Past Revisited: Being a choir boy at St Andrew’s Church in Frimley Green, Surrey

During the 80s I was a choir boy at St Andrew’s church in Frimley Green, Surrey (England). I enjoyed my years as a choir boy, and have many good memories of my time at the church and the friends I made.

On Sundays I would often ring the bell, practicing my ‘double-chime’, and when I became one of the senior lads, I would often walk with the flag. At one stage I was quite proud of my voice when I sung ‘Morning has broken’, until it eventually became the deeper voice, it is today.

On Saturdays during the summer we would attend one to three weddings for a half-hour at a time. Trying my best to encourage the congregation to sing louder, and being in the choir, I was videoed numerous times.

Once the wedding was long over, the choir would walk amongst the pews and pick up discarded carnations, to give to our Mums. Then my Mum would often place two or three in a small vase upon her kitchen window sill. To this day, carnations are usually the flowers I buy others.

One Saturday the organist failed to turn up! Nobody carried mobile phones, so we were unable to get in contact with the organist. During the signing of the register, I entertained the visitors with ode to joy on the organ a couple of times, and another choir member also played a song or two, to applause afterwards.

If there was little time between wedding services, then the choir would stick around to hangout together. People such as the Hamer brothers, Catherine and Alison the twins, and for a while my sister (later an organist as well) was also in the choir. At one time, Jason Goodall a family friend at the time was the organist.

Brian the vicar, was a nice chap and his wife Daphne would make wonderful cloth covers for the alter. On Christmas days children would be invited to bring their toys in, and Brian would walk down taking interest and showing the congregation.

I remember the building of the church extension, and one evening, along with many other church members I helped remove the vicar’s seating area, ready for maintenance and alternations. We found an old mint tin, long forgotten under the vicar’s chair.

Religion and me had a falling out many years ago, but it doesn’t mean I can’t look back on my time as a choir boy with fond memories.