Report

Led by Jacqueline Patten, on Thursday 26th May eighteen singers and players and five partners duly joined the coach at various pick up points, and we sped along motorways and in a boat via Kent, the Channel, France and Belgium to Valkenburg. It is a small picturesque Netherlands town lying between Maastricht and Aachen. The journey took all day.

On the Friday we spent the morning rehearsing in our well-appointed hotel, and went on briefly into the afternoon. Our repertoire appears on a separate page.

Then folks took advantage of some free time to visit the local sights, caves, catacombes, museums, a chairlift and mechanical toboggan run, some pleasant waymarked country paths, and the only castle in the Netherlands. Castles have to be on hills, and Valkenburg is in the country's only hilly area.

On the Saturday we again rehearsed briefly, followed by more free time. Our first concert was from the Valkenburg bandstand, in the main street. We gave our best, but it was a pity that although we had seats the audience didn't, so they came and went. The most popular item seemed to be the band playing folk dances, under the leadership of Brian Stewart. A trip to Aachen had been planned for after our concert, but unfortunately the coach wouldn't start, so more free time in Valkenburg: not that there wasn't plenty to do and see.

Sunday was our busy day. In the morning we went to Maastricht, which for all its fame is quite a small city. There was plenty to see, but being Sunday morning most things were shut, so the most popular activity was a boat trip on the mighty river Maas.

In the afternoon we visited Mondriaan Hospital, near Heerlen, and gave a concert for patients, staff and visitors. Here we performed inside in a goodly hall, which is a whole lot easier than a bandstand. And for the first time in the conductor's experience there were chants of "we want more" from some of the audience at the end. We had an encore ready.

After that we finally got our visit to Aachen, in Germany. You hardly notice yourself crossing international borders in the EU these days. There wasn't really enough time to do this large city justice. Most notable item for visiting was the extraordinary cathedral, which looks like five separate structures joined together.

On Sunday it was time to come home. Once again the journey took all day, and nearly became very long indeed when we almost missed our boat, owing to slow customs and immigration clearance by British officials. Understandably, they are concerned about illegal immigrants. Everyone that the conductor spoke to seemed to have enjoyed themselves. Will it happen again? Wait and see.