May 16, 2015

Pu Dong Airport, Shanghai, China

What a week! You can never know what to expect in China….We’ve had a fantastic week. I know we were all a little bit disappointed to leave the Philippines on Monday, as we’d had such an amazing time there, but this week has been packed with excitement. After arriving in Shanghai and travelling out to Wenzhou and back earlier this week - a trip that introduced to me to foods I never thought I’d see on a dinner plate - we returned to the Big Smoke on Wednesday and since have performed at Dulwich College Shanghai, and last night at the extraordinary Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre (often referred to as just SHOAC - pronounced show-wack). Our Shanghai audiences are always so kind to us. It was our programme of musical postcards from around the world again last night, and it was so nice to have such a rapturous welcome. I’ve put my best attempt at a selfie from SHOAC at the bottom of this post. Sorry about the lighting, I have very little natural photographic ability. I’ve also included a picture of a mug Tim used in a Japanese restaurant here in Shanghai for no reason other than that I liked the drawing of the funny baby with what looks like a moustache. Now, I’m sitting in the airport in Shanghai by myself, waiting for my flight to Hong Kong. All my colleagues are flying directly back to London today, but given that we’re in this part of the world, I thought it would be a great idea to visit friends in one of my favourite cities in the world. We were last in Hong Kong with The King’s Singers last May, and I do hope we can return soon! As it happens, my flight’s now been delayed by just over two hours, so my colleagues will unexpectedly find me here, waiting for them, rather than having left before they got here. Oh, the fun I’ll have…. Then it’s back to the UK tomorrow night. Given how busy this week’s been, I think I’ll have no trouble sleeping on the plane….

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