Day 5
What a day! We met at the clubhouse for a lovely breakfast before taking the bus to Alnwick, a small but historic town nestled in the Northumberland countryside. We explored Barter Books, a quaint bookstore famed for being home to Keep Calm and Carry On, and with a model train running around atop the shelves. After a quick Greggs lunch, we walked through the old town toward the castle, a fully preserved and still lived in fortress that used to protect against invasions from Scotland, but is now seat to the Percy family who live there, the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland. Our main reason for singing at the castle was that Harry Potter was filmed there, and this tour the John Williams Suite is in our repertoire. We arrived early to look around, and were treated with a full private tour of the castle inside and out with a wonderful and very knowledgeable tour guide. The weather was perfect, and our performance in the courtyard was one to remember. After, we decided to perform the Harry Potter section in front of the castle itself, whereby we were met with a groundsman offering us 6 broomsticks to use — of course, the castle teaches broomstick riding lessons to the intrepid young wizard. Thus, we had potentially the funniest photoshoot of all time in tails in a castle.
After returning home, we began preparing for our evening concert at the clubhouse. Sold out, and I figured I probably knew all 80 people coming! It was a really wonderful concert, and an amazing way to be able to bring the group to my hometown. I’m so grateful we were able to make it happen, and afterward we spent a few hours just chilling out at the bar with each other and my family before turning in for the night.
