This morning we checked out of the Holiday Inn Express that has been our home for the past three nights. It is unusual for tour members to stay in a hotel, but this must have been part of God's plan because it allowed us time to get our bearings with organizing our large group plus manage instruments and late-breaking changes.
With buses loaded and ready to roll, we thanked St. Anthony, patron of lost objects, for many "finds" overnight. Between last night and this morning, tour members recovered a green pocket Bible, a belt, a camera case, a pink iPod, a silver watch, and a sweatshirt. Travel hint from Cameron, who claimed two of the lost items: If you've lost something, trust your intuition and check behind the drawn drapes in the room where you've been staying! Still missing are a clutch and a video memory card. All together now... "St. Anthony, St. Anthony, please come around. Something's gone missing and it must be found!"
Today's sightseeing would take us to Windsor Great Park, the town of Windsor, and Windsor Castle. As we neared Windsor, we passed the raceway where the Royal Ascot race was held just last week. This is a week-long thoroughbred racing event that has members of England's royal family in attendance. Too bad we missed seeing the British women in their amazing hats! The grounds of Windsor Great Park were studded with black oak trees of a normal height yet with surprisingly thick trunks, a sign of mature age in a tree. We wondered how many rings would be in a cross-section of such a tree.
Having arrived in Windsor, each person was given £8 (pounds sterling, where one pound = $1.73) for lunch "on your own." Essentially, we had free time for a few hours with more options than we had time for. Most of the youth enjoyed browsing the shops in the immaculate and quaint town of Windsor which sits right on the Thames River. Dozens of graceful white swans have made the river their home. Purchases made in town included belated Father's Day gifts, sweaters, T-shirts, fudge, maps, and trinkets. This breezy summer day was our warmest day yet on tour, and shorts and sleeveless shirts finally and happily surfaced.
Several chaperones and youth chose to go on a tour of Windsor Castle. As we purchased our group tickets, we befriended a family of three (mom, dad, and son) visiting from Boston and invited them to join us in the group purchase. During the process, the 17-year-old son (who plays piano) made an instant connection with the youth members of our group and stayed with them for most of the tour. It's a wonderful feeling to bond with a stranger through shared kindness, and we have seen this in some form every day of tour.
Windsor Castle is as impressive as the press would suggest when they cover newsworthy events involving the royal family. Dating to 1080, it is the largest and oldest occupied castle in the world. It has been a place of residence for the royal family for over 900 years. The castle sits high on a hill on the edge of the town of Windsor. The compound is comprised of immense manicured grounds, lavish state rooms, an art gallery, a doll house (an amazing miniature from 1923), and a beautiful chapel. The art gallery showcases significant art pieces collected by Prince Phillip, the husband of current Queen Elizabeth II. On display are drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, self-portraits by Rembrandt, and paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The state rooms are used today when formal state dinners are given, using china sets that are hundreds of years old. Saint George's Chapel within the castle walls contains the remains of several kings. An organ concert was being held while we visited. Lastly, we saw the Changing of the Royal Guard when an officer on a new shift marches with escorts to replace another guard who is no doubt fatigued after hours of standing straight as an arrow. The guards wear the classic red uniforms with distinctly tall, black, furry hats. Of course we took pictures with the guard on duty, close enough to see his eyes take in everything going on around him while his body was solid as a statue.
Tonight's concert was held at the Holy Saviour Church in the town of Hitchin. We arrived in time for both a rehearsal and a buffet dinner served by the women of the church. Together, the communities of Hitchin and Stevenage went out of their way to make us feel welcome. Dinner was a feast of chicken, ham, couscous, salads, breads, and homemade desserts. Church members served up the dishes and warmly greeted everyone in our party. The "flower ladies" of the church had made striking flower arrangements using red, white, and blue flowers, decorating them with both USA and British flags. USA and British flags were also posted on the church columns as a sign of friendship between our countries.
