Back home again

Heading for home across the Yorkshire Dales

Firstly, thank you all for your get well wishes - I'm starting to feel more human now.  

I was trying to write this on the ferry yesterday, but the Internet connection was terrible and I finally gave up.   Plus the water was very lumpy and plus the rugby international was on and it was much more important to watch that - Ireland v England - and WE WON!!!!   I don't think I've ever watched a sporting event in a public bar with a lot of strangers before and it was much more fun than watching it alone at home.   I'm a sort of armchair sports fan and only really watch the big international matches when one of our teams or our guys are playing, with the exception of soccer which I can't stand.  And I've even given in and watched golf last year - 3 Northern Irish players in the top world rankings ... amazing.   Mind you I still subscribe to Oscar Wilde's definition of golf - a waste of a good walk!! 

Anyway, back to much more serious things :)  
We finished up our tour in Keighley in Yorkshire on Friday night with a fabulous room full of people who sang along with every chorus, lustily and in beautiful harmonies.   

Singing along at Keighley

This is the home of the famous Yorkshire carols and groups gather that are based around folk clubs, to do crafts, or watch old music videos, to raise funds for charities, to go camping - and all activities involve singing.  It's an inspirational place to be.   I lived in Yorkshire for a while in the 1980s and loved it.

Yorkshire dry stone walls on a misty last day of Feb

Thursday was York. And wow!   If ever a place felt like home this is it. 

If you haven’t already been there it is one of the most gorgeous cities in England and should be on everyone's visitor itinerary at some point.  Almost totally walled in, full of cute little curiosity shops and cafes.   Fabulous.

We played in The Black Swan – which is a 16^th century coach  house.  

The stairs are totally off balance – you feel drunk trying to get up them!  

And the room we play in has a wonderful original tapestry in it. 

This was a brilliant tour - the gigs were great, we were well received and the audiences were fabulous.    But it was also a tough tour for me - I got sick on nearly the first day and was really bad for the whole of the second week.  

After the couple of days resting near Newcastle I felt a bit better and managed to sing ok.   But I have to tell you that I’d want to feel an awful lot fitter for future tours.   None of us are getting any younger and carrying a heavy cold does not help you feel anywhere more capable.  

So with stuffy nose, a pulled muscle in my side from coughing and an allergic reaction to an overdose of chillies that a host put in our dinner, I was not a very happy budgie.  But, today, back at home again, having seen some wonderful old friends and met lots of new ones  … I am feeling a good bit better.   Thankfully we have no appointments today so it's a chance to catch up and rest up more. 

Happy start of March - it looks like it's coming in like a lion here... Hopefully it will go out like a lamb.