And did those feet in ancient times…

Listed on September 30, 2014 in Blogs!

Earlier on in the year we enjoyed a wonderful performance of words and music by Opus Anglicanum – a small ensemble of male voices – not immediately everyone’s cup of tea I hear you say, but that would be jumping to a wrong impression. It was fantastic, brilliantly executed, funny and moving in equal measure. Linking the anthology and making a big contribution himself was the narration from John Touhey. A former BBC announcer with the World Service his voice was wonderfully nuanced and his delivery faultless. His rendition of William Blake’s words ‘Jerusalem’ left us all stunned by its pathos, written as it was during the First World War. Sadly, John died unexpectedly in September after a very short illness – barely a week. How sad is that?

And now news of another death; our dear friend and former colleague, John Doble. John was Dillington’s first ‘builder in residence’ so to speak. After many years of paying big repair bills we decided the time was right to save money and engage our own builder who could deal with problems before they became big problems. We also wanted someone who could undertake improvements and projects as well. Amongst the many jobs, John oversaw the ensuiting of the Mews and the refurbishment of Pheasantry allowing the offices to be moved from the House. John was a fantastic builder who took great care and pride in his work. He understood the need to work around the needs of Dillington allowing for the business to continue without interruption. John retired many years ago and his health was fine. His death was sudden and unexpected.

This blog doesn’t make for happy reading but some readers would want to know of their passing. For both, it was a privilege to know them and in different ways they enriched our lives here at Dillington.