Bus Challenge No 221

Bath Abbey Heritage Open Day: “A fun, musical demonstration for all ages of our remarkable Klais church organ by our Director of Music and Assistant Organist, followed by the chance to hear a recital.”

Difficulties with the patient first thing, the morning carer arriving late, and a lengthy unexpected phone call with the VW doc all meant that I was half an hour late leaving home and missed my intended bus. So by the time I arrived at Bath Abbey I’d missed out on the limited tickets for a backstage tour of the organ loft. But I did get to enjoy the demonstration, followed by the recital. I do enjoy organ music, especially when it’s in such a beautiful building as the abbey, and, with wonderful acoustics, the music just wraps around you and swallows you whole... 

Two hours after arriving in Bath I was back on the bus home, so not the full escape that I’d hoped for, but still it was so good to finally get out of the house. And on the positive side, missing out on the backstage tour meant that I arrived home before the heavy rain arrived! A windy, chilly autumnal 15 degrees.

Total bus journey time = 44mins

Thank you for all your recent kind stars and hearts. The battery is running low on both the blipper and her iPad, so I’ll catch up with your journals tomorrow.

For anyone interested in the actual organ: “There have been eight different organs in Bath Abbey since 1634. The current one was made in 1997 by Klais of Bonn and restored by that company in 2023. It has over 4000 pipes, 4 manuals and pedals and 62 stops. The complicated workings sit over 9 metres above the Abbey floor and it has mechanical action with electronic coupling.”