Greetings from my home in Richmond, London. It's a place I distantly recall from a visit I made here about a month ago, and it's rather nice to reacquaint myself with it for a few days, before touring kicks off again later this week!The Asian tour from which we got back a few days ago was such a delight. It was long - it pushed the normal upper limit of three weeks away - but it was shapely and well-scheduled; a single concert at each end of the trip, in Seoul and Taipei respectively, and the middle divided up into 4 performances in China and 7 in Japan. The concert halls were all beautiful (I know I've banged on about this before, but it's true) and we were looked after so well, keeping us fresh and in good form throughout.We had fun on the way home too. Five of us (Jules popped back to Japan after the final concert) travelled home via Hong Kong, and the flight schedule gave us an afternoon and evening free in that great city. So we went to visit friends, and set up camp in some of our favourite cafes and bars as we unwound before the flight. It was lovely to look out over the dramatic cityscape of HK with latte in hand, and to feel fully off-duty for the first time in a few weeks. We got back early on Thursday morning, and I believe we've all managed to adjust back to UK time pretty seamlessly!I was super excited, when I got home, to find a postcard waiting for me from my favourite writer, Alan Bennett (author of The Madness of King George, The History Boys, Lady in the Van and many more). I had written to him a few weeks ago, to tell him how much his books and plays meant to me, and that I'd enjoyed hearing him give a talk a few years back. In the age of Tweets, it was wonderful to get a response on a handwritten postcard, answering my questions and thanking me for writing. The postcard is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.Speaking of things I will treasure for the rest of my life, this weekend was very special for me. On Friday, Ellie and I drove (in the car which I don't get to drive much, but totally love!) over to Wales, to attend the wedding of our dear friends Robert and Fran. Rob was at King's College with me, and during our final year there he started dating his now-wife, Fran, and they are one of the loveliest couples in the world. Their service was wonderful: light-hearted and serious in equal measure, with a brilliant set of hymns, selected (it felt) to tease out the maximum number of tears from all present. And if that was the intention, it worked.I'm now back home from Wales, and sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a to do list. You'll be pleased to know that I have now crossed off the first item on it: 'Blog'.
Greetings from my home in Richmond, London. It's a place I distantly recall from a visit I made here about a month ago, and it's rather nice to reacquaint myself with it for a few days, before touring kicks off again later this week!The Asian tour from which we got back a few days ago was such a delight. It was long - it pushed the normal upper limit of three weeks away - but it was shapely and well-scheduled; a single concert at each end of the trip, in Seoul and Taipei respectively, and the middle divided up into 4 performances in China and 7 in Japan. The concert halls were all beautiful (I know I've banged on about this before, but it's true) and we were looked after so well, keeping us fresh and in good form throughout.We had fun on the way home too. Five of us (Jules popped back to Japan after the final concert) travelled home via Hong Kong, and the flight schedule gave us an afternoon and evening free in that great city. So we went to visit friends, and set up camp in some of our favourite cafes and bars as we unwound before the flight. It was lovely to look out over the dramatic cityscape of HK with latte in hand, and to feel fully off-duty for the first time in a few weeks. We got back early on Thursday morning, and I believe we've all managed to adjust back to UK time pretty seamlessly!I was super excited, when I got home, to find a postcard waiting for me from my favourite writer, Alan Bennett (author of The Madness of King George, The History Boys, Lady in the Van and many more). I had written to him a few weeks ago, to tell him how much his books and plays meant to me, and that I'd enjoyed hearing him give a talk a few years back. In the age of Tweets, it was wonderful to get a response on a handwritten postcard, answering my questions and thanking me for writing. The postcard is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.Speaking of things I will treasure for the rest of my life, this weekend was very special for me. On Friday, Ellie and I drove (in the car which I don't get to drive much, but totally love!) over to Wales, to attend the wedding of our dear friends Robert and Fran. Rob was at King's College with me, and during our final year there he started dating his now-wife, Fran, and they are one of the loveliest couples in the world. Their service was wonderful: light-hearted and serious in equal measure, with a brilliant set of hymns, selected (it felt) to tease out the maximum number of tears from all present. And if that was the intention, it worked.I'm now back home from Wales, and sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a to do list. You'll be pleased to know that I have now crossed off the first item on it: 'Blog'.
