England

it has been a whilrwind few days, lucky with the weather. Trip acrosss from France was cold but calm in the channel

Southend very welcoming, many students catching up with those they met in Sydney.

Concerts on tuesday, first at Brentwood with a superb acoustic helped by the fact there were only about 30 people in the audience.  Students helped the local economy before we returned to Southend for evening performance with the boys and girls choir. Simon’s 18th was a great hit too!

Orchestra workshops and separate perfomances have been a huge success. First of all at the Ursuline college in Brentwood then on Wednesday at the Kingsdale school. String quartet are playing superbly. We all performed at Dulwich College’s Christmas concert, the combined chamber orchestras playing Corelli Christmas concerto. Pemulwuy was a great hit.

Sights of London enjoyed by choir.

Busy day yesterday concert in Cambridge plus a chance to see the colleges.

We’re all getting tired, but happy and hanging in there for the final performances today and tomorrow.

Weather quite mild and mostly dry.

Students making lots of new friends contacts here in England.

Off to Samworth academy in Mansfield, a school that has had to be reinvented after ‘failing’ it’s government inspection.

We’re seeing it all here!

Must go, love to all,

J