DAY 7 - Travel day to London & concert at SA House

This morning we sang a sad farewell to our lovely host families in Barnsley this morning, and then we departed for London at about 09:00. It was a 3 hour bus trip to our accommodation in London, where we are staying at the Hyde Park Inn for one night. Trust me, the name is a contradiction - it is much more Inn than Hyde Park, although it does look a lot more inviting than the actual little closets disguised as twin rooms suggests. We are staying on the 3rd and 4th floor, which meant that we had to lug our suitcases up what felt like one thousand tiny little steps. Chef and I have been doing a little hostel pas de deux every time one of us has to use the bathroom, or get something from our bags - both of us cannot move at the same time. Granted, it is a hoStel, NOT a hotel. I am sure the S in hostel stands for: SOOO not a hotel...

After checking in, we had some lunch, and then departed for SA House at 16:00, to have a sound check at 17:00. The concert tonight was organised by Bridget Johnsen, an ex-Drakie parent and trustee member of our school. All proceeds go to the Legacy Project (Isiphethu Sothukela) - a project in which we work with the Department of Education to provide teacher training and workshops in English, Maths and Science to rural schools in our surrounding areas. There were about 170 people in attendance, which is just about as much as the venue where we performed could accommodate. It was a cozy concert, and the boys performed most of the songs standing around the audience, due to the fact that there was not really a stage. The acoustics were really good, and the boys gave another very well-received performance. The audience was treated to some nice wines from the Vondeling Wine Estate before the performance and during interval.

The concert finished at about 20:15, and we departed for the hostel at 20:30. Because the boys had a late lunch, we decided to not let them have supper before the concert, but told them that they could go buy their own supper from any one of the food outlets near the hostel, after the concert. They had 45 minutes to do this, and had to be back by 22:30. Then it was shower time, and lights out at 23:15. Chef has just gone to do a check, and he reported that all is quiet. Fingers crossed for a good night's rest.

Tomorrow evening we have a concert at King's College School in Wimbledon at 19:30.