The day after finishing at York I sang in Brinkburn Priory. This location has undergone a curious reversal; in the early nineteenth century the Priory church was roofless when a handsome manor house in Strawberry Hill Gothic style was built next door to it. Now the Priory is restored and usable, while the manor house is in a state of arrested dereliction, with the upper floors too unsafe to enter (where they still exist at all). You get the impression of somewhere where the money suddenly ran out.
I was at Brinkburn to sing in a short concert given by the Fitzsimons Choir, with whom I did a tour some years ago (which is when I sang in Newcastle Cathedral). Most of the pieces were familiar to me but there were a couple of new ones: a Tantum Ergo for women’s voices by Fauré and an anthem by Philip Riley, a member of the choir. It was quite a change singing with a small group after the very big turn-out at York.