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Choir tour 2009
Thursday 28th May 2009
4.15 am – time to open the school ready for
the choir of Lincoln Cathedral – off to the Loire Valley in
France to sing in three wonderful venues and also sample a few
of the sights. The children arrived excitedly and the weather
looked very promising. The dining room was full of the extra
provisions we had bought - water, extra fruit, juices, biscuits
and cereal bars because, although the hotels looked to be
offering excellent food and we had meals on the ferry booked
both ways, there is always someone who can eat for England and
with the weather we were promised, extra drink and a few snack
bars would be warmly welcomed .
The journey passed quite uneventfully - some
of the children slept, others watched the DVDs that Mrs Prentice
had brought along (an excellent selection) and others munched,
drank and played on their game consoles all the way to the
France, with stops every few hours for toileting and
refreshments.
Arrival at the hotel was later than expected
due to heavy traffic around Paris but another meal was waiting
for us and the children ate whilst we sorted out the rooms.
Friday 29th May 2009
We woke at 7am to wonderful sunshine and as
we had been late to bed we had ordered a later breakfast -
croissants, bread, ham, cheese, yoghurts, cereal, fresh fruit –
one of the best choices I have seen in a hotel for school
groups. After breakfast we had a short walk with our group to
explore Tours and then off for a 15min journey to meet our boat.
We had pre-booked a river trip aboard the “Saint Martin de
Tours” from where we could see the caves which are now beautiful
homes – even one hotel was made up of the cave dwellings. Then
we took our groups along the river bank to play mini golf which
is always popular and according to one of the senior choristers:
‘one of the best he has ever played on’! We had ice creams and
enjoyed the sunshine. Then time to get back to the hotel, have
our cooked lunch at the hotel - starter, main course and fruit
for dessert. As we were staying out in Orléans for the concert,
we needed the children to change ready after lunch and then
back on the coach for the drive to Orléans - this was the
downside of the hotel, a little further out than we really
needed, meaning we had to travel to the venues. However, the
children did not seem to mind; they chatted together or relaxed
en route. The Cathedral in Orléans is impressive – the home of
Joan of Arc and thus quite a privilege for our choir to be able
to sing there. After a short rehearsal, we had a snack outside
in the sunshine and then went back in for the concert. The
audience was not as large as we had hoped (about 80 people), but
they were very appreciative and thoroughly enjoyed the music.
The children sang beautifully. Mr Harrison was particularly
delighted to be able to play on a newly restored organ which he
has been invited to go back to enjoy at another time too. The
concert ended at 8 pm and then as the sun was still shining we
decided to have our packed supper on the steps of the Cathedral
and enjoy the last of the day’s rays. It was then back to the
hotel and into bed for everyone as we had a busy itinerary for
the next day.
Saturday 30th May
Breakfast was at eight again and immediately
afterwards we set off for a visit to the Chateau de Chenonceau.
This is a superb building stretching across the river – we found
out that you could enter from one bank of the river and leave by
another, a wonderful way to escape those you don’t want to see!
The children had a great play in the garden catching the sprays
of the fountain and enjoying it cooling us all down a little.
The maze kept almost all of the groups amused for ages - we had
competitions to see which teams could get into the middle the
quickest, although I suspect a little cheating went on – as new
openings were forged!! There was a lot of laughter and it was
good to see the choir relaxing and using up energy prior to
their performance later that evening. We found a great spot near
the side of a stream to have our packed lunches – and the
atmosphere was convivial. Then off for a short coach journey to
Blois. The older children were given about half an hour free
time whilst the younger ones stayed in their groups – however as
it seemed we all had the same idea we ended up outside the ice
cream parlour and the children practised their French ordering
“Deux boules de glace, s’il vous plait.” Unbelievably we then
managed to fit in a visit to a chocolaterie. Mr Perry and Mrs
Maltby had their French truly tested as they had to translate
for the groups into English - however no-one seemed to mind as
there was plenty of chocolate tasting to be done and that was
easily understood – in any language. A short walk now uphill to
Blois Cathedral for rehearsal and then off out for dinner. The
restaurant we had pre-booked a meal at was just right; we had a
salad starter, a bowl of Bolognese and then apple cake to follow
- then up the steep hill back to perform. The people came from
all around and the church filled up – some of our visitors were
familiar faces from Lincoln and it was great to see them. A
Professor from Hong Kong left us his card – saying he would love
us to organise a visit there next year!! Now that would require
major fundraising! After Blois we strolled back to our coach in
the sunshine and headed home. Our rooms were almost ready for
our morning departure to Chartres as it had to be an early start
as we were doing the 11.00 High Mass and we could not be late.
