On Tuesday we got on the coach at about 10.30 am in order to get to Heathrow. Some two hours later we arrived, deposited our luggage, waited round for a bit and then boarded our flight to Toronto, Ontario. It was a seven-hour flight, and it was easier to stay up for the whole thing because by the time we arrived at our destination it was quite late at night. We then had dinner at a sort of Swiss-themed buffet place. A lot of food was eaten that night. So we had quite a long Tuesday, but our hotel had lovely squishy beds that we just flopped onto and fell asleep within seconds.
The next day we got up and had a gigantic breakfast; most of us had things like omelettes, pancakes, waffles, eggs benedicts, and the like. Quite filling. We then went to an ice hockey museum, which was pretty interesting. Ice hockey isn’t as big in England as it is here in Canada, so it was interesting to see what the sport was like. There was even a sort of simulated game you could play, which was really cool. A few of us bought souvenir hockey sticks and pucks. We then had lunch at Tim Horton’s – fine Canadian cuisine indeed. Really nice doughnuts and sandwiches. As you can see, Libera is very food-oriented. Several of use had to go off to TV and radio stations to do interviews which we hoped would let people know about our concerts. On one morning live TV show, the host asked us to set a question for the viewers to answer and win tickets. There was a little hesitation when no-one could think of anything sensible – but then Kavana piped up with, ‘ what is the name of the place we all come from’ ! (Answer – London, England, UK, Earth, Near Moon, Universe etc etc)
Anyway, in the afternoon we went to see ‘Hop’, the film about the Easter bunny – it was pretty funny, actually. We then went back to that Swiss buffet place for dinner, and a lot more food was eaten that night. We then went to bed at quite a reasonable time, as the next day was concert day.
Thursday morning started quite late, and with another huge breakfast. So far we seem to have eaten a lot! We then had a relaxing period in the rooms, so we were well rested for the concert. We arrived at St. Michael’s Cathedral in the afternoon to have our sound check. As we came across from the rehearsal, we walked though the enormous queue of people waiting to get in. There were hundreds and hundreds - and the queue snaked its way round the block. St Michael’s is a really nice big building, and it had a good acoustic. That helped add to the atmosphere of our songs in the concert – which went very well, by the way. The next concert had a lot to live up to.
The next morning was pretty much the same as the one before. Except we had to drive from Toronto to London. Not London, England, that would have been the shortest tour, and also the longest (and wettest) coach journey. That being said, the drive to the Canadian London was still quite long, about 3 hours.
On the way we stopped in a car park and looked out at the sunny weather and several of use decided we didn’t need our coats. And then we went outside …..and came running back. It was bitterly cold with a strong icy wind. We went to eat at a restaurant, which had a moose theme.That is particularly relevant to us, as we are in the homeland of the moose, and also, Moose is the name of our mascot – who, coincidentally, is a moose. So we posed with an enormous wooden moose which was standing outside the restaurant. But we did not have any chocolate mousse (pun intended) for dessert. That would mess around with our vocal cords. No, we had ice cream for our sweet, and then we were on our way. The concert in the evening at St. Andrew’s Church yielded good musical fruit.Unfortunately though, after the concert finished, we had to get back to the hotel, which was three hours away. We got back at around half past midnight, which was pretty late. But thankfully we did not have a concert the next day, so we had a nice lie-in.
To be conitinued.....
The next day we got up and had a gigantic breakfast; most of us had things like omelettes, pancakes, waffles, eggs benedicts, and the like. Quite filling. We then went to an ice hockey museum, which was pretty interesting. Ice hockey isn’t as big in England as it is here in Canada, so it was interesting to see what the sport was like. There was even a sort of simulated game you could play, which was really cool. A few of us bought souvenir hockey sticks and pucks. We then had lunch at Tim Horton’s – fine Canadian cuisine indeed. Really nice doughnuts and sandwiches. As you can see, Libera is very food-oriented. Several of use had to go off to TV and radio stations to do interviews which we hoped would let people know about our concerts. On one morning live TV show, the host asked us to set a question for the viewers to answer and win tickets. There was a little hesitation when no-one could think of anything sensible – but then Kavana piped up with, ‘ what is the name of the place we all come from’ ! (Answer – London, England, UK, Earth, Near Moon, Universe etc etc)
Anyway, in the afternoon we went to see ‘Hop’, the film about the Easter bunny – it was pretty funny, actually. We then went back to that Swiss buffet place for dinner, and a lot more food was eaten that night. We then went to bed at quite a reasonable time, as the next day was concert day.
Thursday morning started quite late, and with another huge breakfast. So far we seem to have eaten a lot! We then had a relaxing period in the rooms, so we were well rested for the concert. We arrived at St. Michael’s Cathedral in the afternoon to have our sound check. As we came across from the rehearsal, we walked though the enormous queue of people waiting to get in. There were hundreds and hundreds - and the queue snaked its way round the block. St Michael’s is a really nice big building, and it had a good acoustic. That helped add to the atmosphere of our songs in the concert – which went very well, by the way. The next concert had a lot to live up to.
The next morning was pretty much the same as the one before. Except we had to drive from Toronto to London. Not London, England, that would have been the shortest tour, and also the longest (and wettest) coach journey. That being said, the drive to the Canadian London was still quite long, about 3 hours.
On the way we stopped in a car park and looked out at the sunny weather and several of use decided we didn’t need our coats. And then we went outside …..and came running back. It was bitterly cold with a strong icy wind. We went to eat at a restaurant, which had a moose theme.That is particularly relevant to us, as we are in the homeland of the moose, and also, Moose is the name of our mascot – who, coincidentally, is a moose. So we posed with an enormous wooden moose which was standing outside the restaurant. But we did not have any chocolate mousse (pun intended) for dessert. That would mess around with our vocal cords. No, we had ice cream for our sweet, and then we were on our way. The concert in the evening at St. Andrew’s Church yielded good musical fruit.Unfortunately though, after the concert finished, we had to get back to the hotel, which was three hours away. We got back at around half past midnight, which was pretty late. But thankfully we did not have a concert the next day, so we had a nice lie-in.
To be conitinued.....
