大象传媒

Opera singer and Christian musician Jonathan Veira loves his 20 year-old red sports car 鈥� and all cars.

鈥淚鈥檝e had 48 cars in 36 years, the good the bad and the ugly. Particularly the old cars have so much more character than the modern cars that we drive today. All the little buttons and switches, I love all of that.鈥�
Retired army officer Peter Bell met Jonathan by chance last year, when the singer happened across his tiny Wiltshire parish church, during a Sunday morning service - with no organist.

Peter takes up the story: 鈥淚t was a lovely summers day, the door opened, and in walked this figure, and sat down, and when we started 鈥榮aying鈥� the first hymn, because we hadn鈥檛 got an organist, this strong voice boomed out and we realised there was someone special in our midst.

Jonathan, reluctantly at first, offered to play the organ for them 鈥� there and then. He says 鈥淚 I said 鈥榳here鈥檚 the organ, to turn it on?鈥�, and they said 鈥榠t IS on, it was left here in about 1835, it鈥檚 one of those pedal ones.鈥� I鈥檇 never played one of those before. And I played Thine Be The Glory which, my wife said is the fastest she鈥檚 ever sung, cause I just played it and sung it at the same speed. 鈥� [It was] one of those wonderful things, at the end of it the seven people there applauded and I felt it was a special moment in my musical career!

鈥淪o the service finishes and my wife says 鈥榯here鈥檚 a man at the back who wants to thank you for playing[and] wants to take us out in his special car.鈥�
鈥淎nd so we come down the steps and there is the Triumph Gloria 1000, 1934 - unbelievable! we get in it, and glorious indeed she was.鈥�

Reflecting now with Peter, Jonathan says 鈥渋t was a wonderful thing to meet you in that moment in that church service, and feel the warmth and integrity that you personally have. And I found it personally a great moment to meet you and the car, and we share a faith and a love of cars, and your knowledge of cars is wonderful.

Peter agrees. 鈥淚n a way it鈥檚 the fellowship this has brought, not just the cars [but] the traditions in life, it鈥檚 a wonderful thing.鈥�

And it doesn鈥檛 quite end there. Since their first chance meeting Jonathan has been back to Peter鈥檚 church in his role as a musical performer.

Peter explains 鈥淛onathan very generously offered to come back and give a concert in this church, a fundraiser for the village, and we had the most magical evening where he sang and told stories for three hours, and it really cemented our friendship and uplifted us all.鈥�

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