On the way to Hull

As I blog, the two school music trip buses are travelling from Hartlepool to Hull, where we will be catching an overnight ferry to Zeebrugge. It has been quite a pleasant day; firstly an early start to be at school at 7.30 a.m. (James kindly gave Davie and me a lift) and then the bus journey, during which I have done a bit of schoolwork and relaxed. We arrived at Hartlepool in beautiful weather, and after lunch we had a tour of the 19th century frigate HMS Trincomalee which is moored there. Then it was time for our first concert on the quay, a very picturesque setting. I was impressed with how quickly the pupils and the music department teachers set up all the instruments and music stands. I carried a few things from the bus to the bandstand but I did not have the smooth expertise of my musical colleagues. The pleasant pupil that I am responsible for in particular (and whom Davie is helping me to support) is getting on very well I'm glad to say. The concert was great with a variety of line ups and music; my favourite was "I dreamed a dream" from Les Mis, played by the Chamber Collective. It was really beautiful and I looked up through the ship's rigging to the blue sky while the music played. And now we are back on the bus and "Skyfall" is playing on the DVD player as we head for Hull.