Kingdom Singers

A successful pick up from the airport led on to an afternoon and evening of getting to know the hosts and visitors.    There were some little gatherings of groups, one of which was held at Moira and Douglas’s house (Associate Members) and this incorporated a little group who had been planning to meet at Margaret’s house as well.   A fine evening of eating, drinking and, of course, singing.  

Thursday was a day for being a tourist.   A train journey (organised by Marc) took the guests and some of the hosts to Edinburgh where a visit round Edinburgh Castle (organised by Gillian) was followed by a bus tour of the city.  A bit hectic, but everyone had a good time – the weather and some people even managed to fit in a bar visit for lunch.

On Thursday evening we had a concert in Dunfermline Abbey – very well attended and a lovely responsive audience.  The acoustics in the Abbey were wonderful – this is the first time we have sung there and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.   We all retired to the Seven Kings bar after this for a very well earned refreshment!

Friday morning took us to the City Chambers where the Oberburgermeister from Wilhelmshaven, Mr Menzel and our Lady Provost, Frances Melville exchanged gifts and we even managed to have some singing – Coro Piccolo ladies gave a beautiful rendition of  “The Rose” and we all joined together to sing “Praise of Islay”.     We then met with three official Heritage Guides who took the group on a historical tour of Dunfermline.   A very interesting hour for everyone.  

The afternoon was free for everyone to do as they pleased – again, there were some groups who got together.  One such group met at Susan’s house for lunch and of course some singing in the garden – more eating, drinking and singing!!!!

A bus took us all to Edinburgh to St Cuthbert’s Church (Derek’s church) for another wonderful concert – fantastic acoustics again and a lovely emotional evening for us all.   A fairly “hairy” bus moment on the way there, and a fairly quiet journey home on the bus – surprisingly, very little singing!!

Saturday dawned a little dull and this was a day for hosts and guests to enjoy together.   Some had a little tour of the area, some shopped, some watched the Dunfermline Children’s Gala in town, some simply stayed and chatted.    A few people dropped in on Yvonne and Eddie (Associate Members) for coffee and cake – and of course some more alcohol and the inevitable singing!   

A ceilidh was arranged for the evening in St Margaret’s Church Hall (Margaret and Elizabeth’s church) and this was a roaring success.  The band formed specially for the evening and did a fantastic job of keeping the evening going.   Of course, there was singing and there was a HUGE amount of dancing – this was obvious the following morning when you could see the post-ceilidh walk from a lot of people!!!!    This evening finished around midnight and the hall was cleaned and prepared for the church service the next morning by hosts and guests – well done!!!!

Sunday was the sad day when the trip back to the airport had to be undertaken at a fairly early hour due to the possibility of traffic jams heading for the Royal Highland Show.  As this turned out not to be the case, everyone was there early which led to a prolonged goodbye for everyone (and of course some singing).   Many tears!

Many new friendships have been established during this trip and visits are already planned to Wilhelmshaven by hosts to their guests.    The whole visit was a fantastic success and our thanks an appreciation go to all our choir members, associate members and outside hosts who stepped in to help with additional accommodation.

And a big thanks also to Coro Piccolo for such fun and laughter!