Boating

The air was heavy, the sky was atmospheric, yet the lure of the water is too much to take after such a slow transition to summer. 

p.s. spot the name of the ferry?

Friends

The choir, and the tour, have given me nothing if not some very lovely, completely insane, but utterly dependable friends. Here's to the merits of friendship.

"Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods."

- Artistotle

Concerts

Concert 1: Until you have attempted to manouvre a piano and a double bass on and off of the vaporetti and through the backstreets of Venice, you will never know. We performed at San Polo, a church founded in 837AD but was largely rebuilt in the 15thC that is famous for it's Giovane frescos, in particular that of the dramatic image of the last supper. Rehearsals were a little tense and the crowd a little sporadic made up mostly of passing tourists and the occasional Venetian drawn in by the music prbably duen to the church's central location, but it was a splendid church in which to perform.

Concert 2: In a much quieter, more suburban area of Venice, we arrive at San Pietro di Castello. The current facade dates to the 16thC but a church has been on  this site since the 7thC. It's a minor basillica and served as the cathedral church of Venice between 1451 and 1807. Our concert was also to a smaller crowd made up of locals who use the church but were much more enthusiastic. Speaking to them outside afterwards in shaky Italian as they gave us their approval and told us that we needed more advertising was an absolute pleasure. I will also never forget administering copious amount of first aid in the vestry to all of the choir that had got infected insect bites. Not a pretty site.

 Concert 3: I have no idea where we actually were for this one but we were now on the mainland in a small village square surronded by a carosel and families out enjoying the evening air. It was such a splendid homely atmosphere with children climibing up on the stage to dance with us and thier mum's and grannies clapping along. They called for enchore after enchore but eventually things disipated. We were invited back to a local pizzaria for some drinks and pizza.

Venice

A city with an opulence unlike any other.

At first we were swamped with tourists. Flocking, bustling moving with an ill grace mimicked by the pigeons that flocked St Mark's square. I left that afternoon feeling distinctly uninspired at the city that was now merely a tourist attraction.

When we arrived back the next day, we entered via the sedate backstreets in the south of the city. With an entire day of the city stretching out before us we set off without a map, without a mission, merely with the intentions of escaping the tourists and getting well and truley lost. Then eventually the magic of the city began to settle over us. We started to only hear Italian voices. Shops offering glass were replaced with washing lines fluttering lazily across canals; gondalla rides morphed into men on working boats stopping to chat, shout and share cigarettes with each other; and the throngs of tourists petered out to reveal small wizened old women in black skirts and loose cotton tabbards hurrying along with their shopping.

We ate lunch in a reastraunt overlooking the river, not fleeced like the others chomping pizza near St Mark's square, we had cheap pasta - squid ink spaghetti with cuttlefish, and then calamari. After lunch we found the sea and cooled off in it's breeze, then walked through the Jewish quatre and read in park surronded by the squeals of children and the chime of church bells.

Travelling

Midnight on the day I am leaving for Gospel Tour. My suitcase lays empty. My laundry lays draped around my room encompassing varying degrees of moisture. My passport lies in an unknown location. Downstairs lay 5 exhausted first years, propped up on make shift beds, giggling at the Vicar of Dibley. I regret having gone out for dinner and drinks. I decide to begin with the essentials. I pack the lilo.

The ferry sways across the channel as friends stockpile cheap wine and I eat a diabolical excuse of a burger. We play arcade games to pass the time.

The coach trundles through the rolling hills of France. I teach Gary to knit. Luke teaches us card tricks.

The coach purrs into a service station in Luxembourg. We delight in finding a vending machine filled purely of milk. In the shop we purchase bars of marzipan from the sweet section. The homemade cheese rolls lay forgotten in a rucksac. Outside we discover an adventure playground. Delight ensues. We let off steam fighting to go down the bumpy slide first, and bouncy the highest on the bunjee.

Night begins to settle on Belgium. We watch 10 Things I Hate About You. I manage to drift to sleep. It becomes uncomfortably hot. I awake 2hrs later. Me and Leah, by a miracle, seperate to double seats. I fall asleep until our 6am morning stop.

We awake in Italy. The heavens are open and we dance across a puddle strewn road, heads down against the pin pricks of chilled rain. Struggling to navigate the bizarre queuing system we use shaky italian to order croissants, the undetermined fillings a surprise.

We purr through the north of Italy. The industries busy at the road side cannot detract from the peace of the farmsteds visible among the foothills. No one else is awake to appreciate this.

We arrive: Lido de Jesolo.

