Herr Kapellmeister Dawes Pulls a Bird

It's true. Stop the presses.


None of these ladies, I should hastily add, but in fact a very loud canary in the Cafe Scholler in Cologne where we enjoyed kaffe and kuchen in earshot of the bells of the Dom.

After getting to know each other, the canary hung on Will's every note, and mimicking him perfectly and watching him intently.

In an uncharitable attempt to make a cheap joke, one of the on-lookers quipped "better tuning and more attentive than most of the sopranos in the choir".

That aside, he should be known as Dolittle Dawes from now on.

Yesterday's Highlight

It could be a Crowded House song - 'Three Cities in one day'.

Leichlingen, Cologne and Dusseldorf. And the greatest of these was Cologne. The Dom is truly awe-inspiring, and no picture can do it justice, but I tried.

How many shoes does a woman need?

One weekend away, four days, one concert. How many shoes does a girl need to bring? We had a sweep stake that our esteemed secretary would bring more individual shoes than there would be tenors in the concert.

We won.

Number of tenors - 13
Number of individual pairs of shoes - 20 (10 pairs).

10 pairs of shoes? Ye gods! That's a beer or two on the slate for later

So image our delight when we saw the following shop window in Dusseldorf last night. It had to be recorded.

If the average woman has 19 pairs of shoes, how many does Ms Ewan have?

After allowing the choir to park on its forecourt, rumour has it that Francis Piesse [along with Diana, sorely missed] has offered use of his warehouse for the purpose of storing her collection.

It's also rumoured that an application has been received by Henley Town Council to rename to estate the Imelda Marcos Business Park.

Bad Gags

At the Dusseldorf jazz festival........

Enjoying mojito and German sausage.

Will did enjoy his. I quote: " it's not the wurst sausage I've ever had"

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After the rehearsal: The Meter Long Sausage

Cologne: 4pm.

First: Will's comment on a warm rehearsal: "shaping up for a good gig" . Shaping up is appropriate after Will's masterful choir re-organisation. there are some more pictures on the choir's website


Things concerning the committee at this stage: is a DJ White or black? Is smoking a fire hazard?

Should we beseech goodwill toward or towards men?

I'm not sure one of the soloists will appreciate being mistakenly described by one of our fold as a transvestite rather than a counter-tenor!

Now in Cologne, a metre long sausage has been devoured . And the kolsch is flowing.

13 brave soles are following a tour guide and the new self styled finance minister aka Paul our treasurer. Constitutional amendment at the next AGM I think

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View from the Unterscmitte Appartments

Does that win a prize for the most uninteresting photo ever posted on a blog? You can see that that the sun is shining, though.

Not quite dropped off the face of the earth....

....but at some points its felt like it!

Grappling with the vagaries of getting an Internet connection meant radio silence after the blogging frenzy of the first part of the voyage yesterday.

After a smooth ferry crossing of 90 minutes (spent by your intrepid reported in Langham's brasserie for a tip-top champagne breakfast, along with a fair sized possy from the choral ranks) we boarded the bus, Ben P masterfully demonstrating the art of last minute timing by leaping aboard just as we were marshaled off the board by the men in hi-viz jackets.

And then how do describe the next 8 hrs on the coach?
red wine (for the naughty boys and girls on the back seat)
a highly contested game of trivial pursuit with the most amazing range of 1980s pop triv questions
melting Camembert and Stilton

oh, and did I mention the traffic - miles and miles of it all around the Brussels ring road throwing the kibosh at any of the intricate plans. Mr Blaker, I concede defeat!

planned arrival 1800, actual arrival 2000. Oh dear! Last minute scuffles to start the rehearsal as prompt as possible and much logistical malarkey to get the right bags to the right hotel...and we made it!

More on the rehearsal anon, other than to say that it never ceases to amaze me how you can get off the bus in a different country, surrounded by different people in a place you've never been to before, open up your copy and mouth and suddenly be united by the music. Great.


Not sure if any one went clubbing after the rehearsal (!) but chairman's award #2 must go to Alfie Hay for providing the Unterscmitterites with a life saving slap-up supper.

Now a sunny Saturday morning, and fruhstuck has been delivered to the hotel room. Herr Kapellmeister Dawes has surfaced, after a night of coping with someone snoring very loudly (sorry!) - and we're recharged and ready to play on day two....


PS Two questions to play with before the next blog....

1. How much does a taxi from Reading to Dover cost?
2. Name the choir member who, going on concert trip to perform the Messiah, bring a copy of Elijah instead?


PPS STOP PRESS - Great news: ts confirmed that soprano reinforcements are flying in today in the form of Fi Harding. Hooray!!