'We'll just have to go for three encores'

...the reaction, blog fans, to Maestro Boy's set list for the Portrait Gallery concert which is long, considering it is only supposed to be half an hour. And to top it off we are dusting down good ol' Misere Nostri. I must admit I balked slightly the suggestion of resurrecting this one; my most nervous moment as a Rudsambee-let was just before a gig in Lochcarron (I believe) when this testing little piece made me feel sick and shaky. However, I now have Helen on the top line with me and feel much less concerned. We'll see how we go with this one. The set list contains a lot of Tormis, a wee bit of Part jolliness and the Gaelic set!

Well, I must make a mention of Oliver2's rather brilliant musical socks. They have treble clefs on them and everything, although they don't actually sing. We more than made up for the lack of warbling foot fashion with our own musical fun.

It was a night noticeable for Anne's madness (which I promised not to mention but in my commitment to investigative journalism...). It was rather funny as, and anyone who knows her will vouch for this, Anne ALWAYS knows what she is doing, what is going on and EXACTLY what note we are singing at any given moment. Trust me, if it weren't for Anne a number of us would still be wandering around the Czech countryside, struggling across train tracks with nothing but a bottle of strong drink and a chocolate wafer treat as companions. However last night she excelled herself by being the only Rudsambee-let who couldn't work out where on earth we were going from in 'Green Fir Forest'. Cue much hilarity.

In fact it was a night of laughter as we returned to Envoi (that wacky one about butterflies where the second sops slowly pass out as they do that strange breathing thing towards the end - surely composer Betinis was a disgruntled alto or a cocky top sop to put that one in). We did a wee bit of practice on the soprano melody (I do indeed use that word loosely). When I suggested that the second sops had always made a particular phrase up, I was proved unswervingly correct (a rare experience, blog fans!), as we descended into musical rubbishness and Jen laughed like a drain (I don't know if I've ever shared this on Relative Pitch, but this phrase concerns me - I have never seen a laughing drain and feel I am missing out. [Susan kindly offers this]). Eventually we cracked it but not until we had been duly awarded the Most Pathetic Divas Award 2009.

We finished in true Groundhog Day style in exactly the same way as last week - the small/large group singing Star of the County Down. Jen seemed to sing something about the Nile at one stage. I may be wrong but I am not sure that the longest river in Africa (a bit of general knowledge for you there - I'll give you that for free, put your money away!) has anything to do with this traditional folkie number. As up-and-coming-blogstress Claire 2 said, the piece may well be improved with some stereotypical Egyptian moves - I'll leave you to imagine that one.

Last night we also welcomed Natalie back after her sabbatical. Great to see you lady. Anyways, I am away next week so hopefully Claire 2 will stand in and write something profound, thought-provoking and potentially life-changing. Brillig!

CSW