Attending services at New West End Synagogue at New Year has always been an awe-inspiring experience – and, as a child, the sounding of the shofar would send shivers down my spine.

The cathedral-style building in Bayswater – opened in 1879 and now Grade I listed – with its arches and columns, marble and alabaster-lined walls, stained glass windows and ark topped with a Byzantine-style dome and minarets of gilded wood, lent itself to the solemn grandeur of the High Holy Days.

Sadly, when I was growing up, the synagogue – where my father was rabbi – usually catered for a few dozen regulars. But on the High Holy Days, it was rare to see any of the 800 seats empty.

Buying a new outfit was one of the highlights in the build-up to New Year. We would take the 88 bus along Bayswater Road for late night shopping in Oxford Street, though our budget rarely stretched past C&A. I remember buying my first pair of platform shoes – two-tone blue and grey patent.

My sisters and I sat with my mother in the front row of the ladies’ gallery, where we had to be on our best behaviour.

The annual charity appeal offered a chance to lighten the mood, as cards were left on seats for congregants to put a metal-ended string tag into the hole next to the sum they wanted to donate. It was fun to take the cards from empty seats and ‘help’ congregants donate £1,000 rather than £10 or £20.

I have a vivid memory of the family being invited to tea at one family’s country pile. We were picked up by their chauffeur and taken to their Buckinghamshire mansion, where we played croquet on the manicured lawn.

Living in town without a garden, this was a huge treat.

On the other hand, Hyde Park was just a short walk away. My mother took us there one Saturday afternoon in July 1969 to the Rolling Stones free concert. It was such a thrill bopping to (I can’t get no) Satisfaction and Jumpin’ Jack Flash that we didn’t mind walking home through the park in the dark.

My younger sister was a big fan of the TV series ‘The Persuaders’, starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore. One Yom Kippur, Tony Curtis came to a service at New West End. Having a front row seat in the ladies’ gallery suddenly didn’t seem so bad.