Greetings from my home in Richmond, London. It's a place I distantly recall from a visit I made here about a month ago, and it's rather nice to reacquaint myself with it for a few days, before touring kicks off again later this week!The Asian tour from which we got back a few days ago was such a delight. It was long - it pushed the normal upper limit of three weeks away - but it was shapely and well-scheduled; a single concert at each end of the trip, in Seoul and Taipei respectively, and the middle divided up into 4 performances in China and 7 in Japan. The concert halls were all beautiful (I know I've banged on about this before, but it's true) and we were looked after so well, keeping us fresh and in good form throughout.We had fun on the way home too. Five of us (Jules popped back to Japan after the final concert) travelled home via Hong Kong, and the flight schedule gave us an afternoon and evening free in that great city. So we went to visit friends, and set up camp in some of our favourite cafes and bars as we unwound before the flight. It was lovely to look out over the dramatic cityscape of HK with latte in hand, and to feel fully off-duty for the first time in a few weeks. We got back early on Thursday morning, and I believe we've all managed to adjust back to UK time pretty seamlessly!I was super excited, when I got home, to find a postcard waiting for me from my favourite writer, Alan Bennett (author of The Madness of King George, The History Boys, Lady in the Van and many more). I had written to him a few weeks ago, to tell him how much his books and plays meant to me, and that I'd enjoyed hearing him give a talk a few years back. In the age of Tweets, it was wonderful to get a response on a handwritten postcard, answering my questions and thanking me for writing. The postcard is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.Speaking of things I will treasure for the rest of my life, this weekend was very special for me. On Friday, Ellie and I drove (in the car which I don't get to drive much, but totally love!) over to Wales, to attend the wedding of our dear friends Robert and Fran. Rob was at King's College with me, and during our final year there he started dating his now-wife, Fran, and they are one of the loveliest couples in the world. Their service was wonderful: light-hearted and serious in equal measure, with a brilliant set of hymns, selected (it felt) to tease out the maximum number of tears from all present. And if that was the intention, it worked.I'm now back home from Wales, and sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a to do list. You'll be pleased to know that I have now crossed off the first item on it: 'Blog'.
Greetings from my home in Richmond, London. It's a place I distantly recall from a visit I made here about a month ago, and it's rather nice to reacquaint myself with it for a few days, before touring kicks off again later this week!The Asian tour from which we got back a few days ago was such a delight. It was long - it pushed the normal upper limit of three weeks away - but it was shapely and well-scheduled; a single concert at each end of the trip, in Seoul and Taipei respectively, and the middle divided up into 4 performances in China and 7 in Japan. The concert halls were all beautiful (I know I've banged on about this before, but it's true) and we were looked after so well, keeping us fresh and in good form throughout.We had fun on the way home too. Five of us (Jules popped back to Japan after the final concert) travelled home via Hong Kong, and the flight schedule gave us an afternoon and evening free in that great city. So we went to visit friends, and set up camp in some of our favourite cafes and bars as we unwound before the flight. It was lovely to look out over the dramatic cityscape of HK with latte in hand, and to feel fully off-duty for the first time in a few weeks. We got back early on Thursday morning, and I believe we've all managed to adjust back to UK time pretty seamlessly!I was super excited, when I got home, to find a postcard waiting for me from my favourite writer, Alan Bennett (author of The Madness of King George, The History Boys, Lady in the Van and many more). I had written to him a few weeks ago, to tell him how much his books and plays meant to me, and that I'd enjoyed hearing him give a talk a few years back. In the age of Tweets, it was wonderful to get a response on a handwritten postcard, answering my questions and thanking me for writing. The postcard is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.Speaking of things I will treasure for the rest of my life, this weekend was very special for me. On Friday, Ellie and I drove (in the car which I don't get to drive much, but totally love!) over to Wales, to attend the wedding of our dear friends Robert and Fran. Rob was at King's College with me, and during our final year there he started dating his now-wife, Fran, and they are one of the loveliest couples in the world. Their service was wonderful: light-hearted and serious in equal measure, with a brilliant set of hymns, selected (it felt) to tease out the maximum number of tears from all present. And if that was the intention, it worked.I'm now back home from Wales, and sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a to do list. You'll be pleased to know that I have now crossed off the first item on it: 'Blog'.
Greetings from my home in Richmond, London. It's a place I distantly recall from a visit I made here about a month ago, and it's rather nice to reacquaint myself with it for a few days, before touring kicks off again later this week!The Asian tour from which we got back a few days ago was such a delight. It was long - it pushed the normal upper limit of three weeks away - but it was shapely and well-scheduled; a single concert at each end of the trip, in Seoul and Taipei respectively, and the middle divided up into 4 performances in China and 7 in Japan. The concert halls were all beautiful (I know I've banged on about this before, but it's true) and we were looked after so well, keeping us fresh and in good form throughout.We had fun on the way home too. Five of us (Jules popped back to Japan after the final concert) travelled home via Hong Kong, and the flight schedule gave us an afternoon and evening free in that great city. So we went to visit friends, and set up camp in some of our favourite cafes and bars as we unwound before the flight. It was lovely to look out over the dramatic cityscape of HK with latte in hand, and to feel fully off-duty for the first time in a few weeks. We got back early on Thursday morning, and I believe we've all managed to adjust back to UK time pretty seamlessly!I was super excited, when I got home, to find a postcard waiting for me from my favourite writer, Alan Bennett (author of The Madness of King George, The History Boys, Lady in the Van and many more). I had written to him a few weeks ago, to tell him how much his books and plays meant to me, and that I'd enjoyed hearing him give a talk a few years back. In the age of Tweets, it was wonderful to get a response on a handwritten postcard, answering my questions and thanking me for writing. The postcard is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.Speaking of things I will treasure for the rest of my life, this weekend was very special for me. On Friday, Ellie and I drove (in the car which I don't get to drive much, but totally love!) over to Wales, to attend the wedding of our dear friends Robert and Fran. Rob was at King's College with me, and during our final year there he started dating his now-wife, Fran, and they are one of the loveliest couples in the world. Their service was wonderful: light-hearted and serious in equal measure, with a brilliant set of hymns, selected (it felt) to tease out the maximum number of tears from all present. And if that was the intention, it worked.I'm now back home from Wales, and sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a to do list. You'll be pleased to know that I have now crossed off the first item on it: 'Blog'.
