All Saint's Church, Darfield, South Yorkshire ... United Kingdom

All Saint's Church, Darfield, South Yorkshire, UK

I've been very fortunate over the years to get to visit many places across the globe; however, I have to say that All Saint's Church in Darfield in on the top of my most memorable list.  There are many reasons for which this church takes up residence in the story book of my mind.  The history, beauty, grounds, and even the musky aroma that is indicative of many a castle and cathedral in the UK.  However, one of my most valued memories is the concert in which I performed in this magnificent building with my friends and tour-mates from The Continental Singers & Orchestra, Tour G.  What a memorable evening this was surely to be.

On a crisp summer afternoon in Darfield, we arrived at one of the most ancient, historical, and interesting churches in all of South Yorkshire.  Having been built on the site on an older Saxon church, dating as far back as the 8th century, the church was reminiscent of the reflection of parish churches for over twelve centuries.  The name Darfield originates from the word "feld" which describes an area of pasture land and the term "dere" describing deer which were often found in the area.  Eventually 'Derefeld' would be known as 'Darfield".

Grave Marker for Robert Millthorpe

Fellow tour-mate Tim McClure

We were all eager to explore the grounds.  Fulfilling our expectations, many of the grave markers dated back as many as several hundred years.  A great deal of them, however, were very difficult to read and were surely as old, if not older, than their counterparts in this neighborhood of stone monuments.  One, however,  particularly captivated our attention.  It was that of Robert Millthorpe.  This poor bloke!  As we learned from reading the grave marker, he sadly dug his own grave!  The grave maker read  ...  "The Mortal Remains of Robert Millthorpe who died Sept 13, 1826 aged 19 years. He lost his life by inadvertently  throwing this stone upon himself whilst in the service of Sir Raywood of Ardsley who erected it to his memory."  I've heard the saying "your digging your own grave" ... the fate of this poor bloke, however, would take it a bit to literally!  Now, every time I hear this phrase I stop and say a small prayer for Mr. Millthorpe.

Bell Tower tour!

Bells in Tower

After our tour through the grounds we came in contact with the "bellringer" of the church.  We were of the few fortunate souls that were privileged to tour the tower.  Several of us entered into a room within the tower which houses the ropes for the bells.  These ropes, covered in red velvet, were each attached to one of eight bells hanging directly above us in the bell tower.  I can remember the look on our faces with the gentleman stated "please be careful as to not hit the ropes .... for some of the bells are loose and  may inadvertently fall through the ceiling."  (Again, the word inadvertently would come up ... and I wasn't sure I wanted to test fate as happened to Mr. Millthorpe).  Not the most comforting of words when you are crowded into a small room like a pack of sardines!  Upon his telling the stories of the bells we were then invited to climb up a very narrow and small ladder to the where the bells were housed.  These had to be the largest bells any of us had ever seen!  We then made our way to the top of the bell tower, stepping out onto the roof of the church, waiving to our fellow tour-mates below.  Upon completion of the tour the bellringer demonstrated the "ringing of the bells".  What a sound!

Setting up for concert.

The Beautiful setting for the evening's concer

The time had now come for the business at hand ... the reason we were visiting the church ... the concert.  By this point in our tour we had been traveling for approximately 6 weeks and had performed in the number of 48-50 concerts.  Setting up and tearing down were not foreign to our schedules.  However, this church posed a challenge ... the layout!  Although one of the more beautiful venues, the arrangement and area of space in which had to perform was quite a bit different than we had experienced thus far on tour.  Our creative minds went to work and quickly decided on placing the orchestra/band behind the singers, we put place our narrator in the pulpit, and the soloist out front ... thus the set-up for the concert and one of the best/worst practical jokes in history was underway.  We had done it!  We had beat the challenge of making the confined space work to our advantage.

FREEZE FRAME ..... open right ear .... insert CREST toothpaste.  I am at the very center, top row ... you may can even see the look on my face! :0)

The concert this evening was packed and the house was energized with the ever present connection with the audience (I love the energy you can feel from the audience!). All was going as planned, even the plans of the orchestra. :0) .... During one of our numbers in the first half, the choreography called for freeze frame pose, where the singers and orchestra would suddenly stop ... as if someone had pushed the pause button.  During this time our director would go to the singers and instrumentalist encouraging them to play, however all to no avail.  Unbeknown to me were the plans of the orchestra ... or a special few to remain anonymous (however, you know who you are!!)  During our freeze frame, the orchestra, who were blocked from the view of the audience, had "orchestrated" one of the best/worst pranks in our tour history!  During my representation of a mannequin, an unnamed member (from our keyboard section!! lol) proceeded to fill my right ear with CREST TOOTHPASTE!  You heard it!  CREST!  Can I just tell you that stuff will clean out an ear better than anything I've come across since!  Once the music, singing, and choreography started back up I took my right hand to the right ear and swung CREST toothpaste over the entire orchestra!  I had to do something with it!! :0) ...  It wasn't until immediately after this filling of my left eustachian tube that the orchestra remembered who's solo was to follow!  Again, you have guessed it!  MINE!!

What do they say ... the show must go on!  You bet!  We immediately proceeded into the next song, my solo "He's Alive".  As you can see in the following picture, when we sat up the stage for the soloist out front, stage right.  This was a great location for the soloist .... however, for me with an ear full of CREST toothpaste it would soon pose a bit of a challenge.  Not only did I have the remnants of minty freshness in my left ear, but I also had the pastiness of the chalky-like substance on my right hand ... oh yeah ... THE HAND WITH WHICH I HOLD THE MICROPHONE!  LOL!!
As I sang, "He's Alive, He's Alive ...." I would take the microphone to my chest and gently push it back up into my so I would not drop it (it was constantly slipping out of my slippery-greased up hand).  Luckily for me, the audience had no idea any of this was going on!  I had pulled off the epitome of  "the show must go on".  (Let me stop and say this was the last time for a while that we had the freeze frame in the program!  Out director was not all amused with the antics of the orchestra! Although, I think now he has to admit he has had a few laughs!!)

Continental Singers & Orchestra performance at All Saint' Church, Darfield, South Yorkshire, UK

As I wrap this up, I am glad to report that this concert was a huge success and that many, including us, experienced a wonderful evening.  We are most grateful to the church for having us and being such gracious hosts.  There is nothing quite like English hospitality.  We had a wonderful summer of traveling and performing which will never be forgotten.  Many of us are still in continuous connection and gather once a year to reminisce about our times on the road, the places we went, the things we saw, and mostly of the people who touched our lives in so many ways that they will never know.  Our lives, MY LIFE, was surely touched by this group of people with whom I traveled.  They are my extended family and will always be.  I miss those days and have thought often about touring again.  However, when you have an experience like this, experience the closeness that we experienced, you can be assured that that will never be repeated.  So, I have not toured again with another group ... only doing solo performances and spot dates as a special guest performer (I love singing duets!!).  I do, however, look forward to the days we all have together once a year where we sing, laugh, talk, share, cry, and heal with one another.

I will leave you with a few additional pictures from All Saint's Church, Darfield, South Yorkshire, UK.  I will be back!

That's a wrap!

Jason