Saturday 15 August 2015

Channel Islands tour

Well, we have done Guernsey, Alderney & Sark on our CI tour...
Just as the last two times we have done the full tour, it has been a splendid experience... tho' a bit more time aboard boats than previously!

Summer weather has finally arrived...(this AM).



Starting on Guernsey at the marvellous St James Arts Centre and delightful large crowd there... we have been to Guernsey most often of the islands & it was great to see many old friends...
Thank you Kirstin for your support as ever & being a lynchpin in the organisation.
Very responsive in The Lion Sleeps Tonight... tremendous!

Then our only tiny plane of the trip, to Alderney... Ralph and his team as ever very organised and attentive to detail...
...I suspect the colour scheme is not up to them, alternative but traditional all at once!


This time we sang in St Anne's Church, rather than the Island Hall, which had a fine acoustic and an even finer crowd of enthusiastic people...

Despite this notice, I could not find The Sword in the Stone on my travels...


Clearly by travelling to Alderney we were in good company:


Then the planning had to change... we had only just got onto Alderney by plane; the fog covered just as we landed & so there was a huge backlog of flights the next morning (and wind and rain); so obviously... a BOAT to SARK was the very best option!
Oh yes...
My body achieved Sark... but my breakfast did not (that's quite enough detail on that I think...)
We were looked after very well (and very carefully) by Jane & Sarah, and had a great time... especially as the longer we stayed the better the weather got... till it was actually Summer this AM!


Above are some of the models representing the initial settlers on Sark in the 17th Century... (there is one real person... can you spot them!?)
The island is celebrating the 450th anniversary of its Royal Charter with many events & fun is being had by all who live on the island...

Excellent again to be welcomed into this small community, tho' its being Summer, there were also some tourists in the audience... and another surprise:- Carole (with her two friends, Christian & Ulrike) were also there... on holiday!

...and we saw a Perseid meteor (yes ONE, we did not want to overdo it... it was enough!); we might have seen more before, but the cloud did not lift till last night!
...and gardens were visited this AM too...


...and thank you for inviting us!

So our CI tour has been as splendid and eventful as ever was... and we look forward to Jersey tonight... we have already had a (very serene) boat crossing from Sark to Guernsey and now await the flight to Jersey...

Hooray!



Monday 10 August 2015

Brilliant a cappella nacht

Three groups, a beautiful setting, a lovely summer evening... all glorious!

Schloss Moyland, Bedburg-Hau was looking terrific; both castle:


& gardens (with moat & art too!):




Great to see our old Dutch friends - iNtrmzzo - and to meet some guys from Berlin... YeoMen
A wonderful mix of a cappella... the audience were gracious enough to welcome us all!

Thanks to Bruno for organising the day... lovely to get the invitation... a very delightful evening was had by all.

YeoMen:

iNtrmzzo (moving to avoid moths!):

Special thanks to iNtrmezzo for doing the last third, meaning that they were the group who had to deal with the (enormous) moths who were drawn to the stage lights... and even into their mouths.... gloriously funny; they dealt with it excellently!

As ever on a cappella nachts we were looked after very well, and enjoyed our trip to NW Germany... we were just up the road from Kleve... which we have subsequently found was, as some of us suspected, where Henry VIII's wife, Anne of Cleves came from!
...and it is very near The Netherlands...
... therefore lovely to see our very loyal friend and fan Gertie, who came to say goodbye to Steve at one of his last gigs! (Steve's last on the European mainland.)

Here is Steve (miraculously blurred) with the other speakers of that Low Countries' language... Dutch / Flemish (*delete as applicable):-


Well, we're off on Wednesday to 'finish Steve off' on four of the Channel Islands...
Island hopping off we go...