Many of you will know that I run an orchestra in my spare time. Something which I have had an awful lot of this year but which I have not been able to fill with musical pipe dreams due to the blindingly obvious. Every time we have deigned to dare that we might be able to meet safely again our plans are thwarted by new regulations within 48 hours.
So for the last 3 weeks we have been gearing up to a live-streamed Christmas Carol Concert on Saturday 19th Dec at 5pm. Just as everything felt like it was falling into place there were rumours of London going into Tier 3. Which of course has happened. Because it appears that Covid case numbers seem to be in direct correlation to our plans to restart The Pico Players. Luckily, some clever folk have read the regulations in full and it seems as though it's still possible for us to go ahead within the guidelines. Of course, we are missing some key members because they've left London, they're isolating or shielding or because it's been so long since they last played/sung that they're worried about the noise they'll make!
I've waxed on about the benefits of making music already on this blog and I don't need to point out how often we have all turned to the arts to see us through this godawful year. We were booked in to Southwark Cathedral for our carol concert this year, we were supposed to be assembling the most ambitious Christmas concert to date. As it happens, we're trying to work our how make microphones we'll need to channel carols into your homes with the same velocity of Christmas spirit as you would have felt in Southwark Cathedral surrounded by candlelight and wafts of mulling spices.
If you're at a loose end on Saturday dial up the volume and sing along with us. Covid's killing spree has done enough damage this year - let's not let it kill the music and the Christmas cheer we so desperately need to see us through the final chords of 2020.