Holy Saviour Church has wonderful acoustics for a performance. The church was built during 1864-65 by a wealthy reverund who wanted to glorify God and serve the growing community with a home for worship at a time when the coming of the railroad was promoting growth. The building is Neo-Gothic in style, made of red bricks assembled in a pattern that is a trade mark of the architect William Butterfield. Butterfield's work also exists at a church in Oxford, and in the coming days we will see if the red brick pattern exists there as well. Holy Saviour Church contains brilliant stained glass windows added through time depicting scenes from both the Old Testament and the New Testament.
As the start to the performance, a warm welcome was extended by the church vicar and the church organist. The choir and orchestra gave a moving performance of the Haydn mass with soloists Madeline Waters, Katherine Williams, Dan Krotz, and Dylan Howe. The "Yorkshire Ballad" with its flowing melody was played as a tribute to England and its beauty. Several anthems were performed, including "If Ye Love Me, Keep My Commandments" sung a capella by the choir and directed by Cameron. At the end of the concert, Trevor Hughes, the church organist, expressed his appreciation for this performance given with spirit and understanding.
The Lord is always at work in bringing us together. After the concert, each host family left the church with their assigned youth members or adults pulling luggage behind them to spend the next two nights together. Special recognition goes to Carol and Harold Stokes who are wonderful hosts to the blogger! May God bless every host pairing with a shared experience to remember fondly.
We ask that you pray for our dear Sue Constantinides, who is a chaperone fighting an illness on tour. Among other things, Sue is our primary photographer on the trip. Blog postings of photos start with Sue capturing those Kodak moments for all you readers. Many thanks to Bonnie Emery for taking wonderful photos in Sue's absence!
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Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Tour 2011 - Day 3: Lulworth Cove and Corfe Castle
Our group got off smoothly this morning, destined for an active day outdoors with a serious forecast for rain. We went to Lulworth Cove further west along the southern coast than Bournemouth and Poole. Described by Cameron as a "nice hike with a natural arch towards the end," we set off at a fast pace. Very soon we could see this was no ordinary hike. We were on a path that hugged the coastline, following a cliff to a great height, affording us incredible, breath-taking views of the English Channel and the countryside. The trail went from Lulworth Cove through fields of Queen Anne's Lace and blooming buttercups west to Durdle Door. By the grace of God, we had no rain all morning. With a fairly steep climb, our mass of hikers soon thinned into a broken stream, with the youth leading the way. After hiking to a point with dramatic views of high, chalk-white cliffs, the trail went down, down to a beach where the natural arch stood as a formidable structure in the channel waters. Many of us went down to play in the salty turquoise water and enjoy the sandy beach where we found snails. In the distance we could see Weymouth Bay where the sailing events for the 2012 Olympics will be held. We would love to have lingered there all day savoring the majesty of our creator. Too soon we had to hoof it back to the buses for lunch, but what memories we took with us!
Nearby Harry's Bar was our spot for lunch, where we had reservations and had pre-ordered from a menu of chicken pot pie, fish & chips, beef burger, or vegetarian lasagna. Today is Matt DeHoff's 16th birthday, and we honored him by singing Happy Birthday!
Our next stop was Corfe Castle, whose ruins sit prominently on a hill. As with everything in England, there is an interesting past to share. The castle was started in 1086 and took 199 years to build. The architecture transitioned from Norman to Early English during that time. The castle was well built at high elevation and situated between two rivers, beyond which were hills framed on three sides by water. This was a royal castle used by medieval kings. With many attempts at attack from the outside, the castle never fell to enemy hands until treachery within the royal family caused a civil war within the castle walls. In 1646 the castle was intentionally demolished by order of Parliament to eliminate the possibility of further conflict. We climbed through the ruins, which clearly outline the foundation of the castle. Many partial buildings still stand with high stone walls. Terry, our guide, pointed out locations of water wells, stables, dungeons, terraced vegetable gardens, and even the toilets. The castle is complete with a pair of ravens, who are raising three babies born this past spring in a nest the size of a cubic meter. Split into two manageable shifts, we enjoyed tea and scones with traditional clotted cream and strawberry jam in a tea shop near the castle ruins. This was delicious and cozy, especially since it was lightly raining the entire time we were at the castle. We must be feeling at home in England, because the rain didn't dampen our fun at all!
