On Sunday evening, the choir gave their first concert of the tour at St Giles Cathedral in Old Town. The program was short, lasting only an hour and fifteen minutes (pretty close to what Mr Scott had anticipated). Upon request from readers, here is that night's full program:

Libera nos, salva nos - John Sheppard
Magnificat (Octavi Toni) - Tallis
Laudibus in sanctis - Byrd
Fugue in g (BWV 578) - J S Bach
Four Sections from Rachmaninoff's All Night Vigil [Всенощное бдение]
Приидите, поклонимся [Priidite, Poklonimsya]
Благослови, душе моя [Blagoslovi, Dushe moya]
Ныне отпущаеши [Nyne otpushchaeshi]
Богородице Дево [Bogoroditsye Devo]
Tansports de Joie - Messiaen
Let all the world - Leighton
A New Song - James MacMillan
Deep River - Spiritual, arr. Hancock
Laudate Dominum - Dupre

Monday was a day of exploration, mainly of the Princes Street and Old Town/Royal Mile areas of Edinburgh. The Old Town is an area of the city elevated above the rest, enabling one to see all of Edinburgh from the Castle and various viewing points around the Royal Mile. This street is a tiny, mostly pedestrian dominated area, on which one will find many little shops, restaurants, and historical sites. Apart from simply walking around in this area, our main activity of the day was visiting Edinburgh Castle. This giant structure which overlooks New Town (the area below) is a main attraction for visitors. There, we caught some magnificent panoramic views of the city (of which someone hopefully snapped a photo) and visited exhibits on prisons, the Scottish crown jewels, and various other castle-oriented subjects. Afterwards we continued strolling along the Royal Mile and occasionally stopping in some of the shops (I got some ginger fudge in one of them).

Tuesday was a day spent mostly in transit, though there were some pretty spectacular breaks in between. I will say that the bus ride was not boring--with my iPod and window seat I enjoyed many countryside vistas. Some of the most beautiful countryside is in Northumberland (northern England, near where I am writing now, Durham), just south of the Scottish border. Countless green fields and farms, dotted with cattle and sheep, surrounded us. It was definitely one of the most enjoyable rides I have ever experienced. Surely there are more to come. Before crossing the border we made a pit stop at a seaside town (the name of which I cannot recall): I quote one of the men of the choir--''Can I live here?...I'll get someone else to pay my bills, I just want to live here.'' This town was small and picture-perfect, with a tiny beach and little brightly colored houses on cobblestone streets--just the perfect little place. We continued along the seaside road, until eventually we found ourselves driving on a path that seemed to pass through an odd kind of sandy plain. In fact, this road was underwater only twenty minutes before. We were headed to the island of Lindisfarne. This isolated place is the home of an old crumbled twelfth-century monastery, high cliffs, and many old legends. We walked the traditional tourist path of the island and explored the monastery. It was a two hour ride from here down to Durham. Notable locations encountered on the way were the Metro Centre, Angel of the North, and an IKEA.

Today we took a short drive to Hadrian's Wall. It's very small now... We drove along it for quite some time and then took a quick stop to observe an old Roman fort. Again, very beautiful views.

We are staying in a section of the University of Durham called St Chad's College, which functions as a boarding house in the summer. My room is situated on the ground level facing the rose window of the Cathedral. I've just returned from a rehearsal there, as I will be pumping the tracker organ for one of the pieces during tonight's concert, which will have a similar program to the last one (which I will post later).

One last thought. I have been receiving comments that request delivery of messages to various individuals who are accompanying the tour group. Unfortunately I am not able to deliver these messages. That is not the purpose of this blog. Besides, I cannot publish comments that display personal information such as phone numbers and email addresses.

Until my next post, which may be in York or anywhere else, thank you and namaste.