July 05, 2008
International Raspberry
So here we find ourselves in London on the 4th of July. We arrived here safely after saying goodbye to all our new friends in Durham. Upon arrival we spent an hour or so at the British Museum before heading out for a group dinner.
Although we had no scheduled performances in London, we broke into an impromptu concert of The Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America in the Italian restaurant in which we had dinner. A couple other Americans in the restaurant approached us afterwards and said they thought it was fantastic to see us celebrating. We weren't the only ones celebrating however. After dinner we went back to the British Museum for a 4th of July celebration complete with both a jazz and a swing band. A number of the kids (and even a few of the adults) got into the action and did a bit of swing dancing themselves before retiring for the evening.
We have a full day of sightseeing tomorrow and so we bid you goodnight from London Town.
Posted at 12:12 AM | Comments (2)
Personal Messages from All
We decided to pass the computer around on the bus and let anyone who wanted to send some personal greetings and messages concerning the trip. Here are the results.
Continue reading "Personal Messages from All"
Posted at 12:03 AM | Comments (1)
July 04, 2008
Performance with the Durham Youth Chorale
Thursday morning we all gathered briefly at the County Hall building and walked to the Durham Light Infantry "DLI" Museum. We were given a tour of the DLI and received a history lesson of life in Northern England during WW II.
Following our tour, we returned to the County Hall building, where we had the privilege of meeting with the County Council Chairman Len O'Donnell. A most interesting fact about Chairman O'Donnell was that he biked across America in support of the Fire and Policemen of 9/11. He biked all the way from Santa Monica to Washington DC. He was 69 when he began his incredible journey. Upon his arrival in Washington, he posted a message on his website and asked for help to get to Durham, NC. Our mayor Bill Bell arranged for the Councilman to visit Durham. It was wonderful to meet with a County official who actually had personal ties to Durham, NC.
After an afternoon of brief shopping we had our final official performance of the trip with the Durham Youth Chorale at the Elvet Methodist Church. The performance was a benefit for an orphanage in Dar Es Salaam. What a truly remarkable way to culminate our stay in our sister city. The Durham Youth Chorale sang beautifully and we enjoyed singing "Swinging with the Saints" with them as our final number.
After a reception in the church hall, it was off to our host homes to spend our final evening together. We have been truly blessed with the hospitality of our hosts in our sister city and we have made lasting friendships during our time here.
Posted at 11:35 PM | Comments (0)
July 02, 2008
Arbeia, Angel of the North and Beamish
Today was a busy day.
We began by visiting Arbeia, a Roman Fort near Hadrian's Wall in South Shields, England. It is an active archeological site which has also done reconstructions of some barracks and the West Gate. Very near the site was a spectacular view of the North Sea. Here we saw an offshore oil drilling platform that had been towed to port for repairs.
Next up was a visit to the Angel of the North. The Angel is a public art display in Gateshead that was initially met with much resistance when it was built in 1998. It is Britain's largest sculpture and is extremely popular with tourists. All of us felt pretty insignificant standing at its' base.
Lastly, we visited Beamish, an open air museum set on over 300 acres of land and somewhat similar to Williamsburg, VA. It demonstrates life in North England in the early 1800s and 1900s. The first stop in Beamish was a performance at the Methodist Chapel in the Colliery Village. Space was a bit tight for the choir but the acoustics sounded very nice and Richard Hill commented that he thought it was the best rendition yet of the Ave Maria.
The group had lunch and then split up to explore. The first stop for most of the group was the upper deck of a double-decker tram that circled the property. Other attractions on the property included exploring an old mine, wandering down an old Main Street into all the shops (such as an old fashioned candy shop, a general store, a bank, a freemason's hall etc). There was also a Colliery Village, a manor house, a farm and a train station.