We rushed from the tea shop to yet another meal. Dinner was served in shifts for the orchestra and then the choir to support rehearsals to follow immediately afterwards. At Cafe Rouge, a hearty Spinch or Minestrone soup and hot dish of chicken, potatoes and green beans was put before us. The chaperones have decided our weight gain on this trip may just set an all-time record for tour!
This evening we gave our first concert, held at St. Peter's Chuch, which is one of the finest Victorian buildings in England. Erected in the mid-1800's in Bournemouth, this large church is filled with wall paintings, excellent stained glass, fine carved alabaster, and one-of-a-kind needlepoint kneelers. The churchyard has a tomb containing the heart of poet Percy Shelley and the body of his wife Mary Shelley, who wrote "Frankenstein." Many people attended the performance, with some coming from St. Augustin's where they heard the youth sing yesterday morning. The theme for this mission tour is Peace In Our Time, which demonstrates our commitment to unifying different cultures, beliefs, races, and ages. St. Peter's has a tradition of promoting young musicians, and our group was blessed to perform in this setting. The cornerstone piece of our program is "Mass In Time of War" by Joseph Haydn, and this was performed beautifully with solos by Madeline Waters, Katherine Williams, Dan Krotz, and Matthew Miante. The choir and orchestra lifted the audience with their message through music. The program included some of our favorite anthems with solos sung by Ben Constantindes and Carly Colborn, and instrument solos played by Robert Williams and Ross Thompson. The final piece played was "Bugler's Holiday," which features our trumpet players Matthew Fitzsimmons, Jesse Boulden, and Ross Thompson. In closing the event, the priest described the program as "not to be missed" and encouraged word to spread to friends and family who are near our future performance sites. This wonderful evening ended with much conversation and a friendly reception of tea and biscuits (cookies) to honor our youth. We've already formed the beginning of a lasting relationship with a woman from the audience asking for a copy of the youth CD with the promise to write. God is good!
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Nearby Harry's Bar was our spot for lunch, where we had reservations and had pre-ordered from a menu of chicken pot pie, fish & chips, beef burger, or vegetarian lasagna. Today is Matt DeHoff's 16th birthday, and we honored him by singing Happy Birthday!
Our next stop was Corfe Castle, whose ruins sit prominently on a hill. As with everything in England, there is an interesting past to share. The castle was started in 1086 and took 199 years to build. The architecture transitioned from Norman to Early English during that time. The castle was well built at high elevation and situated between two rivers, beyond which were hills framed on three sides by water. This was a royal castle used by medieval kings. With many attempts at attack from the outside, the castle never fell to enemy hands until treachery within the royal family caused a civil war within the castle walls. In 1646 the castle was intentionally demolished by order of Parliament to eliminate the possibility of further conflict. We climbed through the ruins, which clearly outline the foundation of the castle. Many partial buildings still stand with high stone walls. Terry, our guide, pointed out locations of water wells, stables, dungeons, terraced vegetable gardens, and even the toilets. The castle is complete with a pair of ravens, who are raising three babies born this past spring in a nest the size of a cubic meter. Split into two manageable shifts, we enjoyed tea and scones with traditional clotted cream and strawberry jam in a tea shop near the castle ruins. This was delicious and cozy, especially since it was lightly raining the entire time we were at the castle. We must be feeling at home in England, because the rain didn't dampen our fun at all!
We rushed from the tea shop to yet another meal. Dinner was served in shifts for the orchestra and then the choir to support rehearsals to follow immediately afterwards. At Cafe Rouge, a hearty Spinch or Minestrone soup and hot dish of chicken, potatoes and green beans was put before us. The chaperones have decided our weight gain on this trip may just set an all-time record for tour!
