A Cappella, Cake and a Tudor Hall: Ordsall Hall, 23 June 2015

Summer seems to have come at last. We gather outside and sit surrounded by luscious flower-beds. The wine has been delivered. We’ve brought along our tea-making kit. Mysterious packages containing good old A Cappella cake start arriving. We’re in for a treat. 

Our own flowers are there too, carefully looked after by new flower girl Barbara.

“Those who get here early get the best,” she says.

I manage to procure one that has two butterflies. Two butterflies!

“A quick warm up and a little run through then back out for photos,” says Jeff. Outside he climbs on to the wall. “Get into a space. Spread out a little more.”   

We’re framed by lavender.

Victoria Baths, Sunday 6 June 2015

There’s nothing quite like singing in the bath and that’s what we did again this week. The acoustics in this lovely old building are just brilliant. Especially when you’re in at the deep end of the Males 1^st Class. No, I don’t mean our two basses, our two male tenors and Jeff, though they did very well, of course. I mean we sang from inside the Male 1^st Class swimming pool – though there was no water in it this time. 

In the deep end - Males 1st Class

It’s especially good when you start off with Viva la Musica! What a fantastic echo. There’s another choir up there on the ceiling, isn’t there, surely? Cheek! Copying us …

Dunham Massey on the first evening of summer? 3 June 2015

Would it happen? Would it be too windy? Could enough of us get there? Or get there early enough? Would it be wet? Would we have on audience?  

We got there. Enough of us. On time. And the summer seemed to have come at last. The warm evening brought us an audience.  

On a fine summer evening in June the garden of Dunham Massey is one of the pleasantest places to be. Especially if you’re singing with a bunch of people you know well and with whom you’ve sung before. Especially if the birds join in – or were they competing? And especially if there are a group of really nice people who listen as they enjoy the gardens. 

Some of our lovely altos. A choir in a garden.