Final reflection

What a farewell to the Festival! I did the breakfast-then-leave-the-bag-till-later thing in the hotel and went for another wander in the glorious sunshine. I'd got sidetracked the other day on my way to Butler House, where the garden is one of my favourite Kilkenny spots, so that's where I headed first. I left by the front door rather than the one that goes back to the garden and discovered lots of interesting places up the far end of Patrick Street which were all new to me. A stop for a hot chocolate brought me nearer to the time for my final concert choice, so off I went, making my way over to St John's Priory. The blip was taken on the corner of Patrick Street and The Parade, and is one of the doors of the Left Bank pub, which looked its best in the lovely sunshine.

The concert was a follow-up to yesterday's lunchtime experience, being the other three of Bach's six suites for solo cello. What an experience! István Várdai, the 19-year-old Hungarian, was on even better form today and had us gasping with amazement at his superb instrumental technique and left us coming away even more full of admiration for J.S. Bach than we'd been before. It was a privilege to be there, and the concert was a perfect conclusion to my time at the Festival.

I made my way back to the hotel on an emotional high, picked up my bag, got a taxi to the railway station and caught the Dublin train at 3:30, getting back home just after 5:00. A great few days, and a fabulous Festival programme.