Day 7

Monday, July 17, and it's back in the old routine for breakfast, computer lab and strolling around the grounds. Hartpury is in a very pastoral setting, with rolling green hills all around. There is a small very old church fairly close by that some of our group walked over to inspect. There is also the town of Hartpury not very far that has a pub. A few of the night owls walked over there during the course of the trip. By the way, The college also had a wine bar connected to the cafeteria that was open till 11:00pm. I never went in, but they also had a few sandwiches available too. There was also a little general store that opened early and closed early, for stuff like newspapers, water, soda pop, soap, horse remedies (remember, this is an agricultural college.), and Hartpury logo items.

We were on the busses for our trip to Tewksbury (pronounced Chooksbury, don't ask me why, it's just the way they have pronounced it for centuries), where we were to perform our concert at Tewksbury Abbey. James Brown's school is located next to the Abbey, so that is where we left our concert garb. We rehearsed, I think, until about 2:00 when we then went over to the Abbey Mill banquet hall for lunch. It was a very good lunch indeed. We were free in Tewksbury till about 6:30 which was when we were to be back at the school to change and get into concert mode for the 7:30 concert.

Most of us toured the Abbey, another very old church established before the Norman conquest. I walked around the town and went into several shops. I went back to the Abbey grounds and sat on a park bench for a while, then went back down the street and found a prawn and watercress sandwich at a little sandwich shop. I took the sandwich back down to the grounds and ate it under the huge trees that covered the grounds. I walked around the Abbey, looking at the gravestones from centuries ago.

The concert went fine to an appreciative audience. The building really rings. The echo effect was really great for our Ave Verum number. Sadly this was the only time we would sing that antiphonal piece. And I was in the answering double quartet...Rats!

As soon as the concert was over, we were shuffled onto the busses back to Hartpury. Several residents of my building gathered in the "break room" to discuss the day and to eat crackers and cheese. Cool!

I guess I was in bed by 11:30.

End Day 7