Time Goes By Read Online Free PDF

He was puffing away at his pipe, engrossed in the sports pages, and he grunted from behind the newspaper. ‘Hmm … See you later, then. Have a nice time …’
     
    It was only five minutes’ walk to the parish church, which had been built in the early years of Victoria’s reign; greyish-yellow sandstone with a square tower and a clock which now stood at twenty minutes past ten. The organ was playing quietly as they entered and took their places in a pew a few rows from the front. Kathy’s friend, Shirley, was in a pew on the opposite side of the aisle with her mother, but not her father, Kathynoticed. The two friends grinned and waved to one another.
    At ten-thirty precisely the organist struck up with the opening bars of the first hymn, and the choir processed from the little room called the vestry to the back of the church, and then down the central aisle to the choir stalls. They were led by a man carrying a sort of pole – it was called a staff, said Aunty Win, and he was the churchwarden – and the vicar in his white gown and a black stole edged with green. In the choir were men, women, and boys and girls as well. The boys and girls were a few years older than Kathy. She recognised some of them from the junior school, especially Graham, Shirley’s brother, who was ten years old and had joined the choir quite recently. He did not even glance in his sister’s direction as they passed by, but kept his eyes glued to the hymn book. No doubt they had been warned not to wave or grin. Kathy reflected that he probably felt a bit of a fool with that ruffle round his neck.
    The men and the boys all wore white gowns – called surplices – but it was just the boys who had the ruffled collars. The ladies and the girls wore blue sort of cloak things, and the grown-up ladies had squarish hats on their heads. Kathy liked singing and she hoped that she might be able to join the choir when she was old enough. ‘
Awake, my soul, and with the sun, Thy daily stage of duty
run
…’ sang the choir and the congregation. Kathy tried to join in as well as she could. She could read quite well now and she soon picked up the tune, although she didn’t understand all the words. ‘
Shake off dull sloth and joyful rise, To pay thy morning sacrifice
.’ What was dull sloth, she wondered? She must remember to ask Aunty Win afterwards.
    It was quite a short service, really, although there seemed to be a lot of standing up and sitting down again. Prayers, with the choir singing the amens; a reading from the Bible about Jesus and the little children; another hymn; then some more prayers … Kathy’s thoughts began to wander a little. She was fascinated by the windows of coloured glass; stained glass, Aunty Win had told her. The morning sunlight was shining through the one nearest to her, making little pools of red, blue, green and yellow on the stone floor. The picture on the window was of Jesus standing up in a boat, talking to some of his disciples: Peter, James and John, she guessed – they were the fishermen. And behind him the Sea of Galilee was as blue as blue could be …
    Aunty Win nudged her as they all stood up for the next hymn. It was ‘Loving Shepherd of Thy Sheep’, and Kathy was able to sing it all as they had learnt that one at school. Then the vicar gave a little talk about families and the love thatwas to be found there. But he didn’t just talk about mothers; he mentioned fathers, sisters and brothers, and aunts and uncles as well. Kathy was glad about that, especially the bit about aunties.
    Then the children were invited to go to the front of the church where ladies were handing out bunches of daffodils from big baskets. The children took them and gave them to all the ladies in the congregation, not just the mothers but the aunties and grandmas as well, and some ladies who might not even have been married. They all received a bunch of bright-yellow daffodils. ‘
Here, Lord, we offer thee all that is fairest,