St. Martin's in the Fields

 St. Martin's in the Fields Anglican church.  While we were gawking at Trafalgar Square, this church across the road from the art gallery caught my attention so I took some photos of it.  When I got home and Googled it, I discovered it is St. Martin's in the Fields which instantly made me think of the Academy of St. Martin's in the Fields. Yes, indeed the Academy, which is a chamber orchestra, had a beginning at the church under Sir Neville Mariner.  Now they travel the world giving concerts and sharing their music with communities that might never have the opportunity of hearing in person 1st class music.  But for me it was more than that.  When our oldest daughter was a baby and was not to be consoled, we often played what my husband and I called"The Magic Record" - a recording made by the Academy of St. Martin's in the Fields.  Most times, it did the trick and send our baby off to sleep.  It was a very special recording for the three of us.  I can't tell you what is on the record because I am terrible at remembering the titles of pieces, but whenever I hear a piece from that record I recognize it, and enjoy it, even though I haven't listened to it at home for years. It is a truly beautiful collection of music - no wonder baby loved it.

All of which gets me thinking about the unlikely connections between people. Did Sir Neville imagine that his recording would be used as a lullaby? Our daughter now has  doctorate in Music Education . How much did The Magic Record influence her little baby brain?  It felt special to know that I had come close to the home of the Academy.
And another thought about unlikely connections.  St. Martin of Tours, after whom this church is named, probably has many churches named after him, but one of them is in our little village in Eastern Ontario. Would he have ever imagined that in some far away, as yet unknown land, a church would be named after him?  Which also reminds me of a wonky little clay cup in the British museum
circa about 2AD made by some Roman.  Not a  well made cup, likely an early attempt, and yet after all these centuries it sits in the museum with thousands of people oohing and aahing over it.  You never know how what you do is going to impact others.