November 5, 2018

London, UK

Hello all!Today marks the beginning of 8 whole days at home with no concerts. ‘Slackers’, I hear you cry. Well it’s been a really busy term thus far, and we’re now half way through it. We’ve got another 24 concerts to go before Christmas, and in the past 7 weeks we’ve sung 25 concerts in 7 countries. Late last night we got back from the Netherlands, having had a lovely few days singing and teaching in Groningen, Enschede and Heerlen. So this mid-way break feels nice, and for me it will be a chance to do a bit of wedding preparation with Ellie. It’s not for 10 months or so, but some things need to be arranged early so I look forward to sorting a few things out for our special day. As well as wedding prep and resting, I’ve got a few nice things to look forward to this week. Recently, I became a member of the British Think Tank ‘Chatham House’, which specialises in analysis of international affairs; tomorrow morning I’m going to my first event, in which the deputy foreign minister of Iran will be discussing the recent American sanctions on his country. I’m a real international relations geek, so am very excited to get stuck in at Chatham House. Later in the week, Jules and I and some of our friends are going to attend a dinner at his school’s ‘old chorister association’, which I’m sure will be a really lovely occasion. Also this week, I’ll go for a singing lesson, and get my hands dirty in the kitchen with some home cooking. This time next week, I’ll let you know how it’s all gone, before we head to Italy, Hungary, Sweden and Finland for our next bit of touring. I think it’s going to be cold..!