Normally when going away on holiday I pack at the last minute knowing that I can always fill any gaps at the other end. Packing has been especially simple when going to stay with my family in Geneva or even when going on silent retreats as there is a shop with honesty box where you can buy the toothpaste you forgot to bring. For our Red Shoe Red Hat singing week, I need to put a bit more thought into the process because we have plans with regards to our singing and cooking. Gillian Gingell Wormley even encouraged us to bring concert gear. So even though I won’t be travelling until tomorrow afternoon, I’ve already starting packing on Monday. First I prepared a box with all the dry spices I’ll use in cooking with a note to remember to add to it fresh rosemary and sage from the garden just before I leave tomorrow. I’ve taken a picture of two recipes on my phone. Although we will cook together we each bring our own breakfast, so I’ve put a pack of granola in the bag, and a box of tea bags for Earl Grey tea and herbal teas. For the singing I’m striking a balance between taking music scores and using pdf files on my android tablet. It’s handy to have the scores with my own markings, especially for the more complex repertoire or the repertoire in an unusual language like Norwegian, but there is only so much I can carry. Especially if I bring a bottle of wine. I’ve taken a picture on my phone of relevant pages in Pierre Bernac’s book on the interpretation of French songs. In Winsham we will be connected to the Internet with good WiFi so I’ll bring my android tablet, which us good for all sorts of things from online chats to playing backing tracks through journalling, silent study, exploring music software and watching videos on YouTube, and I’ll have my phone to make audio and video recordings and take pictures. I’ll also bring my lapel microphone, earphone buds, and my loudspeaker. I’ll have to keep some these items charged up so will bring two cables and two chargers. I have a note book with 3 sections that I can use during the week to make notes from our conversations classified perhaps by ‘repertoire’, ‘musicianship’ and ‘singing technique’. Most of the tech will be in my travel bag padded up with clothing except for my phone and tablet that I’ll carry in my handbag. I’ll wrap my tablet in the therabands I use for exercise to keep it safe, and will carry my woollen shawl in it as extra padding, and also in case the air has powerful air conditioning. It feels like I’m preparing for an expedition which brings even more excitement than usual!
Photograph courtesy of Alice Donovan Rouse
