Durham Cathedral Choir – Taken from the Central Tower
Amazingly enough we’ve had sunshine, blue skies and mild temperatures since we arrived in England a week ago! This has made for some beautiful trips into English countryside. Yesterday we hiked through sheepfields to visit 2 important Roman monuments in England, Hadrian’s Wall and Housesteads Fort. Today was a day off from singing, so this morning we went to Lindisfarne (also called Holy Island because it is considered by some to be the birthplace of Celtic Christianity), then spent the afternoon touring Alnwick Castle and Gardens, where scenes have been filmed for both Harry Potter and Downton Abbey. Evensong has been the highlight of every day, of course — the choir has been truly superb, bringing the local woman sitting next to me yesterday to tears. They started off strong and somehow still seem to get better every day! Christopher and Bishop Lee joined us on Tuesday. It’s been a fabulous week in Durham so far. – Julie Flood
Monday morning we drove to Durham and settled in. The choristers are staying in college dorms just a very short walk from the Cathedral. The streets are narrow cobblestone and the cathedral is built on top of a hill. We sang our first evensong. The Chapter House, where we vest, is Professor McGonagal’s classroom in Harry Potter! Emmanuel is sitting in the bishop’s chair.
Tuesday we rehearsed in the morning and took a tour of the cathedral. Unfortunately, we can’t take pictures inside. That afternoon we got to march up the 325 steps to the roof of the tower and see Durham from the top of the cathedral. We took our group portrait in front of the main altar. That evening Christopher & Bishop Lee arrived and joined us for evensong.
Wednesday we drove to a main fort on Hadrian’s wall, had a tour and ate a picnic lunch. Loads of fun! It had a beautiful view, we learned about the Roman occupation, and we chased some sheep.
Thursday we drove to the holy island, Lindisfarne, where Saint Cuthbert lived. It’s a tiny island with about 300 people off the eastern coast of northern England.
Thursday afternoon we went to Alnwick Castle, where the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland still live. It’s the sight of many films and shows including the Harry Potter broomstick flying lessons location, Elizabeth I, Mrs, Brown, and Downton Abbey. There’s also a beautiful family garden and recreation area with a Poison Garden, water fountains for children to play in, comedy shows, and formal English gardens.
The bishop jokingly asked what bonus he could get as the Bishop of Chicago and Jimmy went to the safe, pulled out a relic of Saint Bede, and put it in the Bishop’s hand! We all got to hold the relic–a real piece of Saint Bede. We sang the doxology in the Saxon chapel, dating back to the 600s.
Definitely an important one for the choir! This is us with Trevor–the verger at the Cathedral who has led us and helped us this week. Trevor has an awesome accent and his friends call him the White Shrek. He’s very funny and very kind. We’ve loved hanging out with him!
Today we boarded the buses and headed for Durham, where we will stay for the rest of the week. The choir went right into rehearsal in the morning, while the rest of us learned our way around the beautiful college town. The University is really the heart of Durham — the children and some of the choristers Are staying in dormitories that have been declared “better than Northwestern”! The rest of the adults are staying down the hill in a Marriott Hotel. The first Evensong tonight in the magnificent cathedral was just beautiful and represented Christ Church proudly. The room where the choristers are dressing was used in several scenes in Harry Potter — so many of the youth choristers went back to their dorm tonight to watch the movie. Another beautiful day of weather, with lots of warm temperatures and sunshine, and only one brief rain shower — our first since we got here! God is clearly smiling on Christ Church! – Julie Flood
Thank you for the pictures! Laura L Sniader Rempel
Thank you Diane Krieman for the pictures!
This mo
Monday morning we drove to Durham and settled in. The choristers are staying in college dorms just a very short walk from the Cathedral. The streets are narrow cobblestone and the cathedral is built on top of a hill. We sang our first evensong. The Chapter House, where we vest, is Professor McGonagal’s classroom in Harry Potter! Emmanuel is sitting in the bishop’s chair.
Tuesday we rehearsed in the morning and took a tour of the cathedral. Unfortunately, we can’t take pictures inside. That afternoon we got to march up the 325 steps to the roof of the tower and see Durham from the top of the cathedral. We took our group portrait in front of the main altar. That evening Christopher & Bishop Lee arrived and joined us for evensong.
Wednesday we drove to a main fort on Hadrian’s wall, had a tour and ate a picnic lunch. Loads of fun! It had a beautiful view, we learned about the Roman occupation, and we chased some sheep.
Thursday we drove to the holy island, Lindisfarne, where Saint Cuthbert lived. It’s a tiny island with about 300 people off the eastern coast of northern England.
Thursday afternoon we went to Alnwick Castle, where the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland still live. It’s the sight of many films and shows including the Harry Potter broomstick flying lessons location, Elizabeth I, Mrs, Brown, and Downton Abbey. There’s also a beautiful family garden and recreation area with a Poison Garden, water fountains for children to play in, comedy shows, and formal English gardens.
The bishop jokingly asked what bonus he could get as the Bishop of Chicago and Jimmy went to the safe, pulled out a relic of Saint Bede, and put it in the Bishop’s hand! We all got to hold the relic–a real piece of Saint Bede. We sang the doxology in the Saxon chapel, dating back to the 600s.
Definitely an important one for the choir! This is us with Trevor–the verger at the Cathedral who has led us and helped us this week. Trevor has an awesome accent and his friends call him the White Shrek. He’s very funny and very kind. We’ve loved hanging out with him!
rnng (Sunday) we attended church service at the cathedral in Chester. It was originally an abbey founded in 1052 AD and later became a cathedral when Henry VIII established the Church of England. The service and music were beautiful and we got to learn two new hymns. The town of Chester was a Roman fortress and later an Anglo-Saxon one, so you can still walk the Roman city wall and the Anglo city wall a bit further out. There was a very neat bicycle race running throughout town. Michael Cavendish was in it! Lots of shopping, great food, and an excellent walking tour of the city. Most of the buildings at 700 years old–some of them got facades during the Victorian era, but are still the original buildings underneath. We got to see an old amphitheater (kids playing there in the photos), bath house, and strong room as well as walk the walls and learn a lot about the history of the city. Tons of fun and beautiful weather! – Leah
Thank you Julie Flood for the above pictures!
We landed in Manchester on Friday the 7th at 6:30 AM after a seven hour flight. We pushed through our first day sight seeing in Blackpool–wading in the Irish Sea, riding the Ferris wheel, eating English breakfasts and fish & chips. There is a punk rock festival in town, so we also made lots of new and different friends! That afternoon we travelled to Preston, where we’re staying at a Marriott that was once a manor house. There’s lots of room to run around and burn off excess energy and the grounds are beautiful! Today (Saturday), we toured the Lake District. The mountains here are absolutely beautiful–a bit like the Adirondacks. We drove around Lake Ullswater and got to take a boat ride from Bowness on Windermere across Lake Windermere. We saw more sheep today than we have in our collective lives. England is a great place to be a sheep–they get the best views! We’ve had great food and even better company. Tomorrow (Sunday) we attend church in Chester and tour the town. Monday morning we head to Durham! Day one Blackpool – Leah
