thank you

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.

I don't have a total raised for you yet and I do not want to take a guess at the amount raised. Suffice to say it will be a significant amount, well worth the effort of putting on the event.

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.