Artist August Macke was from Bonn and I’ve previously been to the museum here dedicated to his work. My hosts were keen to take me to see its new extension and the exhibition just opening of his cousin Helmuth Macke’s paintings. We arrived and met up with others, as arranged, only to find that the exhibition starts tomorrow. 

We will reassemble tomorrow.

Instead we went to the Rheinisches Landesmuseum for an excellent exhibition of underwater archaeology around Sicily. Stories about life, trade and warfare over the centuries are told using the objects as a starting point. Bonnites and Oxfordians were all amused to discover as we came out that the exhibition has come from the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

To get us to tonight’s rehearsal and concert my host planned to lend me her spare bike. Around the time the rehearsal was due to start, we realised that she is 10cm taller than I am, the saddle was way too high and the appropriate Allen key to adjust it was missing. Instead she gave me her scooter. After a 50-year gap I relearnt to scoot. When we arrived everyone told me scooting was difficult and dangerous. I’m glad I didn’t know that beforehand.

During the rehearsal there was more moaning about Germans speaking German despite the fact that the music that we are singing with the German children is by a British composer and partly in English and they sing it beautifully. When will the British English ever learn that we are not in charge of the world, never had any right to be, and need to learn some humility?