Life is Pretty Average Today

Woken by postman's knock, go back to sleep. Wake up at 10. 30. Slip down stairs, find 3 post items for me: a postcard from Hazel, 2 CDs from amazon and a letter with a packet of white chocolate buttons from Candace. Eat the buttons as part of a balanced breakfast. Go see Leah, chat on her bed. Look at the time, woof down porridge. Spend and hour madly attempting to dent enormous laundry pile before holiday begins in 4 days. Peg last bra up on the line when it begins to spit. Decide that spitting will not last and leave washing out. Realise I am late. Grab sailing stuff and old text book.Ring Nicole. Nicole already left and nearly there. Start running to campus. Stop to sell textbook to Indie on way to Uni. Leave £35 up. Big happy face. Arrive outside the SU, Nicole now running late. Talk to Ellie, amazed to find everything in order with the taster day. Marvel at the level of organisation and the 2 homemade victoria sponges. Pile everyone into minibus. Set off. Heavens open. Arrive. Run into sailing club. Curse that I was decivied by the morning's blue skies into shorts and a strap top. Kit everyone out. Choose and organise boats for everyone. Rig boats. Check everyone's boats. Briefly teach land drill. Weather is now blue skies and hot sun, we nip in to change. Back out to boats, start launching people off. Wind picks up. Screams of terror follow. Many stuck in the trees of the bank. Yell instructions from the shore. Safety boat in over drive. All now sailing handsomly. Finally get into boat of own. Launch. Nic's boom falls off. Try to yell instructions, she drifts to the pontoon. Leave her boat tied up, let her hop into mine. Wind really picks up now. Discover that I did not check my own boat's rigging, someone has rigged it wrong. Try to rectify it. SMACK. Get hit in the head by the boom. Try not to throw up. Try not to faint. Get grip of self. Manourver away from the bank. Assess the damage. Head seems ok, aches a bit but ok, nasea attributed to hunger. Have awsome sailing session. Teach Nic how fun it is. Love the exhilleration of the wind shrieking, the rain driving and the constant slap of waves on the boat. Nic finally takes the helm. She starts to like it. Head in early as it's very cold for a newbie. Decide the water is warmer than the air, go for a half dip with Nic, neither of us brave enough to fully submerge. Ignore increasing feelings of head pain. Put the boats away. Change. Start cooking the after sailing meal for everyone. Feel grateful for the warmth of the club house and the gentle chatter. Feel head, find massive lump - better out than out. Help in the mass cooking of burgers and sausages (of course the BBQ has been rained off). Eat a burger. Sample delicious victoria sponge. Feel even sicker. Wash up and clear away. Chat to lifeguard friend about head. She notes that it is indeed a big lump, says to go see doctor when get back, write off as unnecessary. Drive back to Uni. It's raining again. Walk back to house. Realise I'm starting to stumble like a drunk person. Readdress that head is actually very painful. Compromise on lateness of return home denying surgery visit and ring out of hours. Encounter completely useless doctor. Consult Mum and Dad. Told to go to A and E right away. Chat to Leah in her room. Really very painful now. Wait for Charlie to get home from the post office. She drives us to A and E. Get there, remember where A and E is from recent work experience placement, each have a sweepstake deciding how when we finally get back to the car. Looks deceptively quiet from outside. Discover that it is in fact heaving. Check in at reception. Wait with Leah and Charlie, laugh at the absurd FAQs being shown on the TV screen. Analyse other patients in the waiting room. See triage. Am grateful to have such a kind and understanding nurse. Begin to despise her after she prods the now egg sized lump on my head and takes my blood pressure twice. Forgive her when she smiles. Back to hte waiting room. Sneakly update Dad from my phone. Man behind me has the same message tone, I keep getting unecessarily excited. Start to feel less and less with it. Have cold water. Think am going to be sick. Clutch carboard cowboy hat/sick bowl. Sister finds I am in A and E. Contacts me discussing coming to visit. Try to establish who is in front of me. Man with the limp is a long way in front, I am after the woman in the green sari. Pain becoming excrutiating. Finally go to see doctor. Such a nice man. Tested thoroughly and with compassion. He asks if we are students and where and what we study. We discuss my ambitions of being a doctor, though no longer in lucid tones. He diagnoses and prescribes pain killers. Carefully adives my housemates on what to do. Provides contact details. Gives leaflet. Gives packet of painkillers to avoid me having to pay the prescription charge - 'I don't care if you're 19 now, you're in full time education'. Get back to the car at 11. 40. We arrived at A and E and 9. 10. Leah's won the bet. It felt like forever but was wonderfully short. I talk to family on the phone in the back of the car. Charlie drives down dark unknown winding lanes, uncaring that she is normally a nervous driver and she starts work at 9 tomorrow morning and has still had no dinner. Leah navigates from her iPhone. I feel the painkillers working. It feels fantastic. We get home. I roll into my lovely cool bed knowing that I don't have to worry and my friends have taken care of everything. I am infinitely grateful for the loyalty, compassion and unconditional kindness of my family but in particular these friends, people who were strangers to me 2 years ago and yet, life was pretty average today.

a smile in my sick bowl