Greetings from my home in Richmond, London. It's a place I distantly recall from a visit I made here about a month ago, and it's rather nice to reacquaint myself with it for a few days, before touring kicks off again later this week!The Asian tour from which we got back a few days ago was such a delight. It was long - it pushed the normal upper limit of three weeks away - but it was shapely and well-scheduled; a single concert at each end of the trip, in Seoul and Taipei respectively, and the middle divided up into 4 performances in China and 7 in Japan. The concert halls were all beautiful (I know I've banged on about this before, but it's true) and we were looked after so well, keeping us fresh and in good form throughout.We had fun on the way home too. Five of us (Jules popped back to Japan after the final concert) travelled home via Hong Kong, and the flight schedule gave us an afternoon and evening free in that great city. So we went to visit friends, and set up camp in some of our favourite cafes and bars as we unwound before the flight. It was lovely to look out over the dramatic cityscape of HK with latte in hand, and to feel fully off-duty for the first time in a few weeks. We got back early on Thursday morning, and I believe we've all managed to adjust back to UK time pretty seamlessly!I was super excited, when I got home, to find a postcard waiting for me from my favourite writer, Alan Bennett (author of The Madness of King George, The History Boys, Lady in the Van and many more). I had written to him a few weeks ago, to tell him how much his books and plays meant to me, and that I'd enjoyed hearing him give a talk a few years back. In the age of Tweets, it was wonderful to get a response on a handwritten postcard, answering my questions and thanking me for writing. The postcard is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.Speaking of things I will treasure for the rest of my life, this weekend was very special for me. On Friday, Ellie and I drove (in the car which I don't get to drive much, but totally love!) over to Wales, to attend the wedding of our dear friends Robert and Fran. Rob was at King's College with me, and during our final year there he started dating his now-wife, Fran, and they are one of the loveliest couples in the world. Their service was wonderful: light-hearted and serious in equal measure, with a brilliant set of hymns, selected (it felt) to tease out the maximum number of tears from all present. And if that was the intention, it worked.I'm now back home from Wales, and sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a to do list. You'll be pleased to know that I have now crossed off the first item on it: 'Blog'.
Greetings from my home in Richmond, London. It's a place I distantly recall from a visit I made here about a month ago, and it's rather nice to reacquaint myself with it for a few days, before touring kicks off again later this week!The Asian tour from which we got back a few days ago was such a delight. It was long - it pushed the normal upper limit of three weeks away - but it was shapely and well-scheduled; a single concert at each end of the trip, in Seoul and Taipei respectively, and the middle divided up into 4 performances in China and 7 in Japan. The concert halls were all beautiful (I know I've banged on about this before, but it's true) and we were looked after so well, keeping us fresh and in good form throughout.We had fun on the way home too. Five of us (Jules popped back to Japan after the final concert) travelled home via Hong Kong, and the flight schedule gave us an afternoon and evening free in that great city. So we went to visit friends, and set up camp in some of our favourite cafes and bars as we unwound before the flight. It was lovely to look out over the dramatic cityscape of HK with latte in hand, and to feel fully off-duty for the first time in a few weeks. We got back early on Thursday morning, and I believe we've all managed to adjust back to UK time pretty seamlessly!I was super excited, when I got home, to find a postcard waiting for me from my favourite writer, Alan Bennett (author of The Madness of King George, The History Boys, Lady in the Van and many more). I had written to him a few weeks ago, to tell him how much his books and plays meant to me, and that I'd enjoyed hearing him give a talk a few years back. In the age of Tweets, it was wonderful to get a response on a handwritten postcard, answering my questions and thanking me for writing. The postcard is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.Speaking of things I will treasure for the rest of my life, this weekend was very special for me. On Friday, Ellie and I drove (in the car which I don't get to drive much, but totally love!) over to Wales, to attend the wedding of our dear friends Robert and Fran. Rob was at King's College with me, and during our final year there he started dating his now-wife, Fran, and they are one of the loveliest couples in the world. Their service was wonderful: light-hearted and serious in equal measure, with a brilliant set of hymns, selected (it felt) to tease out the maximum number of tears from all present. And if that was the intention, it worked.I'm now back home from Wales, and sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a to do list. You'll be pleased to know that I have now crossed off the first item on it: 'Blog'.
