From supporters Len and Margaret Donald
Hi Neil
Just a few words of feedback on the trip.Organisation was great and Margaret and I enjoyed it all.
First venue was impressive and it was a pity that the Choir sang to so few people.
Lincoln was astounding. I have not heard the choir sing better and the location had impressive gravitas.
The last stop was to me what the choir is all about. Reaching out to people through music. Nice people and the cream tea was just right.
Getting back in under 3 hours was impressive.
Well done to you and the team. When is the next trip?
Regards
Len
John Speed – our host in Collingham – also emailed:
Hi Neil,
Very many thanks for the Choir’s visit to All Saints on Saturday.
I can’t tell you how much of a pleasure it was to see so many old friends again and to listen to your beautiful sound.
Even more pleasurable was to be able to sing with Leigh Orpheus once more.
So many people in the village have stopped me to say what a wonderful hour they had at the concert ; the epithets were many and glorious!
We managed, with your generous donation, to raise £470.00 for the church- much appreciated by all here.
Please thank “the boys” together with thanks to Janet, Jackie and Janet’s daughter as page turner.
All here hope that it’s not the last we’ve heard of you and look forward to the next visit!
Kind regards to you all.
John Speed
Evan Davies, our soloist flautist texted to say
Both Jenny and I really enjoyed the day.
What better way to pass your time in lovely places with lovely people – and music of course.
From Lincoln Cathedral
It is good for us to have a varied programme of lunchtime concerts and I think you were the only male voice choir listed for this year!
Do please be in touch again if you wish to consider another event in the future.
And from Jacky, our accompanist:
I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the Two Cathedrals Tour. The Chapter House at Lincoln was definitely the highlight, and an experience that I will remember for a long time, but the choir should be very pleased with all of the performances.
LINCOLN – A Great Day Out !!
by Tony Warren
A Long and lovely day, so it was.
Up with the crack of sparrows to join a sleepy choir, complete with wags, kit, sandwiches and coffee – up the M11 we trundled to the beautiful countryside round Lincoln, pitching up at Southwell Minster.
A “Minster”, by the way, is a large church given the honorary title of “Cathedral” under a charter dating back to the seventh century, usually northern churches.
Dave Smith and his team of equipment-luggers brought all the gear in, including our posh podium for Janet, drum, piano, amplifiers, speakers, etc, set it up, and we were ready to go.
We walked in “Cornwall Style” – all quiet and orderly – a wonderful way to start! It was a delightful setting in which to sing, our audience included quite a few locals who had come along for the performance, together with our faithful wags and groupies, and tourists and visitors who arrived by happenchance.
With Janet, Jackie and Lizzie to oversee the music, it was a real treat all round. We were privileged to have with us Evan Davis, a flutist of renown, who really made Flying Free special as he accompanied us. His own solo performances were also a delight and Janet’s piano playing with him was amazing as it always is.
After a quick coffee in the Refectory, all the kit was loaded back into the coaches, and off we went to Lincoln Cathedral.
Arriving at this beautiful building, we were led to the Chapter House – a very large circular building with stone seats round the perimeter and acoustics to die for. Fortunately, Dave and gang only had to haul the podium out here because here was already a piano in place – bit of a breather for them!
There were seats laid out ready for the audience and of course, there were many tourists and visitors coming “in” and “out”. Once we started singing, it was mostly “in” and the seats filled up, along with all the stone seating round the edge.
The sound of the choir in that space was absolutely breathtaking and it was one of my own choir high points.
On completion, we wandered off to eat nearby, some went sight-seeing, some went to sit and meditate, some to sleep!
We left after lunch and arrived at All Saints Church, Collingham, ready to perform to a ticket-buying audience.
Dave Smith and team lugged everything once again, and we were set to sing.
It was again a wonderful concert in a lovely setting, greatly appreciated by the people of Collingham who had invited us.
We were joined in Gwahoddiad by John Speed, who had been a member (and Chairman) of the choir many years ago – and still had his blazer! And still remembered the words!
After the concert the Collingham people had baked cakes and scones, prepared tea, and laid out this spread in the village hall. A wonderful show of hospitality from a kind and welcoming community that we will remember for a long time.
And finally – all the gear and people back into the coaches, and we settled down to sleep for the journey back. It was a wonderful day and it was enjoyed by everyone involved – Dave and his team must have been really tired after all the hard work and we are all indebted to them for this. Similarly, to Janet, Jackie and Lizzie, for what was effectively three concerts in one day.
What a choir! And what a lot of fun!
For those that would like to hear more from Evan Davis, who played the flute with us so beautifully, here is a link to his website, or rather the the website for his ensemble. The YouTube links on the page are excellent and for those who enjoy classical flute music, the performances are absolutely delightful.
click here …. Evan Davis Link
…. and for those that think it is “flautist” – I did look it up!
Here are some photos taken by members on the trip… (Thanks to Fred Schofield, Leon Kudla and Chris Jenkins)