Gig among the tall trees

Well. After all that preamble about battening down and rain and premonitions, we in this part of Argyll escaped with only a few rather tremendous gusts - Himself was loading the boot of the car with music stands and so on as one swept along the lane and almost carried him off - and the rain of the night, which had stopped by morning. And by the end of the afternoon it was cold and still a bit windy, but clear, with a small crescent of moon above the tall trees of Benmore Gardens.

And why was I out there among the trees as darkness fell? Because we'd been singing, in 8+1's first gig of the season, as the entertainment at the Friends of Benmore's Christmas festive tea party, an event in the Gallery which we used to enjoy singing at but which for one reason (Covid) and another (some restructuring and repair of the buildings) hasn't occurred for a few years. The collage gives an impression - a full house, beautiful candle decorations, real greenery, some of my fellow-singers - and we sang, according to both Himself and members of the audience, better than ever. I loved the programme - from 16th century old friends like Bonjour mon coeur  to Himself's arrangement of The Rose, and the beautiful carol by Charles Ives that mentions the "tall trees" that seemed so appropriate in the context of the venue. We finished with audience participation in Winter Wonderland ... and then fell on the sandwiches and rather amazing cakes as if we'd not seen food for weeks. 

And when we came out into the cold air, there were the magnificent trees rising on the hillside in front of us, and the small cold moon above the giant redwood avenue, and it felt good. 

I hope some time I'll find the ceremony in Notre Dame on the telly, but for now all I care about is bed.