Holding on to my high

I've had a really lovely day today. I was still on a high, after last night's amazing choir rehearsal, when I met a special pal this morning for breakfast. Karen was as attentive and enthusiastic as ever as I rambled on, very animatedly, about how awesome the rehearsal had been (which she already knew because she's not only my very special friend, she's probably the most faithful follower and regular commenter on my blog. You would maybe recognise her as my 'anon' friend as she, very early on, gave up on trying to work out the wonders of the Blogger commenting set-up and decided to remain 'anon' instead!). We did manage to squeeze in a good blether about other stuff, with some tears and laughter in between, but choir took up a fair chunk of the chit-chat! So, the birthday breakfast to start to my day was really lovely. Thank you my very special anon pal!

Lunch was great too. For Mother's Day this year, back in March, Gordon gave me a wee hand-written voucher that entitled me to a celebration lunch out with him after we'd both finished trying to lose a bit of weight. We've both finished trying to lose a bit of weight, and he's off school as his exams finished last week, so it was time to redeem my voucher! Gemma came along too and we had a really lovely, chatty lunch. Thank you Gordon!

Gemma and Gordon after stuffing ourselves at lunch!

Then, as if that wasn't enough to make my day perfect, we finished the afternoon off in absolutely glorious style at a concert in a very special place featuring a very special bunch of folk. The Church of the Holy Rude in Stirling, as I've mentioned in previous blog posts, was the site of our wee business's first 'proper' contract - way back in 1989 - not long after Alex had decided to set up his own stonemasonry business. Over the years since, Alex's carried out various bits and pieces of restorative works there and, my favourite bit of all, was asked to cut a plaque in the floor of the church to commemorate the crowning of King James VI. The plaque was unveiled by the Queen at a special ceremony in 1997, to which my favourite stonemason was invited along to. I remember being so very proud of Alex - as I still am - and it's a time-honoured tradition that if I'm in the Holy Rude I have to go and have a wee look at the plaque. It's not going anywhere, but it never fails to make me feel good that it's still there. The kids were mortified when I told them to sit down beside it for a photo, but it's essential to keep up that time-honoured tradition of embarrassing your kids at every opportunity... !

The special bunch of folk that we'd come to see in concert was the very same special bunch of folk that came along to our rehearsal last night. I can't think of a better setting for the beautiful voices that make up the Maryville College Choir. The cheers and applause that filled the church was a just reflection of their awesome performance. I'm fast running out of superlatives to describe this incredible choir, so I'll finish with a few photos and a wee video instead. The video's one that I'll always treasure; at the end of the concert, Stacey (the lovely choir leader), invited all of the Heart of Scotland members in the audience to come up and join them for their last song. It was a Benediction and I didn't have a clue what the words were or how it went. I'm probably the least religious person I know, but that doesn't stop me appreciating the beauty of the buildings that are built in the name of religion or the type of music that's traditionally sung or played in them. And, wild horses wouldn't have stopped me from accepting the invitation from our special new friends to join them in their special song at the close of their concert. It was such a poignant and lovely end to a really lovely day. And, although I'm not at all religious, I really did feel today - in my own way - blessed.

The rear of the choir!

Maryville's finest in their finest