22nd October
Bethlehem.
After a rather hectic week back in Britain, I’m ready for a sleep. This feeling is also added to by the fact that after arriving home this morning at eight having travelled all night, I slept for an hour before preparing all morning a lecture on plainsong and organum then taught all day. It feels like a nice rest being back, but I’m not actually getting one.
But as I reflect on my week at home, two things strike me. One is how nice it is to be back here, and the other is how well my week at home went. My recital was a big success. In addition to the concert going well from a personal point of view, we managed to raise over £1000, with which we purchased 19 sets of violin strings, six violin bows, 1 set of cello strings, loads of rosin, some pitch-pipes, a new flute, a new clarinet, and various other small accessories. I’m amazed that the public donated all that, as it feels like it has just appeared out of thin air.
As a consequence of my time off, I now have some lessons to make up, so will be teaching six days per week for the next two or three weeks. It feels like I’ve not had any time off at all recently as leading up to my trip home I was preparing for it in my spare time, and now I’m teaching all the time. Still, I always like being busy so I think I’m enjoying it.
