Thirty enthusiastic members of the Carrick U3A choir joined the renowned Melodissimo Chorale at its twentieth anniversary celebration concert in Henvic, Brittany, alongside the enchanting, Exeter based, Rough Music Folk Orchestra and the evocative local soloist Charolotte Berriet , on Saturday 9th May 2015.

The Concert was the centre piece of the “week-end” which started with a coach departure before dawn on Friday and concluded with a near midnight return on Monday. In between was endless conversation, eating and, of course, singing with sharp eyes on the Chef de Chorale! The contrived short impromptu practices on the ferry crossings (Plymouth - Roscoff and visa versa) staggeringly raised over £100 towards the Nepal disaster.

From the moment Gerrard and Maria, our hosts, met us off the ferry the generous hospitality and friendship flowed effortlessly from them and all of Melodissimo. Each evening plentiful simple home produced suppers, at the concert venue, were hugely enjoyed.

The suppers preceded the artistic focus, whether it was instrumental, singing or Breton dancing. An earlier conclusion to the Friday evening might have been beneficial to Saturday afternoon’s practice in the cavernous sports hall concert venue and thereafter. Our linguists and soloists did excellently in enhancing bonds with our hosts and audiences.

Time allowed us to savour the delights of Morlaix’s Saturday Market in the shadow of its viaduct and surrounded by the alleyways, timbered houses and hidden courtyards. After a supermarket scamper for picnic cuisine, Sunday lunch was relished in the dappled sunlit woods beside the Great Trembling Rock just outside the picturesque village of Huelgoat. Our mid-Sunday afternoon concert in the village’s simple church of Saint Yves convinced us why we love singing and being together.