Vicar David Parrot — probably the City’s most irreverent reverend — warmly welcomed us to the annual carol service. The Reverend promised a ‘Thunderbirds service’ where anything can happen, and he stuck to his promise.
Rev Parrot started by switching around the order of service to keep us on our toes (and also to accommodate for a late-running guest). Then the loan market surprised itself with an angelic rendition of Silent Night, bringing a tear to the Ranger’s eye.
Damien Lamoril played the consummate host, welcoming his guests to the event, and UniCredit’s Mathias Noack gave a beautiful reading.
The Ranger struggled with some of the higher notes of Once in Royal David’s City but put in her best efforts — which can’t be said for all the bankers. Lloyd’s Adam Wotton said he only mouthed the words to the carols, but RBS's Jonathan Pughe had an advantage because he had been rehearsing at another carol concert earlier in the week.
That said, the Ranger sat behind Commerzbank's Reinhard Haas and he has an angelic singing voice.
Sadly some bankers didn't make it. JP Morgan and Rabobank had office parties on the big night and were sorely missed.
Next up, Rev Parrot surprised us all by returning to the lectern for his sermon with some unusual headgear: a sweatband, a la John McEnroe. Will he burst into a furious rant about the commercialisation of Christmas and the loss of its core values, we all wondered?
Luckily not. The Reverend explained that the theme of the sermon would be ‘The Unexpected’. This year, the Reverend had been ordered to take more exercise by his doctor, which had caught the sedentary pastor by surprise — “I wasn’t expecting that”, explained the Rev.
At the mulled wine reception at the Commerzbank offices, the Ranger shared a glass of wine with Hiren Singharay to toast his career at the bank, since he will be leaving Standard Chartered in January after 15 years.
As Barclays’ Keith Taylor whizzed past, the Ranger noticed his intriguing tie and stopped him to ask him what was on it.
“It’s blue and pink elephants spraying water,” said Keith. "A bit like the loan market really." And off he whizzed again.
"Oh right...well, I wasn’t expecting that," thought the Ranger.
The service was raising funds for Marie Curie and you can still make donations online by following this link: https://www.justgiving.com/LSMFCarolConcert2015/