It's been a while!
This will probably end up being my last post for this blog, so I'll try to make it a good one.
Upon leaving St Alban's (after a very successful concert [yes, a concert, not a service] with the choirs of St Alban's and St John's Cambridge), we continued to Cambridge in order to sing Evensong at St John's College: their choir (with whom the choir had just performed) was going to Austria the next day. When we got there we had a tour of the area and explored King's College Chapel and other parts of the University. Unfortunately there was torrential rain on our way back to the St John's Song School (where the choir was to rehearse later), and many did not think to bring proper gear (Mr Scott included). Despite this massive turnoff, Evensong went on as planned, and the sun came out just as we arrived at the Song School. I had been asked to read the first lesson at the service, which contained many awkward words in strange contexts such as 'tumours,' but again, everything went beautifully. We arrived in Windsor later that night.
Windsor has been our base for the last few days as we have traveled to and from London. Our first day there (Wednesday) was free for relaxation. We're staying in Windsor Castle at the St George's School, where there are plenty of things to keep us occupied: a small pool, a tennis court, a gym, a big lawn, and a small town center nearby where there are many nice shops and restaurants. This whole town revolves around the castle, which, much like that of Edinburgh, stands above all other buildings and landscapes.
And now, the weather. As you may have been able to see from our experience at Cambridge, the weather here in the UK is at an all-time low. Every local I have spoke to claims this is the worst summer weather in the history of the British Isles (a slight exaggeration, I guess...). There has been constant rain ever since we left Edinburgh. It's a real sharp contrast to last year's heatwave in Europe and the UK.
Thursday we commuted to London for a service at Mr Scott's old turf, St Paul's Cathedral. We had a particularly nice tour there after lunch (thanks, Morris [I think was his name]!) and were able to climb to the highest outdoor observatories (about 400 steps total). We should have some nice photos of the view there. Evensong there at 5:00pm was outstanding (as usual), especially considering the terrific echoey acoustic. We discovered upon departure that there was an 'iPod Dance' taking place on the Cathedral steps. I'd never seen one of those before!
Friday was a more free day for the choir, although there was still Evensong at Westminster Abbey later. That afternoon we all took a 'flight' on the London Eye. Spectacular! Lots of photos from that will be posted.
I just realized how short I am on time. I'll have to upload the photos later.
That night we went to a cool Japanese noodle bar called 'Wagamama' here in Windsor. Delicious!
Today we had a tour of Windsor Castle and had a partially free afternoon, which I used to make the largest single candy purchase of my life--my stash of Cadbury chocolate to bring back to the States. My teeth will be so glad.
I have to rush now to attend tonight's Evensong at St George's Chapel. More photos (and hopefully text) to come! Namaste.