A DESERT Island Discs evening held earlier this month raised more than £1,000 for Salisbury Cathedral.

The cathedral’s canon treasurer, Robert Titley was the castaway at the sell-out event organised by the Friends of Salisbury Cathedral.

In the candlelit setting of the cathedral’s Refectory, he recounted his life’s journey from boyhood in Kent, through Cambridge University, the National Coal Board and theological college to ordination and a variety of jobs in the Diocese of Southwark spanning 30 years.

His musical choices ranged from the gentle Elizabethan Serenade by the Ronald Binge Orchestra to Make You Proud by rock band Dead Man’s Whiskey, featuring his son, James.

Canon Titley was in conversation with Katharine Shearing, a trustee of the Friends of Salisbury Cathedral and former business editor of the Journal.

He described his role at Salisbury Cathedral, a post he has held since 2015, as “a bit like being Home Secretary”.

He joked: “Anything that doesn’t obviously fit with someone else’s brief, lands on my doorstep, and if it’s missing or not working, it’s my fault.”

The Friends are looking forward to their fourth annual Secret Gardens of The Close event on Sunday, June 9 when 11 gardens in Salisbury Cathedral Close will be open to the public.

The event runs from 1pm to 5pm and tea and homemade cakes will be served in the garden of South Canonry, the home of the Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Rev Nicholas Holtam and his wife, Helen.