A Side Trip

Having arrived in Gloucester but before we began the week of singing at Gloucester Cathedral, the choir had the weekend off to explore independently. James and I decided to take the weekend to travel a bit further afield. Before we left Canada we had bought Britrail flexipasses which meant we could travel for a very reasonable amount. There are quite extensive rail networks in the UK so we had many choices of places to go.

On Friday we decided to take a day trip to Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It was an easy trip being only an hour away by train. Cardiff, like Gloucester, was originally a Roman fortress. On the same site, a Norman castle was constructed. Given James' love of history, that was our first stop. It was quite the place. The keep even had a moat with water. Over the centuries the castle went through many changes, especially in the Victorian period when the 3rd Marquess of Bute made extensive ornamental changes to the manor house. They had a sitting room nicknamed the Arabian Room because of the ornamental gilded ceiling. Amazing.


After a visit to the National Museum (where you cab see the most Impressionist paintings outside of France) we wandered down to the Cardiff Bay area of town, extensively developed in recent years with the Millenium Centre Concert Hall, cafes and shops and Y Senned, the Welsh house of Assembly. It was established following government devolution when Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all received legislative powers very similar to our own provincial charters. Completed in 2006, it's a very modern place with computers at every members seat and electronic voting capabilities. The timber for the undulating ceiling is BC white cedar and the floors are all Welsh slate. Beautiful building!

The following day we embarked on a two day adventure to Chester (where James was born) and then Manchester, the UK's second largest city and centre of cotton milling during the 19th century. One of the must-dos in Chester is to "walk the walls" because unlike any other community, Chester has a nearly complete wall all around the early city. There's only a small 50 foot section missing and this was intentionally removed in the Victorian period so people could promenade along the river. Chester was a very important Roman town and there are significant ruins including one of the largest amphitheatres outside Italy.


Manchester is an impressive city, almost like a mini London. They even have their own large ferris wheel! Bombed by the IRA during the 80's, the downtown is an interesting mix of Victorian and contemporary architecture. It's a shopping mecca so we did a bit of that before enjoying the night life. We'd had enough of English food so stopped for a bite in China town. Home to Granada TV where "Coronation Street" is filmed so no surprise that James wanted to catch a glimpse of the set through the gates. It was a tiny glimpse but one that still has him smiling thinking about it.

So we're halfway through our week in the Cathedral and we had the UK premiere of Warren's Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis. On Wednesday the choir had a tour of the tower in Gloucester Cathedral. After climbing 269 steps to get to the top of the tower, we had a great view of the city. The guide gave us some of the history of the tower, even with a trap door in the ceiling to let the bells through to the floor below. One problem though, the main bell called Great Peter is too big to get through the trap door. So they either mismeasured the size of the bell, or the bell was hauled up before the door was installed.

The church is filled with so many hidden secrets.

Glen W.

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Time with the Bard

Today the choir made the trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Our first stop was in Shottery at the home of Anne Hathaway, to whom Shakespeare was married when he was eighteen. Together they had three children. It was a quaint cottage in the Tudor style framed with local oak and a thatched roof.

The bulk of the afternoon was spent in Stratford itself, starting with a driving tour of the main sites. The choir was then dropped off in the town centre for individual exploration. Possible places to see included the birthplace of Shakespeare, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, and the like. Of course, there were many shops, cafes, and pubs to visit. There was even a magic shop where one could buy a wand similar to Harry Potter's.

In the evening we entertained the people of nearby Alveston with a small concert featuring a selection of music from our repertoire. Choral and ensemble pieces were punctuated with wonderful organ pieces performed beautifully by Warren and Tammy-Jo. It was wonderful to help St. James parish raise funds for the repair of their church tower.

It will be great to spend a few days rest in Gloucester before we start next week's evensongs.

Glen W.

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Sunday in Bath

The choir has arrived at the historic city of Bath. Situated on the Avon River, Bath is widely known for its Roman baths. Nourished by natural hot springs, Bath spa offered the Romans a perfect place to set up camp in 43AD. Much later, it became popular as a spa town during the Georgian era, which led to a major expansion that left a heritage of exemplary Georgian architecture crafted from Bath Stone.

We were singing at the historic Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, or more well known as Bath Abbey. We will be singing evensong on Saturday and Sunday, as well as Sunday morning services. The Abbey, completed in 1132, has been left to ruin and rebuilt many times, with a major restoration in 1860 by Sir George Scott. It's walls are 80% windows, which give the Abbey a light, airy feel. The Abbey is built in a cruciform, which was not a common building style at the time, but being a cross formation, has been copied by many other churches since.

The choir did the choral matins in the morning and a mid-afternoon evensong. We filled the cathedral with Healey Willan's O How Glorious and ended the day with Rise Up My Love. We experienced the traditional choral matins which focused on the passage from Matthew 14 reading of the feeding of the 5000. The bishop of the Diocese of Bath and Wells offered a moving reflection inspired by Jesus's words "Let none of it be wasted."
The vicar theologian skillfully bridged the message and the prayer, inviting the congregation to meditate in silence when they believed times in their life which there was waste.

After the service we were free to go on our own to explore the city of Bath. Next we are off to Oxford for a few days to take in the sights, with a quick return to London on Tuesday.

Glen Warren
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