Well, we’re back – the trip is over, most of us have probably caught-up on rest, and we’re getting back to the routine of life. It’s somewhat sad, as we will all miss those days spent gallivanting about England together. However, I think most of us are relieved to be back in our own beds (and in consistent air conditioning!). Instead of giving a detailed account of the final five days of the trip (I don’t think anyone wants to read all of that in one sitting), I’m going to briefly talk through what we did and then just show you a lot of pictures, haha.
Stonehenge was an interesting (read: mildly disappointing) experience. While the area and such were beautiful, I was surprised by several different aspects. First, the monument itself was rather shorter than I thought it was. Somehow, I was expecting huge monoliths towering over the plain. In actuality, the stones are only about 10-12 feet high, a fact which left me in a less-than-awed state. Also, visitors aren’t allowed to walk amidst the stones themselves – they are forced to walk around the circle, and at quite a distance to boot. Finally, the overt commercialism took away most of the mysticism surrounding the place. I was expecting a quasi-eerie, mysterious location, and what we got was a huge souvenir shop, ice cream vendors, and massive crowds of tourists from around the globe. Oh well, that’s what you get when you visit a world-famous calendar made of giants rocks, right?
Salisbury Cathedral was beautiful! I found myself wishing we could sing in that fantastic space! One thing of particularly nerdy interest was the knowledge of the column material. At first glance, it appears to be marble. However, (per our fantastic guide) they are actually built from limestone which contains trillions of calcified snails, all of which glisten like natural marble. Fascinating! I wish we had had time to climb the tower (highest in England), but we were on somewhat of a tight schedule to return in time for Evensong that night. Trisha and I were ready for the hike, but alas, it wasn’t possible.
The next day (Friday) was our trip to Portsmouth. At first I wasn’t sure I would enjoy it – ships have never been my thing. However, we had a really great time! We first took a river cruise through the shipyard. Then it was on to the huge mall next to the Spinnaker (the incredible viewing tower on the coast). While there, we had lunch and did some shopping – I found nice blazers on sale for £7 each! (Altogether, I purchased $600 worth of blazers for somewhere around $42! WOW!) After lunch, we visited the HMS Victory, the HMS Warrior, and the Mary Rose (Henry VIII’s ship that sunk in 1545). It became a bit much to see that many ships, but they were all very interesting. Just as we were leaving, there was an interesting celebrity sighting – Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew from Harry Potter, the Beadle from Sweeney Todd). It wasn’t Tom Cruise, but it was still fun, haha.
Saturday was essentially a free day up until Evensong that night. Some of us went shopping, some went on a day trip out to the Jane Austen home, and some people caught-up on sleep. I spent my time split between the first and last options. Having finished my book the night before, I found a new one and then wandered around the city for a while, exploring some nooks and crannies. I had been growing anxious from being around people so consistently for so long, so it was nice to be able to breathe some for a few hours.
Sunday was a hectic, and yet rewarding, day. We had three church services, and very little free time in-between. First came Matins, then Eucharist, then a brief lunch, then back to Evensong (our last). The first two services were chaotic and confusing, as we had no idea how the order of service worked in this church. We made it though! That Evensong was a truly special event. Not only was it our last performance in England, it was Murray’s final service as our conductor. A bittersweet event, we sang better that night than at any other time during the trip. Afterward, we had a wonderful farewell dinner at the Mercure Wessex Hotel. There were a good number of speeches and presentations, but mostly it was just wonderful fellowship with our beloved fellow choir members and supporters.
The trip home started early the next morning (Monday) with a somewhat long bus ride to Heathrow. Once there, we passed easily through security and killed several hours wandering around the terminal. Finally, we boarded the plane and took the very long flight back across the Atlantic. My time was shared between napping, eating, and wonderful conversation with Deb Torgerson. We had a short time in Atlanta, and then we re-boarded and made our way back to Nashville.
What a wonderful trip and a blessed time of fellowship and music! Thanks for being patient in waiting for this final segment! And thanks for reading, in general! ~AJR
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