It was a terrible situation. I hadn't seen it coming and now it was too late. I could feel my pulse quicken and the adrenaline start flooding my system. I had been caught off guard and hadn't seen the situation developing, but here I was sat in front of the telly with my family and forced to make an earth-shattering confession. 'Is there anything else on? I don't really like Songs of Praise.'
Let me put in a disclaimer at this point. The following does not amount to a rant against Songs of Praise, fine piece of television as I am sure that it is. I have nothing against Thora Hird, or any of the band of young upstarts attempting to fill her shoes (I'd even go so far as to say - tentatively - that Diane Louise Jordan seems to be quite good, even if she has selfishly hogged an extra name thereby condemning an innocent street urchin to the heartbreak of a mononomular existence).
Guess the year
This isn't even a question of the style of music on Songs of Praise: I've always been more bothered about the words of hymns and songs rather than the musical style (although I have whiled away the odd dull service by playing 'guess the year that songs were published'. When in doubt, think when that style of music was popular outside of church circles, add ten years and you won't be too far wrong). There is probably a column to be written about unnecessary musical barriers for young people in church, but this isn't it.