Sunday 31st May
An early start was required but the children
were well organised and we soon had uniforms on, breakfast,
rooms double checked and keys handed in and then on to the coach
for our trip to Chartres. The weather was beautiful and we were
looking forward to surpassing our takings of the previous night.
The children were promised an ice-cream today out of the concert
collection as their reward for singing so well. In Chartres we
were allocated a lovely area near to the Cathedral - with its
own courtyard and room where we could leave bags and drinks were
provided. Mr Prentice chose to rehearse outside in the shade of
the trees. The children then robed and headed out across the
square to the Cathedral which caused a stir and added to the
occasion. The 11am Mass was very special as it was the feast of
Pentecost and the Cathedral was crowded. Our choir was joined by
one or two of their choir to help lead in sung responses and at
the end we were thanked by the Bishop for our participation. He
then encouraged the congregation to head back that evening for
our concert. After Mass we had our picnic lunch back in our
courtyard and then headed off in groups for a 20-minute look
round whilst waiting for the little train to take us around the
sights of Chartres. It is a beautiful city and has many old
buildings which were steeped in history. We even learnt that
some of the houses were built with larger rooms on the first
floor because the tax was dependent on floor space of the ground
floor- which is why the buildings stuck out; plenty of
photographs were taken. Once back in the square we had thirty
minutes for an ice-cream or drink and then went to the new
hotel. In the hotel all the children were sent for a lie down
and many of the adults did so too. Mrs Maltby sat on duty –
listening for noise – but there was not much to hear! I think
the children were glad of the chance to rest. The evening meal
was in the hotel and the children thought the chocolate cake was
the best so far!! Then back in the coach and off for our final
concert of the tour. We had € 460 to beat from last night if our
collection was to improve and this time I had allocated a few
other children to help collect as people left. The Cathedral
was quite full and the music was sung so beautifully the choir
was given a standing ovation. The children were delighted and
Mr Prentice’s jokes in French were well received by the audience
- adding to a wonderful feel good factor. Afterwards as most of
the groups were leaving, a sound and light show lit up the front
of the Cathedral and we saw images of the windows - for which
the Cathedral is so famous – depicted on the front stonework. It
was mesmerising – a fitting and unexpected finish to the tour.
Monday 1st June
6.45 breakfast meant we were able to leave
the hotel in good time and head our way back to England. It was
a long journey and quite tiring sitting doing nothing apart from
chatting and watching DVDs – some of the children snoozed but
most of them chatted and enjoyed time in each other’s company.
On the ferry we had a hot meal. We had ordered picnics from the
hotel for our tea and we had a mixed salad of crisps, cake and
fruit. It looked lovely though some of the children were full on
sweets etc. bought at our stops en route. We were back in good
time and the children were met by many excited parents. The
tour does not finish until everything is back in its place and
the choristers took their robes back to the song school. As
helpers we also had things to put back in school and we too were
tired and wanting to get off to our families, but fortunately
one or two parents offered to help and this eased the load and
we were done . With another tour over, there are lots of good
memories but there is always an inevitable weariness that comes
after a tour. There were a few things that could have improved
it – mainly the booking of the first hotel. Despite Mr & Mrs
Prentice using part of their Easter holidays to do a pre-visit,
the hotel had changed the room request and so it took a little
longer than expected to get the children into bed. However, the
children responded magnificently and once that was sorted the
rest of the tour was superb. I’m sure the children will have
many happy memories of their trip for years to come.
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