Posted at 10:52 PM | Comments (0)
July 01, 2008
Performing in 3 Durham Schools
This morning we began our day with a performance at the Johnston School. The students there were more close in age to our DCC kids. We left shortly after the performance and walked to Durham Cathedral. Dr. Hill gave us a great lesson on the Cathedral before we entered. The Cathedral was absolutely breathtaking inside and out and we even saw the cloisters where Harry Potter was filmed!
We boarded the coach and headed to our concert at the Hermitage School. What a great time we had! The audience was amazing and we even did a sing along. We were treated to an amazing lunch and the kids were able to talk with the students there. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to talk with students in our sister city!
We ended our day with another concert at the Wolsingham Comprehensive School. It was interesting to see three different schools in one day, and perform 3 different concerts!
It was back to our host families this evening with free time to relax and bond. We definitely need to rest up for our trip to Beamish tomorrow!
Posted at 11:22 PM | Comments (0)
On the Road to Durham - Warwick Castle
We awoke early Monday morning with our bags packed and said goodbye to our fabulous hosts at Hafan y Coed - an experience that will forever be in our memories and our hearts. We boarded the Durham City Coach (DCC...hmmm interesting name isn't it?) and began the next leg of our journey to Durham!
Before we landed in Durham we stopped and visited Warwick Castle. The number of amazing historical sites in this country is astounding. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to see and do everything there. The group split up so that everyone could concentrate on the areas that interested them most. Some climbed the towers, some toured the castle which included historical wax figures created by none other than Madame Tussaud's, others went on the ghost tour, visited the dungeon and much, much more. I'm sure that the kids will have much to tell you about Warwick Castle.
We boarded our DCC Coach and finally made our way to our Sister City at 7:00 p.m. We were warmly met by our host families and whisked away to their homes throughout Durham. It was a bit strange to be separated from everyone and yet exciting to begin this part of our adventure.
Posted at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)
Performing with the Ynysowen Male Choir in Aberfan
What a moving experience we had in Aberfan. We were very honored to perform with the Ynysowen Male Choir in a memorial concert honoring the children whose lives were lost in a horrible landslide accident caused by a spoil heap from the mines. This landslide headed straight for the school where 116 children and 28 adults lost their lives. The most tragic part of the story is that an entire generation in the village of Aberfan was lost.
Again, our hosts outdid themselves hosting a dinner prior to the concert. The performance couldn't have gone better and ended with the singing of both the National Anthems from the United States and Wales. Many thanks to the Onllwyn Choir for their help in teaching us their national anthem.
After the concert, we all toured the memorial gardens located on the site of the school that was destroyed. In fact, the walls that surrounded the gardens and some of the concrete are the actual walls and floors of the school. Following some time in the gardens, we went to the cemetery and viewed the memorials of the children whose lives were lost. It was an overwhelming experience, but the children felt that it was very important to go to the cemetery and felt like it was the missing piece in the puzzle of Aberfan and made this concert even more special.
Posted at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)
Internet Update
Still have a couple more entries to add for the past couple of days. However, it's 1 a.m. and time for bed.
Our Durham host has internet access, so I should be able to catch up tomorrow and provide more regular updates.
The kids are awesome!
Posted at 01:07 AM | Comments (2)
Dan-yr-Ogof
Our last day in Wales began with a visit to Dan-yr-Ogof. This site contained a number of former mining caves as well as a dinosaur park. One of the caves was called the Cathedral Cave and we performed 4 songs within the cave. The sound was amazing and beautiful. After the performance a gentleman approached Scott and mentioned that his wife had been in tears. That performance in the cave was a magical moment.
After lunch at the showcaves, it was back to the hostel to prepare for our concert with the Ynysowen Male Choir in Aberfan.
Posted at 12:56 AM | Comments (0)
A Visit to St. Fagan's Open Air Museum
What an incredible Saturday we have had! We spent some time at St. Fagan's Open Air Museum which is a bit like Williamsburg. We sampled some wonderful bread and cheesy buns. Some of the kids made pottery, some kids practiced their archery and we all explored the wonderful grounds of this beautiful site.
Posted at 12:48 AM | Comments (0)