Let us go singing as far as we go: the road will be less tedious

The day last week’s blog came out, I was trundling along on my bike in the usual way when I noticed a friend in the distance. It’s hard to wave enthusiastically while staying upright, but somehow, I managed it. It was Andy, husband of Clare, father of Lana. 

(Check out last week’s blog if you’ve forgotten who they are. https://bigwordsandmadeupstories.blogspot.com/2020/04/i-want-to-ride-my-bicycle-i-want-to.html). We had a jolly good chat about cooking and what inspires us which is what next week’s blog is going to be about.

Just outside the Greyhound, I ran into Jim and his impossibly bronzed set of limbs (how does he do it?) and Lynette, both of them taking advantage of the pub’s Finish at Home selection. Further down the road, there were the lovely Jenny and Alan. I promised to include them all in this week’s blog. And so I have.[1]

It’s a funny old business, being a writer. It’s solitary, for a start. You sit gazing at a blank screen, an idea pops into your head and suddenly you’ve written 600 words. I used to be terrified of hitting “publish” but not any more. I wasn’t sure how my account of my bike ride through the Suffolk lanes would go down – was it too self-indulgent? – but it’s been one of the most commented upon and shared. I’ve learned that writing from the heart and sharing encouraging things seems to strike a chord.

This week is no exception. I went to a concert last Friday. Gosh it was good! My seat was very comfortable, I was able to quaff a glass of wine, no-one coughed or annoyed me by rustling sweet wrappers and it didn’t matter that I was wearing my slippers. Pourquoi? It was the inaugural performance by Classical Suffolk, a brilliant wheeze put together by two utterly delightful people, Christina Johnston, the internationally renowned opera and crossover star, and Richard Garrett, Ipswich-based sound engineer to the stars. They’d met at a concert I’d been involved in to support the Beehive Nakuru and really hit it off. With Christina’s beautiful voice and Richard’s technical skills, they performed a few free concerts for elderly people in nursing homes before social distancing guidelines became stricter. Nothing daunted, they’ve set up Classical Suffolk (https://www.facebook.com/classicalsuffolk/) which broadcasts a weekly concert every Friday at 7 pm.

I’ve been to a number of Christina’s concerts in the past. Classical Suffolk’s lack of an actual live audience must be difficult for a performer, but with her husband Slava and the incorrigible Richard providing encouragement and technical support, she’s able to interact with her online audience.

Watching Christina singing on-screen, I forgot that she was standing in her music studio in Felixstowe with a black backdrop and that I was lying on my bed. Her beautiful voice lifted my spirits and between songs, she read out comments from fans on social media. It was such a huge success that she and Richard have decided to put on a weekly lock down concert.

Both Christina and Richard are self-employed and have seen the businesses they’ve worked so hard for come to a standstill, for now. One of the many reasons I think so much of both of them is that they have dusted themselves down, picked themselves up and decided to use their considerable talents to entertain others. They are both full of compassion, kindness, generosity and humanity, qualities I value very highly.

Christina has sung to heads of states, to packed houses all over the world and is a proper famous person. Richard has worked with some of the biggest and starriest names in music. And yet both of them have taken that meeting at Framlingham College a few months ago and worked it up into a wonderful thing that can make us all forget, at least for a little while, that our world is not as we would like it to be.

All you have to do is click here: https://www.facebook.com/classicalsuffolk/. You can even request a favourite song (up to four days before the concert.) I’ll be in the front row tomorrow.

And finally, what do you think of my title? I wanted something inspiring and came across these words spoken by a man born in 70 BC, the Roman poet Virgil. They worked for me – how about you?

See you at the concert.

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[1] Social distancing was maintained with all these encounters. At least 4 metres apart, shouty voices.