On this page, you find my next three days. June 23rd, 24th and 25th.
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4th day
Welcome to Portsmouth...!
Saturday June 23rd
I woke up at about 10:30am. Nick had stepped out earlier in the morning to get some foodstuff for himself for the day, and some
milk for me for my tea. I cleaned up and had a shower, then popped out for breakfast. Toast was the only thing on offer, with
orange marmalade, and tea. Actually, it was quite nice. We sat and chatted about many things until about 11:30, when we left for
Portsmouth cathedral to sing mass.
At 12pm, we had a 20 minute rehearsal for this service we were doing. We rehearsed and then sang a Mass at 12:30pm, singing
the Byrd three-part mass (for ATB), and the Gibbons, "This is the record of John" with Tenor soloist. I sang Alto 1 by myself, but am
happy to say I actually enjoyed singing with the choir of men. They play in their own 'special' way, but they still play, which was
great! The service was over by 1:15pm, after which we all headed over to the PUB (again!). I was paid a smashing 25 pounds
sterling for this service, an equivalent of $50. Now, in Washington, I am usually paid $100 a call, so this is a considerable cut for me.
Although, I mainly sang for the fun of it - it has been nice to sing with the various different choirs since arriving here. First Norwich,
and now Portsmouth. I have been told that for a regular Sunday service at Portsmouth, they pay the choral scholars 5 pounds
sterling ($10), and the lay clerks 10 pounds sterling ($20). It must be hard to make a living in this country as a church musician!
In the pub, I had a pint of some bitter beer. It was very nice...and...um...bitter....um....anyways, shortly afterwards, around 2pm, I was
joined by my old school friend, Richard "Sumo" Simms. He joined us in the pub, and I had another beer - a Guiness, and a Fry up
(Basically, a typical English Breakfast). It was all rather good. We caught up and talked about many old things. He and I travelled
across the East Coast of the USA back in the year 2000, over the summer. Certainly some fond memories there! Lots of fun.
After the other gents disappeared for another rehearsal, Richard and I remained in the pub and had "another" drink, while at the
same time we planned our day together. After lunch, we headed over to the docks - I took a few photos, as you'll see, then headed
over to the "Hang-out Zone" for some shopping. First, we saw the movie/film "Shrek 3", which I have already seen; Richard had not.
It was still amusing the second time, and a good laugh. After, we headed into the main shopping area, and I bought a few items to
take home. Both Connor and Kirk will be happy to find themselves each with another England Shirt - I bought one too. They are nice
- white with ENGLAND written in big letters. I also plan to buy a cricket bat, ball and wickets, so that I can teach them an English
sport when I return.
After shopping, Sumo and I headed back to Nick's house, where we had a cup of tea - I then played him some of my music clips. He
and I sang together as Tenor and Bass back when I was aged 15-18, but he had never heard me as a countertenor (male alto). He
was (I think) impressed. After a short while, he decided to leave, but we both took a short break at the pub across the street for
another beer (I had a John Smiths!!), and a game of pool - he won. Then, he headed off home, and I came back upstairs to here.
Right now, I am eating dinner...if I can call this food edible food. A baked potato, and some coleslaw! Hmmm....
Additional thoughts of the day:
This country is about to go through a smoking ban, as of July 1st. All I can say is "Thank God"! Of all the pub I went to today, I wreak
of cigarettes. It is disgusting - and I hope the smell is gone by tomorrow.
Along the line of pubs - I have had more to drink in the past 4 days than I have in about a month in Washington DC, USA. England is
known for being a drinking culture - I'm happy to sink back into it for a while, but I will be glad to get back to my old usual life.
I've been here four days, and it has been fun - but, I still really do miss the USA. I'm looking forward to seeing Tracy next week. I
wish I had access to the Internet too - it brings me that one step closer to home. Just writing this Blog, and hoping to upload it at the
next possible point, only takes me so far. Enjoy the photos of the day! I'll be off to bed in a couple of hours!
Richard Simms Ferry Harbor
Breakfast
Richard's BMW Down by the Harbor Lunch - Fry up
5th day
A day of rest....NOT!
Sunday June 24th
An easy start to the day - woke up at 9am, had a shower and, a leisurely breakfast - my favourite, Alpen (a muesli-type cereal) and
tea. At around 10am, Nick and I made our way to the Cathedral for the 10:15 rehearsal and service at 11am. Here are my thoughts:
The choir is a bit more...casual...than what I'm now used to. I certainly remember when I sang at Windsor, that I had to wear a
jacket, shirt and tie to all services. This was not the case at either Norwich or Portsmouth. Most the men wore open shirts or
t-shirts. I was one of the few (perhaps of few older gents) who wore a jacket and tie...fir for the occasion.
The choir of men and boys - not bad a sound. Actually, the boys sang very well - they had/have a good strong clear and confident
sound. The men on the other hand...do not! The men of the Portsmouth Cathedral choir, are made up of choral scholars/gap year
students (aged 17-23), and Lay-clerks (aged upwards....i.e...older ;)). The sound was a bit raw - very pale (i.e, no vibrato). When the
tenors and basses sang high, it was like either listening to dying donkeys being castrated, or nicer put, teenage voices trying to sing
professionally. The altos...were OK, but a bit quiet, except when they went low, they sounded like pregnant chicken talking in
French. Altos in the UK DO NOT switch into their chest voice...a concept which is very common in the US. Furthermore, there is
absolutely NO VIBRATO, something which was later discussed in the pub, is never 'done' in English choirs. Interesting!
