Chichester stop-off on epic 3,000-mile church music cycle ride

SussexWorld

Chief executive of the Cathedral Music Trust Jonathan Mayes is dropping in on Chichester as part of his remarkable 3,000-mile cycling pilgrimage across England and Wales featuring more than 100 choirs visited across 50 days on two wheels.

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Answer to Service of Sussex Newspapers. Lovely

00:06to speak to Jonathan Mays, who is the CEO of the Cathedral Music Trust. Now, Jonathan,

00:11you're doing something quite astonishing, quite bonkers in the best possible way. 3,000

00:16miles on a bike, including Chichester. You're dropping in on Chichester on, is it September

00:22the 23rd?

00:2523rd, Wednesday. If that's the Wednesday of that week, then it's the one, yeah.

00:27So what is this great big expedition that you're doing?

00:31I am bonkers, you're right. I was just talking to somebody else about this. I think it's

00:35uniquely English, the way that we do things like this. I am going to all of the places

00:41that the Cathedral Music Trust funds. I'm going on my bike, and really it's about meeting

00:46the people who are running the music and seeing that. But it's also a fundraiser, obviously,

00:51and I wouldn't do that without asking people to donate money, which is, you know, important.

00:55But it's also about trying to raise awareness. And one of the main things I think I'm trying

01:00to prove is that no matter where you are in the country, actually, you're always pretty

01:05close to some really amazing music in cathedrals and churches and abbeys. And I think, without

01:11exception, I've done 24 days so far. I think without exception, I found somewhere that does

01:17what we would call really great quality cathedral-style music within a day's cycle. Now, not everybody

01:23would want to cycle that. But the point is still there and valid is that that's possible.

01:28It's true in Chichester. I'm looking forward to being there. That'd be good. I'll be coming

01:33down the south coast from Southampton and Portsmouth.

01:36And you're roughly halfway through this year-long project.

01:40I am, yeah.

01:40Just now, it's so interesting that running a huge charity, it tends to be about reading

01:45written reports, people reporting back on how they spent the money. With this, you're actually

01:51in situ, experiencing the difference that the charity is making.

01:55Yeah, that's a really, you've articulated it beautifully. Yes, it is that. And it's really

02:00lucky. I feel really privileged, actually, to be able to go and do that. And I think it's,

02:05well, look, the job of a CEO, actually, ultimately, is to get other people to do their best work. And

02:12maybe one of the ways I can usefully do that is to really have a good knowledge of the sector.

02:17Which is informing your work as CNO.

02:21Undoubtedly. Undoubtedly. There's so much I'm learning, you know, you hear people talk about

02:25what they enjoy, but also what the challenges are. But you also hear the music and you hear

02:31and see the practical differences. You know, tomorrow morning, I'm going to, I'm in Troy

02:37already. I just arrived. And tomorrow morning, I'll be going in and listening to the choristers

02:41rehearse at their eight o'clock in the morning rehearsal before I leave. And that, I mean,

02:46what a privilege, right, to be in that space. These are the girls' choir. And these are a lot

02:52of the kids that sang in the coronation a couple of years ago.

02:54Fantastic.

02:55You know, I'm sort of there thinking, feeling a bit like they're like rock stars, basically.

03:01So what a privilege.

03:03So that's what it's telling you about your work and about the Three Door Music Trust.

03:07What is this telling you about you?

03:11Well, you and I just talked about this because you run marathons. And I, it's certainly showing

03:18some levels of resilience. I wasn't sure if I had. And that's good. There have been some hard

03:24days in the saddle and long days in the saddle. I'm thinking Lancashire in particular. Lancashire was

03:30really long and wet. But also just sort of great beauty on the way as well. And the thing

03:40I was most nervous about starting out is I'm quite a people person. I'm quite, I surround

03:46myself with people a lot. And I know that I get my energy from being around people. So

03:51I was a bit nervous about the amount of time by myself. Actually, that's been one of the

03:56great joys. Whether you'd call it meditation or something else, I don't know. But it's,

04:01it's, it's felt like I've discovered more about myself because of the hours you get in

04:08the saddle. And then actually, most of the time, I've just, just been there and listened

04:11to nature. I don't really listen to other music or anything while I'm going. And that's,

04:18I surprised myself with, with the fact that's not been as, as terrifying as I thought it

04:24might be.

04:25Isn't that interesting? I often find that as an absolute endurance addict, that there

04:29is peace in amongst the endurance.

04:32It's a good word for it. Yeah. Peace. And some people describe it as a flow state, don't

04:37they? When you get into that space where, you know, particularly if you're going up a hill

04:41and there are some long hills that I've done, you know, you just get into that sense of

04:46rhythm and space and it doesn't matter if it's hard because you're still going and you're

04:50just going in and going again. And then you get to the top and the reward typically is

04:56incredible. You know, I was at Tintagel earlier today.

04:59It's not crazy at all, is it? It makes complete sense.

05:02Well, you ask my wife and kids that, they think it's crazy. They don't see me much.

05:07Brilliant. Well, I'm sure the sun will shine for you in Chichester. Jonathan, really lovely

05:11to speak to you.

05:12Thank you. Likewise.

05:13Brilliant thing. Good luck with everything.

05:16Cheers.

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