Easter North Tour

Paul (Musical Director and Bass 1)

While Jack and his colleagues frolicked in the Cotswolds on the second day of their tour, the other half of our merry band of songmen began their trip to the North. Armed with backpacks stuffed with polished shoes, black tie, and (rather optimistically) swimming trunks, the team met bright and early on Thursday morning. Despite our eagerness to begin the five-hour drive, there was a panicked false start when one of our members realised he'd forgotten his music, and sprained his ankle in his haste to retrieve it. To protect his dignity, that member should probably remain nameless. Once Alex found his music, our two cars (driven expertly by Jacob and Henry) set off. The journey flew by as we lost ourselves in barbershop classics booming from the car radio, and soon enough we arrived in Carlisle. After a coffee and a millionaire's shortbread, which I promptly spilled over my lap, we rehearsed in the beautiful cathedral, while bemused tourists looked on. The concert later that evening garnered a standing auvation from an impressive majority of the audience, which we soon celebrated in the local pub with our kind hosts.

The next day, we took the scenic route out of Carlisle by glancing off the edge of Scotland. After realising that it was equally rainy on that side of the border, we continued the road trip towards Keswick. We ended up, predictably, in another pub, which served us steak pies, chicken supremes, and fish & chips. The next leg of our journey had us speeding through the lake district, while Tom apologetically finished off his aromatic prawns and sweet chilli dip in the car. Our concert that evening was in gorgeous Lancaster Priory, a venue several of us remember fondly from our most recent summer tour. Another successful concert behind us, much merriment was had over olives, salted nuts, and - yes - beer. The only thing on our schedule for the next morning was a drive home, which we augmented with a detour through the peaks. After a pitstop in a dense forest, Harry led us through the undergrowth to find a spot by a lake, where we affectionately sang 'Oh, Danny Boy'. Our epic travils entered their final stage with Matthew once again folded up like a piece of origami in the back seat.