There was also an orchestra playing with us today at Mass. We sang the Schubert in G. Loverly mass - needs a bit more body and
a powerful choir to sing it. Well, the orchestra was crap - either ahead or behind the conductor; they had tuning issues - like they
had never played in an ensemble before. (The blonde girl in the front was alright though!), and the Soprano soloist - a redhead, with
poor makeup (too much blue eye shadow), obviously was afraid of the high notes, because she sped up the music in order to get
through it faster... Sopranos!!! She also had/used a/the <Gam> effect for vibrato - i.e...shake the whole chin....riiiiiiiiight!!!
So, it was a nice service - with a boring sermon given by the former organist and choir master at Rochester Cathedral, i.e, nothing
to do with religion, boring and slow. I think I saw a few parishioners out there sleeping!
After the service, we went to the PUB - of course - and had a beer - of course - and a typical British Roast lunch. I had roast beef
with gravy, potatoes, carrots, horseradish, Yorkshire pudding, cabbage and Broccoli, followed by an G & T.
So - overall - I probably hate to say this, but the Choir at the Washington National Cathedral, although slow at putting things together,
only OK at sight-reading, and being a bit dense at times, is already far better than both the Norwich and Portsmouth Cathedral
choirs...combined! Adding vibrato - and working with Mike, has served us all well. Long live the new US Tradition of the Anglican
Choral Tradition!... Oh yes, and God Save the Queen!
One last thing...... Rain Rain Rain. Welcome to England - it has rained solidly for the past two days! Today, it is dreary outside, and
very wet. Nick, having no car, lives 15 minutes walk from church - in the rain...is a bit soggy. And yes...Nick Still looks the same!
Tonight, at the Cathedral, I sing a concert at 9:30pm - a preview of our CD - Nick and I sing duets and solos written for the
countertenor voice. I hear 30 tickets have already sold. I shall report on this later tonight when I get back home. Ta ta!
5th day...in the evening
After the concert...around 11:40pm at night
Sunday June 24th
The Twilight Concert with Nick went very well!
It was quite well attended, about 45 people or so.
The program consisted mainly of common
countertenor duets and popular song, both
modern and early. I would say my best piece
which I sang was Purcell's Music for a while -
the best I have ever sung it. Nick's, definitely
Purcell's Evening Hymn. We had asked for a
recording, but someone forgot, and we forgot to remind him...so...oh well...
Nick & I
After the show, we went to the pub, around 10:50pm. It was CLOSED! HAH! After the
They close early in this country. Well, technically, they weren't closed - but, last Concert
call had been ...Called! So, we popped off round the corner to the Music Director's
house - and had some shampers....and biscuits. Very nice. Incidentally, I may have
mentioned yesterday that the choir of Pompey wasn't that good. If it's any consolation,
many men were pretty good - and they were all very nice too... So, I take back many of my
harsh words. It was nice to sing and work with them all over the past few days! Photos of us in DJs/Tuxedo.
6th day
Another day of travelling
Monday June 25th
I was an idiot when I got home last night. I chose to play a computer game, after all, I haven't had access to a TV or the Internet for
over three days now - I was starting to get withdrawal symptoms. Anyway, I played a game...which hooked me...until 4am!!!!! Then
went to bed! I got up this morning at 10am, had breakfast and packed. I am now doing this...and will shortly take a shower, then call
a taxi to the train station. Nick is at work this morning...
Today, Nick and I are heading to Cumbria, where we will be recording this Duet CD. We will be staying with his parents who live in
Durham. Durham is one of the few cities that I love most in this country - it will be nice to spend three days there, despite the fact
that I'll be working. I hope to hear an evensong or two while there, and will certainly report back. It is 300 miles away from London,
and by train will take us just under three hours (a standard commute for me). The pain for me will be that I have to carry all my
luggage again, and that, again, it is raining quite a gale outside - what can I say - typical English Weather.
Today is the day I upload this page and all the others (I hope). I haven't been near a wireless connection since arriving in this
country, and I am hoping that when I get to King's Cross Station in London, that Starbucks will have Wi-Fi access - if not, you'll have
to wait another week till you can read of my adventures! All the best!
Evening....after the travelling.
Location: Durham Country - in Cumbria
Time: 12:47am
I actually didn't get to upload anything today. There was no Starbucks or wireless access anywhere at all...A real annoyance now...!
We arrived at King's Cross Station to find that our train had been cancelled due to bad weather. Typical! Instead, we jumped onto
the next available train, which was heading for Scotland. It appears that everyone else and their uncles decided to do the same,
because when a train became available on the platform, a large crowd rushed their way over and boarded. It was a packed trip, but
Nick and I were lucky to be among the first to get seats.
The weather, as predicted, was awful the entire way up. Much of the time, we crawled slowly through the deep water over the
tracks.... Basically, the weather issues added an additional 3 hours to the trip. We left Portsmouth (Pompey) at 12pm, arriving at
London around 2:30pm. We caught the train to Durham at 3pm, and didn't arrive till 7:30pm...a very long train ride....in the rain.
When we finally arrived in Durham, it was still pouring with rain...was COLD....oh yes - 40 degrees Fahrenheit!!!! I could see my
breath! I haven't seen my breath since the cold months in Washington Back in April....Good God!
Nick's father picked us up at the station around 8pm, and took us to his house in the countryside....it appears...and Nick neglected to
tell me this...that his parents lived 1 hour away from the general population....so...here we are...in the Highlands....in the English
mountains...surrounded by hills and open fields, filled with sheep and cows....and misty clouds....rain drops and fog. Oh yes....Good
ol' England! I'm out of space....but, I'll get some photos and post them for tomorrow....this area is beautiful....very relaxing. Coming
here...and England...has been just the break I need.
