Phantom of the Palace
I'm just back from having an interesting two days in London. A few of us from the Vine Trust had the honour of being invited to a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace as part of the celebrations surrounding Princess Anne's 60th Birthday. It turned out to be an excellent day and the weather added to the whole occasion. It was hot and sunny and the Princess seemed to be enjoying meeting up with a number of representatives from the 300 and more Charities to which she is Patron.
Of course when in London it is also an opportunity to take in a show. We managed to get tickets to go and see "Phanton of the Opera" now I must confess that I'm not a great fan of Lloyd Weber's music to me much of it all sounds the same and it has a touch of the production line about it. But hey who am I to critise, one of the staff was telling me the show has been running for over 23 years in the same theatre and is played to packed audiences most evenings. So I guess there is a huge audience for musicals.
As I looked around at the packed theatre it got me thinking how many of our churches would be packed like this on a daily basis seven days a week? I began to wonder is their a story of faith that would engage people to the same extent. Any ideas? What would you make a musical about to engage people with faith issues? I've just read in the paper recently that the Vatican are promoting a three hour musical centred around the life and times of the late Pope John Paul the second. the musical is entitled ' Don't Be Afraid" it would appear this was a phrase John Paul used a lot to inspire those round him to live lives of faith.
So why the photo? Where is the Guard? Well having a look around the Palace I thought there was milage in the idea of a Phatom of the Palace. But don't be afraid. If you look closely you'll see the guard is still on his horse its the way the photo has been taken.
