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The day began as usual in a carpark, happily trading stories about our homestays. Mssrs Harris, Jorysz, Loyn and Williams were treated to a revealing cultural insight into politics, theology, and a particularly astute explanation of thermostat use. At several points in the evening, the discussion nearly overheated, but the peace offering of home-baked cookies diffused the debate over the validity of the teleological argument. ‘Good discourse.’

Our transport for the day was a ‘limousine coach’, and the leather seats and blue LEDs masked the fact that it was, in essence, a minibus. Three hours later, and lost in Hendrix college, a frustrated choir administrator disembarked to single-handedly solve the problem. Minutes later, he had returned with directions, and, as per usual, the problem was solved quickly and efficiently.

After a leisurely lunch, football and tanning ensued until we were called for a brief rehearsal. We were treated to a free dinner in a local church, before preparing for the concert in the time-honoured tradition of keepy-ups in the carpark.

The concert itself went smoothly and was well received. The bass opening to The Twelve was suitably agricultural, the birds sang beautifully in Stanford’s The Bluebird, and James Proctor’s unintentional foray into falsetto provided a source of great amusement, as voices began to tire. The church’s propinquity to the trainline had its problems, as a cacophony of train-horns delayed the start of the encore. All soloists performed well, particularly Gaby in front of a home audience.

After the concert we were welcomed to a reception, where we were plied with cheese, shortbread, and cucumber-water. Our thirsts quenched, we departed with our homestays.

Matthew Jorysz (Senior Organ Scholar) and Laurie Harris (Dec Bass 4)