John died on New Year’s day just a few months short of his ninetieth birthday. Many of his large family, including his wife Sylvia along with a good number of our members were crowded into St Matthew’s Church, Harwell and afterwards at La Fontana in East Hanney to say goodbye to a longstanding member of Oxford Harmony and before that of White Horse Harmony.

The service started with Eva Cassidy’s version of Over the Rainbow, followed by The Lord’s my Shepherd taken from the Scottish Psalter of 1650 and written by Francis Rous. After a eulogy from his son, John and a poem read by his granddaughter Julia, there were prayers, a reading and an address. After this we went up to sing Irish Blessing. The next hymn was Wesley’s Love divine all loves excelling. After the commendation as the congregation departed we went to the front again to sing Sloop John B. This song was requested by Sylvia to match a nickname by which some of us knew John. As we left the church Sylvia thanked us and later, at La Fontana, we received a number of compliments on our singing.

Sometimes funerals can be purely sad occasions – this was not.