post-Minsk videos

Well, we are back from Belarus, and what a splendid 40 hours we spent there!
Lovely to share more time with Camerata, the wonderful 7-part a cappella group from Minsk... & for us all to have a party at the Embassy (in Karl Marx Street!), hosted by HE Ambassador Bruce Bucknell and his wife Henrietta; with Yuliya also answering every problem we threw at her at all times..

To join our aeroplane video as on last blog, we were on the Belarusian News too...
Do have a look (they asked us to walk like that!)...

We had a wonderful busy time, visiting the church, singing for the Metropolitan & others, sharing a meal with a roomful of Orthodox priests & listening to them sing, being interviewed & filmed, being given flowers, chocolates and candles as presents, performing a splendid joint concert with Camerata, being entertained by the UK Embassy... including Vodka, natch... & excellent caviar (we were lucky that the Ambassador and his wife were given some caviar as a Christmas present).
We had no time for sightseeing!

...and I am delighted to say that our Russian intros (we were advised by Camerata to speak Russian, rather than Belarusian) went down very well, and people really knew what we were saying - phew!

So we must come back.... everyone was splendid here & clearly enjoyed all that we offered them.
How gorgeous.

They flew to Minsk

Well, there's a first; especially in this paranoid air-travel world in which we have lived since 2001...
...it was suggested we (I hesitate to use the word 'hijack') er... surprise our fellow passengers on their way with us from London to Minsk on Belavia with some carolling - it is in between Christmas and New Year for the Orthodox Church - and thus we gave our We Wish You a Merry Christmas &  Sleigh Ride to the assembled (entirely captive) audience...

Fun - oh yes... everyone appeared to be in the apposite Festive mood and no-one threw anything... so that was nice...

Look out for it on a Youtube near you... as many people filmed it.
There is a great deal of low level noise on an aeroplane, so goodness knows what it'll sound like!

We are out here to join our fellow vocal group, Camerata, in a Christmas concert tomorrow - certainly we have never done a Christmas gig in January before - tho' they possibly have! 
Lots of fun and we have met one, but will be great to see them all tomorrow.

Also we have a more serious lunchtime, under the auspices of the British Embassy out here...
Glorious... and an Embassy reception after all in the evening...

Scrumptious!

(We are busily practising our Russian...)