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July 11th, 2007

Great Big Hymn Sing at Greenbelt

Surefish are organising a ‘Great Big Hymn Sing‘ at the Greenbelt Festival and are trying to find which are the 10 most popular hymns using a public vote. You can listen to music files of the music to help you decide. It sounds like a complex process with the hymns being whittled down to 50, then 25, then 10, a bit like we don’t do in church, though it’s an idea.

At last year’s festival there was a very successful ‘beer and hymns’ evening in the beer tent. Unfortunately the concept became a bit hijacked by charismatic types who started to sing dubious praise choruses in the beer tent the following night, putting everyone off their organic real lager. The beer tent staff had to extinguish their over enthusiasm by turning up some 80s music on the PA system.

I know this makes it sound like I spend my Greenbelt Festival evenings in the beer tent – I was probably just happening to be passing by on both occasions.

beer tent

Above: Beer tent at Greenbelt – view from behind the bar as seen by someone who was probably just happening to be passing by.

Update: St Clement Chorlton are holding a beer festival this weekend, via Rob on the Sanctus1 blog.

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15 Responses to “Great Big Hymn Sing at Greenbelt”


  1. Peter Kirk says:

    Real lager? I hope you’re joking! There will be none of that at the Chelmsford Beer Festival where I intend to go tonight. Nor any charismatic choruses – although I am going there with some charismatic friends, there is a place for everything and a beer tent is not the place for choruses, even though our church sometimes is for beer.

    July 11th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
  2. Dave says:

    Peter, I think they ran out of bitter by the end of the festival, hence the lager. It was organic if I remember correctly.

    July 11th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
  3. Peter Kirk says:

    The same happened at last year’s Chelmsford Beer Festival, all they had on offer by the last night was thick Belgian stuff which may well have been lager, and was almost undrinkable. That’s why I’m going before the last night this year!

    July 11th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
  4. Serena says:

    The beer was excellent while it lasted, though! I *did* have a pint every night and I’m not ashamed to admit it! Definitely agree hymns are better belting material than choruses.

    July 11th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
  5. Daniel says:

    Belting material? Is “belt” a british form of “belch”? If that is the case I finally understand why it is called Greenbelt – especially considering the organic lager.

    July 11th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
  6. Russ says:

    This could be the cue for lots of hymn and song titles rejigged to include puns on beer. I wouldn’t stoop so low. Unless, of course, someone else starts it, in which case I shall feel compelled to join in.
    NB Belgian beer is fantastic but should generally be imbibed via a teaspoon.

    July 12th, 2007 at 9:12 am
  7. Peter Kirk says:

    Plenty of beer still at Chelmsford last night, even some “cask lager” which presumably CAMRA had passed (take that in whichever way you want to!), and promises not to run out on Saturday this year. No music of any kind, but my friend and I didn’t try to change that with hymns or choruses.

    July 12th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
  8. Rachel says:

    I like the ghostly figure drifting across the middle of your picture – were they part of the dancing?

    July 12th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
  9. ee says:

    I assumed that the ghostlike figure was a belgian lager-induced hallucination.

    July 12th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
  10. Philip of samaria says:

    pubs are the best places to sing hymns…

    July 12th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
  11. Jeremy says:

    Bit of a shame the favourite hymn vote site makes the mistake of presenting the hymns in order. Even if you mean to, on a list of this size it’s impossible not to be influenced by the order – and the only fair way (I mean statistically unbiased) to run a vote like this is to have the list order randomise every time it is served.

    July 12th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
  12. Mary says:

    Jeremy – that’s what I thought as well. By the time I got 2/3 of the way down, I’d picked 10 hymns, so had to go back and deselect some in favour of some later in the alphabet.

    July 13th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
  13. Freedom Bound says:

    Aha – I was one of those singing choruses and hymns the second evening – and was slightly slurring them and am as heretically liberal and as far from Charismatic type as you get, I promise you! ;-)

    July 14th, 2007 at 11:38 am
  14. Karin says:

    “and am as heretically liberal and as far from Charismatic type as you get, I promise you”

    I’ll vouch for that FB. :D

    July 14th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
  15. edgehog says:

    Hi- yes standing next to FB on that eve. We were v. ‘involved’ in the singing/ selection freeforall and I have to say I dont remember any choruses…SJS and CJC were both drowned out by some methiodistic tomes and there was a noble resistence to the owc set’s militaristic bent.

    I think we all did rather well.

    Having said that I fell in the ditch on the way hhome and was rudely awakened early morn by a geek with a headtorch/ v. bright vest/ special forces webbing and an overdeveloped legal twitcher. (this is not the one with long hair-who is nice).

    Anyway- long live anarchic beer and hymns- boo to any overorganised and sponsored events.

    July 18th, 2007 at 11:13 am