This evening we gave our first concert, held at St. Peter's Chuch, which is one of the finest Victorian buildings in England. Erected in the mid-1800's in Bournemouth, this large church is filled with wall paintings, excellent stained glass, fine carved alabaster, and one-of-a-kind needlepoint kneelers. The churchyard has a tomb containing the heart of poet Percy Shelley and the body of his wife Mary Shelley, who wrote "Frankenstein." Many people attended the performance, with some coming from St. Augustin's where they heard the youth sing yesterday morning. The theme for this mission tour is Peace In Our Time, which demonstrates our commitment to unifying different cultures, beliefs, races, and ages. St. Peter's has a tradition of promoting young musicians, and our group was blessed to perform in this setting. The cornerstone piece of our program is "Mass In Time of War" by Joseph Haydn, and this was performed beautifully with solos by Madeline Waters, Katherine Williams, Dan Krotz, and Matthew Miante. The choir and orchestra lifted the audience with their message through music. The program included some of our favorite anthems with solos sung by Ben Constantindes and Carly Colborn, and instrument solos played by Robert Williams and Ross Thompson. The final piece played was "Bugler's Holiday," which features our trumpet players Matthew Fitzsimmons, Jesse Boulden, and Ross Thompson. In closing the event, the priest described the program as "not to be missed" and encouraged word to spread to friends and family who are near our future performance sites. This wonderful evening ended with much conversation and a friendly reception of tea and biscuits (cookies) to honor our youth. We've already formed the beginning of a lasting relationship with a woman from the audience asking for a copy of the youth CD with the promise to write. God is good!
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Monday, June 20, 2011
2011 Tour - Day 2: St. Augustin's Church Service and The Priory
How refreshed everyone felt after just a short night of sleep! After a 7:00 AM breakfast at the hotel (the rooms meet our needs very well), the buses brought us back to lovely Bournemouth. We attended the Sunday morning worship service at The Church of St. Augustin's, which is part of the Bournemouth Town Centre Parish. The church building is considered Victorian, built in the early 1900's with a barrel vault ceiling offering wonderful acoustics. The church is beautiful with exposed beams, wood carvings, and brilliant stained glass windows. Our youth sang two songs - "If Ye Love Me, Keep My Commandments," and "One Faith, One Hope, One Lord" with trumpet accompaniment by RossThompson. They truly sounded amazing, and this was their first performance in England! An elderly gentleman jumped to his feet, excitedly clapping his hands. Barbara, a church representative, expressed heartfelt thanks, and the congregation responded with a standing ovation. This church felt very special to us, particularly as Cameron directed the second number. In 1995, Cameron was a Page Boy in the wedding of his aunt and uncle in this very church.
A short drive away, lunch was served on two floors at the historic Riverside Sopley Mill Restaurant. Aptly named, this was once a mill with a water wheel to grind grain for the local farmers. We enjoyed a light buffet of sandwiches, quiche, and chicken. Today is Derek Klahre's 16th birthday, and we celebrated his milestone with a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday." Outdoors on this pleasant afternoon, we saw the restaurant sits astride the River Avon, with a gurgling stream running under the mill structure. Families of ducks were swimming in the calmer waters above. This was a lovely and quaint scene with speckled chickens near the river and a view of green fields dotted with red poppies.
As we left the restaurant, we began to notice the many houses with wonderful character due to their darling thatched roofs. The ultimate statement that spans centuries was a sign advertising a company that builds thatched roofs. Their internet web address was prominently posted.
Back on the buses after lunch, "Fork Stories" were shared and voted upon. Peggy Edmonds won her first-ever Fork Award in over 40 years of tours, for frying her hair AFTER burning a towel using a USA curling iron in a British wall socket. She was proud to receive the award, saying she was just glad she wasn't trying to curl her bangs!
