Friday, Jersey

Dear All,
Today had a sunny start but by the end of breakfast the clouds had rolled in. By the time we got down to the car it was pouring. Roger was doing the buses again today and I had hoped to paint. We decided to persevere with these plans as the weather is pretty changeable here. I decided to drive aimlessly for a while discovering new vistas and picturesque spots. Jersey is only 9 x 5 miles so you can work out where you are once you hit the sea. I eventually arrived at St.Ouen's Manor. It was still drizzling so chatted to Philip and Adele before making a late start. The rain soon cleared. After lunch it became sunny so had to rig up Roger's Dunblane umbrella for shade. At times had to battle with the wind too as the umbrella tried to become a parachute. Have practically finished the painting but to me it needs some refinements. I may take my paints to play after Sunday lunch at the manor if I can.
I met up with Roger a little later than I had planned because of my late start. Threw a shirt over my painting gear so looked a bit better and OK for the Zoo. This is the first time we have visited The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Centre but they have special twilight rates for summer so decided to go. This zoo specializes in preserving endangered species. We were impressed with the zoo and the beautiful environment in which the animals were placed. The pink flamingoes were like ballet dancers and the monkeys were so cute and the snakes huge. At the zoo I noticed a poster for a concert tonight. Decided we would try to go. I phoned for seats but the booking office had closed. We decided to risk it and just turn up at the school. We were not that far away but had not allowed for the dreadful business of finding our way around st.Helier with its maze of one way streets. Eventually, after many wrong turns, we found the school. The concert had started but an usher let us in from the back. Once again the musical magic that has followed us throughout this trip continued. We were in The Great Hall, Victoria College Jersey just like a Harry Potter movie listening to "Collegium Regale", the men of King's College Cambridge without the trebles - a bit like the "King,s Singers". Their singing was very accomplished with interesting and sometimes amusing arrangements of popular songs and Negro Spirituals as well as pieces from the ancient music and twentieth century repertoire. It was a most enjoyable evening and something we hadn't planned. We hadn't eaten except for a Jersey ice cream so ended up having a very late tea - Chinese take-away in our room as everything around our area closes at 10.30pm. Tomorrow we socialize with the cousins.
All the best
love Jo and Rog