Wow, what a night!

Chris writes,
Last night we attended 'Sarah's Concert', a memorial concert for Sarah put on by the students of Marlborough School.

It was fantastic!

The students organised it themselves with help from two teachers, Claire McCourt & Kate Calnan, and together they did a wonderful job.

There were pianists, soloists, duets & groups. There was a poem & a bible reading. There was even a dancer and some of the female staff sang too. Content varied from 'Amazing Grace' to 'Stairway to Heaven' & just about everything in between.

Abi Spiller sang the song she'd written in memory of Sarah, & I doubt if there was a dry eye in the house.

Such amazing talent from so many young people.

Toni played with a group of friends from church plus Dan's dad, Dave, on drums. They played 'Give Thanks to the Lord' and 'Blessed Be Your Name'. Everyone got involved, standing up & clapping, it was just a shame we hadn't thought to have the words available as I think people would have joined in. (I was singing along of course. The headmistress urged me to go up on stage but I wouldn't inflict my amplified voice on anyone!)

But in the end the show was totally stolen by our very own Queen, played hilariously by three of the teachers, Tony Buckmaster, Julian Easterbrook & Dowie (or is that Douwey?) Holly. Not the most talented (!!!) of the evenings performances, but certainly the funniest. We were all on our feet, singing along, clapping & waving our arms in the air in true Queen style. They had to do it twice of course. Sarah would have loved it! (She would also have made a few comments about jean clad rear ends - if any of you three are reading this you should be blushing)

(Whoops! Perhaps as a parent I'm not meant to say things like that about the teachers!...Oh well!)

Finally the headmistress, Julie Fenn, said some very kind words about Toni & I, & presented me with a beautiful bunch of flowers, & us with a professionally recorded copy of the song Abi wrote.

At this point I must just say that anything that she, or anyone else, has seen in us to impress them just recently is simply a refection of our great God. It is his 'Amazing Grace', that has helped us to cope, & I guess that it is times of testing like this that reveal where your foundations lay. Our's are in God & he hasn't failed us. Anyone reading this who doesn't already know that for themselves should try Him out, He won't fail you either!

OK, preach over! Thanks again to everyone who took part last night (not forgetting those behind the scenes). I hope knowing Sarah & sharing with us in this time of grief will enrich all your lives in some way for ever.

Chris