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Dunster by Candlelight

David Grant visits the medieval town of Dunster to take part in their candlelit procession. Plus a performance of O Holy Night by Katie Melua.

David Grant visits the medieval town of Dunster to take part in their candlelit procession and to sing special Somerset carols, and Katie Melua performs O Holy Night.

Music:

The First Nowell from Romsey Abbey, Romsey
Christ Be Our Light from All Saints Church, Cheltenham
O Holy Night by Katie Melua
The Calypso Carol from St Oswald and St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Church, Wigan
Do You Hear What I Hear? by Russell Watson
What Child Is This? from the Hackney Empire, London
I Saw Three Ships from The Monastery, Gorton.

34 minutes

Stories

Dunster by Candlelight - Part One

Dunster by Candlelight is now in it's 30th year. The medieval village is taken over by performers, carollers and candles, as the High Street becomes a magical Christmas celebration. A big attraction is the lantern lighting procession. We join children from Dunster First School as they make their lanterns and take a trip to St. George's parish church in the centre of the village, to learn about the importance of candles during medieval times and how the spectacular rood screen was the result of the聽division between the villagers and the resident monks.

Katie Melua

David Grant catches up with singer Katie Melua, who聽originally hails from Georgia in Eastern Europe.

Reading Toy Run

The Reverend Kate Bottley joins the Reading Toy Run, a Christian organised charity event where thousands of bikers gather to deliver toys for children who might not otherwise get any Christmas presents. Ben Spiller and Sean Stillman first organised this event聽31 years ago with only a handful of other Christian bikers.

Dunster by Candlelight - Part Two

In the graveyard of St. George's parish church, Emma聽Hornsby, a medieval carol expert, joins聽David Grant to explain how a preaching stone was the home of carollers during medieval times, where they would sing and聽dance and get in the聽way of preaching...which then聽forced them to take to the streets.聽Which brings us to the Dunster Carollers who have, over the decades, kept the age old tradition of carolling going and now embark on teaching the younger generation the age old hymns passed down to them from their parents.

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter David Grant
Presenter Kate Bottley
Series Producer Matthew Napier
Executive Producer Dave Stanford

Broadcast

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