Having driven to the town of Christchurch, we spent this sunny afternoon at the Christchurch Priory, a Church of England with amazing history. First built as a Saxon church in the 7th century, the original church was demolished and replaced by a great Parish Church in 1094 using the Norman style with heavy columns and rounded arches. The structure has been expanded through the years and is now 300 feet long. We saw the "Miraculous Beam," a huge wooden beam that was accidentally cut too short to serve its intended purpose. Overnight, the beam lengthened and a carpenter who had been very involved in the work disappeared. With the hand of God so clearly and directly a part of the construction, the church was renamed Christchurch Priory. It continues to be a living church, evidenced by a baptism service being held at the back of the church while we toured. A handful of lucky people from our group were led up 176 tiny circular stone steps to the top of the bell tower, seeing ancient bells that weighed over 1000 pounds each. The view from the top on this blue-sky day was spectacular of the comminity below and the English Channel.
Dinner was "on your own" in the town of Poole, which made for an adventure in exploring and spending British pounds. Afterwards, all came together to attend a symphony concert of the "Rusty Musicians" at the Lighthouse Theater. This is an annual summer project that combines professional and amateur musicians, and they are over 150 stong. Their youngest member is only age 12 and plays percussion. At 86 years, their oldest musician plays viola. Our clarinetist Brian Simon was thrilled to feel the personal connection of learning their 1st clarinet player is one of his favorite musicians. Pieces from Fantasia and other familiar works were played beautifully, but many in our group were lulled into a drowsy state after such an active day. We felt God's blessings upon us as we happily headed back to the hotel.
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A short drive away, lunch was served on two floors at the historic Riverside Sopley Mill Restaurant. Aptly named, this was once a mill with a water wheel to grind grain for the local farmers. We enjoyed a light buffet of sandwiches, quiche, and chicken. Today is Derek Klahre's 16th birthday, and we celebrated his milestone with a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday." Outdoors on this pleasant afternoon, we saw the restaurant sits astride the River Avon, with a gurgling stream running under the mill structure. Families of ducks were swimming in the calmer waters above. This was a lovely and quaint scene with speckled chickens near the river and a view of green fields dotted with red poppies.
As we left the restaurant, we began to notice the many houses with wonderful character due to their darling thatched roofs. The ultimate statement that spans centuries was a sign advertising a company that builds thatched roofs. Their internet web address was prominently posted.
Back on the buses after lunch, "Fork Stories" were shared and voted upon. Peggy Edmonds won her first-ever Fork Award in over 40 years of tours, for frying her hair AFTER burning a towel using a USA curling iron in a British wall socket. She was proud to receive the award, saying she was just glad she wasn't trying to curl her bangs!
Having driven to the town of Christchurch, we spent this sunny afternoon at the Christchurch Priory, a Church of England with amazing history. First built as a Saxon church in the 7th century, the original church was demolished and replaced by a great Parish Church in 1094 using the Norman style with heavy columns and rounded arches. The structure has been expanded through the years and is now 300 feet long. We saw the "Miraculous Beam," a huge wooden beam that was accidentally cut too short to serve its intended purpose. Overnight, the beam lengthened and a carpenter who had been very involved in the work disappeared. With the hand of God so clearly and directly a part of the construction, the church was renamed Christchurch Priory. It continues to be a living church, evidenced by a baptism service being held at the back of the church while we toured. A handful of lucky people from our group were led up 176 tiny circular stone steps to the top of the bell tower, seeing ancient bells that weighed over 1000 pounds each. The view from the top on this blue-sky day was spectacular of the comminity below and the English Channel.
Dinner was "on your own" in the town of Poole, which made for an adventure in exploring and spending British pounds. Afterwards, all came together to attend a symphony concert of the "Rusty Musicians" at the Lighthouse Theater. This is an annual summer project that combines professional and amateur musicians, and they are over 150 stong. Their youngest member is only age 12 and plays percussion. At 86 years, their oldest musician plays viola. Our clarinetist Brian Simon was thrilled to feel the personal connection of learning their 1st clarinet player is one of his favorite musicians. Pieces from Fantasia and other familiar works were played beautifully, but many in our group were lulled into a drowsy state after such an active day. We felt God's blessings upon us as we happily headed back to the hotel.
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