one we inhabit at the moment, we're realising that our friends and neighbours are there as a resource to help us through, and we are similarly a resource for them.
Now a seamless transition to a decsription of last night's Zoom session involving the band of musicians who normally gather at the Cliff on a Sunday night. This was a trial session to see if we could replicate in some degree the high artistry that distinguishes those weekly gatherings. To preserve their anonymity let's call them Andrea, Rachel, Dave, Michael, Geoff and Jan plus the shadowy presence of Clive. Last night they were a gift to me and I hope we were all gifts to each other.
Mind you it wasn't a smooth occasion. Dave, who appeared to be in an airing cupboard, was blaming everyone because he couldn't hear them, Rachel kept leaving the room to get food, Mike seemed too relaxed in his bedroom, Geoff and Jan looked completely in command of the medium, Andrea, our host for the evening, appeared to be concentrating very hard as if she was a NASSA technician landing a moon module. I attempted to give advice which was largely ignored and then there was Clive. Clive, our techi infant, was a name on a blank screen, yet even without a mic or a webcam he managed a thumbs up to let us know he could hear.
But it was not the real thing. We couldn't play together because, as Gareth Malone told the nation on The One Show, we would be a beat behind when we tried to join in. Nor did the sound of our solo performances have that purity of sound, consistency of pitch and subtelty of nuance that distinguished our live performances. Maybe it was the lack of beer. I had a glass of red wine, Rachel had a chilli biscuit, Dave was abstaining, Mike is not allowed beer in the bedroom, Andrea couldn't drink because her family were there and don't know that she drinks, and Geoff and Jan had each other. What Clive was doing behind his blank screen is a matter for conjecture.
It was fun and it was good to be together and these guys were a gift to my Friday evening - but it was not real. I hope that over the next months we don't get so acclimatized to virtual relationships that we'll be awkward when it comes to the real thing - like tourists witnessing some marvellous experience but considering it not real unless it goes digital with a selfie to post on Facebook.