Our first running total is £19,813.17.

That is what we have confirmed and banked. It includes totals from three JustGiving sites setup by participants which adds £2261 to the total. It does not include some outstanding payments, in particular it does not include the Microsoft donation matching.

If I include all known pending payments we get to £27,955.17. I will keep you updated as the total changes.

Well, we did it again. Who would have thought there were enough people daft enough to do it once, let alone twice. It was good to see old faces as well as new. Thank you all so very much for taking part.

Clearly, there were many highlights. Having Bill Ives turn up to hear the runthrough of his Requiem was good and clearly appreciated by many of you. I was not able to give you a heads up as I was sworn to secrecy by Jeremy. Similarly, Bob swore me to secrecy about having a band for the Rutter runthrough. Neither of these things was down to me, they are an example of the generosity and enthusiasm of the people I am lucky enough to be involved with in this event. When you have the likes of Jeremy, Neil and Bob involved it makes the whole thing a lot easier to organise. A personal highlight for me this year was the runthrough of the Fauré. Dedicating it to those currently dealing with cancer (in which some of the participants are numbered) added an extra poignancy to it. I struggled to sing it in places because of the emotion it stirred up, and I was not the only person affected.

I can't sign off without once again thanking all of the musical staff, some of whom stepped in at short notice. What a fantastic job they did. How can it not be a success with people of that talent involved. And the catering staff, what a bunch of heroes.

Anyway, enough rambling. Keep an eye out for posts about the amount raised. It is my plan to get the church booked for the 2020 event in the next week or so, so keep an eye out for that as well.

Again, a huge thank you to everyone involved in whatever capacity. Can't do it without you.

As some of you will be aware, Katherine Dixson did a post a little while ago about her thoughts prior to taking part in Requiem To Cancer 2018 (https://www.waybeyondwords.co.uk/singing-for-a-great-cause/). That was the before post. She has now done an after post. Take a look at ​https://www.waybeyondwords.co.uk/the-morning-after-the-24-hours-before/

There is an optional percussion part in the Will Todd Anthem. I am very pleased to announce that the part will be played by Tristan Fry in the world premiere of the anthem. Take a look at his really quite impressive biog on the biographies page.

Apologies to those people who have applied recently and not yet received an acknowledgement in return.   I (Simon) am away singing this week and am unable to access the application email account and process your applications due to a very weak and intermittent wi-fi signal.   I will be back home this weekend (25/26 Aug) and will catch up with all the stuff then.   Once again, sorry for the delay.

We now have a full complement of soloists. Biogs and mugshots to follow.

Ives: Ed Goble

Rutter: Emily Wenman

Verdi: Josie Goddard, Beth Moxon, Andrew Henley, Ed Danon

It is great to have them on board; again, in the case of Beth.

A schedule for the day has now been added to the website.

Things are progressing nicely, we have had just over a hundred applications so far. We have room for another hundred participants, so spread the word. We are especially looking for more basses at the moment. Currently tenors outnumber basses by three to one!

On the soloist front, Beth Moxon is returning this year to sing the Verdi. We have Ed Goble singing the tenor solo in the Ives, having sung it in the premiere of the piece I believe.

Donations on the JustGiving site are ticking over nicely but it would great to see more. If you are taking part, nudge friends and family to see if you can entice them to support you in this event

The repertoire and most of the musical staff have been confirmed. I am missing one accompanist at the moment but hope to have that post filled soon. So here goes:

• Anthem. The 2018 anthem will be written by Will Todd.
• First - Grayston Ives Requiem. Conductor Jeremy Jackman.
• Second - Rutter Requiem. Conductor Bob Porter accompanied by Simon Gregory.
• Third - Verdi Requiem. Conductor Neil Ferris accompanied by Michael Higgins.

There will of course be the early morning runthrough of the Fauré Requiem again, for a bit of light relief.
Really happy to see so many of the staff returning. It would have been a full complement but for previous engagements. Similarly, I hope to see a lot of familiar faces in the choir.

I am happy to announce that a new look to the website will be appearing soon. Its going live will coincide with applications opening. It is my hope that this will happen in time for the upcoming Bank Holiday. My thanks to Bruno Lasnier for the great work he has done on this.