[Forgot to do this at the time, so relying on the itinerary and my faulty memory]
Despite little sleep, wake up and have a very nice breakfast (the day before I had become an ‘official’ guest of the hotel). Get a call from Pamela Leighton-Bilik, asking me to do Col. Calvery. I accept, and now I’m glad I hadn’t gotten my ticket changed yet, because now I need to stay through the 17th for the show, which really means leaving the 19th (since I can’t get to London in time on the 18th. Checked my phone messages back home (17!), and found out, thanks to Shelly, that my mail had started bouncing. Got my mail queue straightened out, then woke up John Weinel, Chris Fiori, and John Gremillion and set out for our planned bike trip. We ran to Market Square to catch the bus in just the nick of time (only to find out we could have walked to the train station and caught it there much nearer), then did the hour and twenty minute bus ride to Ashbourne, delayed for a bit by a herd of cows. Derrick, our driver, was full of stories, and Chris earned a new nickname: Ralph the Third. After lunch (breakfast for the others), we walked to the bike rental place, and rode the Tissington Trail, which is a converted rail line. At Tissington itself we ran into the Bernstein family, who had been out for the day antiquing and walking. The ride was excellent, and the scenery at times stunning. Bus back to Buxton (this time go all the way to the train station), but don’t recall what we did for dinner.
Author: Joe White
[Forgot to do this at the time, so relying on the itinerary and my faulty memory]
Get up early and help with the load in for the Mikado at the opera house. It goes very quickly, so then help focus the lights by holding the genie. Finally time to do some laundry. I find the launderette past Market Square, and also find out that laundry in the UK, like so many things, is much more expensive than in the USA: £2/load for a small washer, £3 for a large, and £4/hour of drying time (that’s $3.60, $5.40, and $7.20, respectively). While waiting, I go up to the new net cafe that hasn’t opened, but the owner is kind enough to let me plug in my PowerBook and check my email. Find out Sylvia can’t make it over from Dublin, and still no word from Adventure, so I have to call them when the open, only to find out that Mary (whom I had dealt with before the tour) is on vacation, and it’ll take them a while to find out the info I need. With the laundry finally done (and my wallet much lighter), I head back to the hotel, but luckily stop by the opera house first, where I find out that Neill has been desperately looking for me: they want me to audition at 2pm (it is now 3). I track down Neill, who asks me to come by at 5. I head back, take a quick nap, change into my clothes for the show that night, then head over to the Pavillion and sing Col. Calvery’s song. Jonathan, who had auditioned for Grosvenor, was called back at noon for Bunthorne.
Before the show, I work the concession stand, selling Houston stuff. One of the ushers asks if we have any programs, and Steve had thought to through in a box of them to hand out. The usher then asks how much we are charging for them. “Charge?” “Sure, you can charge a couple of quid easy for these.” So we do, and it is our biggest moneymaker of the night.
The show is a smash. Everyone is wonderful, the sound is beautiful…it is even better than it was on opening night. I rush backstage to change and help with the strike, then find out that a shower has been installed since we were last here, so I don’t have to go back to the Palace to wash up. The cabaret is great (even though it is short), then we have the after-party at the hotel bar. Alan Dalby really likes my jacket (which had been my great uncle’s), and for the rest of the trip always comes up to me asking about the ‘Silver Trumpeter’. Neill convinces the kitchen staff to make us some sandwiches and fries, and we all have a great time. We try to quit at four, but the bartenders (Nat and Neill) refuse, and buy us all a round of drinks. I finally call it quits around 5, but some keep going til 6, and sainted Maria (who got them to open up at the first) stayed behind to help clean up.
[Forgot to do this at the time, so relying on the itinerary and my faulty memory]
Ken and David have arranged a day trip to Chester, a town that dates from Roman times. After “a bit of a cock-up,” we get a very fun and informational tour from a guy dressed in a centurion’s uniform. After lunch, I wander over to the Military Museum, where I run into Bonnie Ambrose; very interesting to view the uniforms from her costumer’s perspective. We then wander along the elevated walk (a remnant of the bad plumbing days), have some tea, then grab some drugs to help fight the cold I seem to have inherited from Jeff. Back to Buxton, where we watch a very entertaining Iolanthe. Alistair tells me he’s given Nell Smith my name as a possibility to perform in the Young Artists’ production of Patience. I had told Anne I’d catch up with her after the show, but didn’t find her at any of the pubs or at the hotel, so go back to the Coach House and hang with the “young’uns”, minding them a bit since they had been going at it for quite some time. We shut down the bar, and while walking up the steps to the Palace can see Clif looking out his window at us and shaking his head. Then find out there is another bar at the Palace where Anne and the others had been. Oops.
[Forgot to do this at the time, so relying on the itinerary and my faulty memory]
Get to the airport just before 6, and it is already packed with travelers (it is the start of the summer holidays). I get in line at the BA Customer Service booth, and when I finally get to the counter, the lady tells me that they can’t change it (arrgghh!), but that that she will make a note in my file that I am not traveling today so that my ticket will not get cancelled, and I’ll just need to call the group bookings office when they open Monday. About an hour later I hear a page for the driver of the bus for the Houston G&S group, spot him, then spot Ken, and lead the former to the latter, relieving a lot of anxiety on Ken’s part. I meet Ken’s partner, David, who is extremely nice. The Houston crowd eventually comes trickling out of customs, and we all board the coaches and head to Buxton (Palace Hotel). Hunter had kindly offered to let me crash on the floor of his single, but it turned out that he had two twin beds, so I didn’t have to slum it. Call the BA group bookings office, and they can’t help me at all without the group booking number, which is not on my ticket at al. I have to get that from Adventure Travel in Kalamazoo, who booked the Palmer tour, so I email them with all the particulars. That evening have a ticket to see Patience, but it was a pretty sloppy show, and coupled with the four hours of sleep the night before, I decide to make an early night of it.
[Forgot to do this at the time, so relying on the itinerary and my faulty memory]
Stayed up late the night before, playing durak and finally paying to use the wireless internet access they offered (£3/30 min! but £5 for 2 hours, which is almost decent) and doing a video chat with my folks (using the Canon DV camera was great, but the 4-pin adapter on the reeled FireWire cable wasn’t very sure, and kept causing dropouts…will have to bring a proper 4-to-6 cable next time). Got up late the next morning, and in the rush managed to leave my camera battery charger behind. On the coach to London, we work up a couple of Byrd motets. Get to the hotel (Copthorne Tara Hotel), where I try to call BA to get my flight changed (the number we had before wasn’t right). Get the right number, but they tell me that they can’t change it, and that the group bookings office is closed, but that I can go to their office in Harrod’s and they can change it there. Have lunch with the twins at a nice Thai place, then hook back up with Jeffrey to check out the Museum of Instruments at the Royal College of Music, only to find out it is only open when classes are in session. Over to Harrod’s, where the BA people there tell me they can’t change it, but if I go to the airport early the next day they can change it there. Next is over to Westminster Abbey, which we don’t get to visit, but run into Brady (and suite) and realize we are just in time for the evensong service, which was nice, but the choir (All the Kings Men from Winnipeg) was a disappointment, with several people consistently singing flat. Up to Trafalagar Square, where where we people watch for a bit, then head east to Brick Lane for dinner. It has gotten a bit more polished since I last was there, with most of the places having hawkers out front offering various discounts to get diners in…we settle on Chilies, which gave us 30% off, no service charge, and first round of drinks free. Afterwards, we wander over to London Bridge, then back to the hotel, since I have to get up at a quarter to 5 so I can get my ticket situation straightened out.