So, off to Wales we went to escape the usual surroundings and try something different. We made a visit to the Welsh Highand Railway so the kids could meet Santa and painted pottery at Piggery Pottery, which as always was good fun. We had a nice Christmas lunch at a very nice hotel and I had plenty of walks along the very windswept beach at Criccieth with the dogs. We made a visit to Anglsey to visit Pili Palas, famous for its butterflys, but they were all on holiday or something. We had a drive through Snowdonia and had a quick trip down to Harlech. Overall it was very enjoyable.
Criccieth Castle, Criccieth beach and the Cambrian Line. The railway was closed at the time so no chance of getting squashed by a train, but it surprised me that a footpath leads you along the track for a short stretch!
Leo and I had a day out in London yesterday. At dusk he dragged me up the Monument, which with 311 gradually narrowing steps was a killer. However, the view was something else!
After sorting, deleting and editing through near on 4000 photos I think I have finally got to the end of the Florida picture 'pile', so here they all are. Enjoy.
Early one Wednesday morning I set off for Belgium, as you do. This was to go and sing Britten's masterpiece, the War Requiem with the CBSO Chorus. The trip was to take us on the Eurostar to Antwerp, Ghent and Brugge. First stop, London. A certain amount of laughing at others took place as it transpired that one person had got all the way to London before realising that the picture of their passport was not going to be enough and one idiot student who thought we were leaving at 7.30pm rather than 7.30am.
Anyhow, after literally flying through Kent, France and Belgium at 185mph we arrived in Brussels for a short coach trip to Antwerp. We threw our stuff into our rooms and headed off for a long rehesrsal with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic over the road at our first venue, de Singel. This was not the best rehearsal in the world as everyone was knackered and generally couldn't be arsed. Afterwards a number of us dived into the hot buffet in the hotel. It tasted pretty awful but it didn't matter. It was warm and it was food.
Day 2 started with a disappointing breakfast and a walk into Antwerp on a very mild and sunny day. I admit that I was quite suprised by this place, its actually very nice. For some reason I had got it into my head that it was a dump. I think I get it confused with Rotterdam up the road. It was whilst walking around here that I found some terrible buskers, one of which was playing a Viotrumpet (picture above) a starnge freak of an instrument shuned by its instrument friends. In the afternoon we had yeat another rehearsal and then finally, after drinking some Duvel's in the hotel bar which was a bit of an error, the first concert passed off without a hitch. We got a standing ovation which always makes the effort worth it. A few of us headed for the venue's restaurant afterward, which was very good.
Day 3 was a trip to Ghent. As it was Armistice Day it was suitably grey and cold, unlike the warm day previously. We held a two minutes silence on the coach, which was poignant as we drove through the fields of Belgium. On arrival in Ghent it materialised that we were locked out of our venue, so we occupied the museum on the same sight and took over all their lockers. Steve and I wandered around Ghent, visiting the castle and the cathedral as well as laughing at the offer of a coffee with a slagroom. Then in the evening we performed in the old hospital of the abbey on what had to be the noisiest chairs in the world, which completely ruined the quiet bits.
Day 4 was Brugge, a place which I had visited many times before and had sung in umpteen times as a kid. It was nice to be back. We had a wander around and took some snaps, but two things concerned me, a) it was still bloody warm for November and b) there were masses of tourists. This was a shame, because I remember it being much quieter. It is a stunning city and still my all time favourite place to visit. We had a bizarre TV rehearsal in the afternoon, which meant singing the whole piece again, which nobody was in the mood for. They (the TV company) attempted to gas us with dry ice, which prompted a near revolution and blinded us with ridiculously bright lights. After an excellent steak at a nearby brasserie it was concert time. They stood up again at the end which completed a hat trick of standing ovations for the tour. Not bad going! A number of us celebrated the end of the tour in the hotel bar until the early hours.
So we headed back to the UK at high speed after a tiring but enjoyable few days entertaining the masses of Belgium at a very poignant time of the year.
