The Real Gloucester

April 27, 2012
Gloucester

We were sad to say goodbye to Rosalie, but exchanged contact information and hope to maintain a distant friendship. 

During the long-ish coach drive to Gloucester, Michelle and I watched The Iron Lady with Meryl Streep on the iPad. We rented it to supplement our cultural experience here and learn a little more about England's more recent history. The film is very well acted. Meryl Streep is incredible. There were things I didn't care for though. Rather than rant on about it here, I'll leave an open invitation for discussion to anyone interested in sharing opinions about the film and about one of the most controversial leaders England has ever had. 

When we arrived in Gloucester, we had some time to walk around and enjoy the city. We spent most of the time before dinner at our performance venue, touring and learning about its history. The crypt was particularly interesting and again, everything is so incredibly old. 

We ate dinner at a restaurant called the New Inn that was built in the old Tudor style. It was very old and was leaning so far over that I wondered how it didn't just fall down. We ate an English roast of Yorkshire pudding, roast meat, potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower. I thought it was slightly bland except for the English mustard that could burn the hairs in your nostrils. 

The concert in Gloucester went really well. I especially enjoyed singing our renaissance pieces in that space that was designed for such music and vice-versa. 

Our host family was another American family. They were also friends with Whitney Larson, one of our altos, from her home town in Texas. It was quite the experience. When I asked the dad what he did for a living, he quickly response that he was the chief executive of a billion-dollar international company. I wondered about how well we would get along. Any uncertainty was quickly put away when he showed me his guitar and bass collection. We jammed for a bit, ate a little and went to be in a beautiful, large room with a private bathroom. It was a wonderful and needed night of sleep.