Day 8: Miniature Mishaps and Majestic Marches

Big news from the breakfast room: the pancakes are back. Sheila, the legendary guardian of the breakfast buffet, had clearly sensed the national mood and fired up the pancake machine in turbo mode. One pupil managed to eat twelve in one sitting — we may now be responsible for the global pancake shortage. But, on the plus side, our pupils were very well fuelled for the day ahead.

We had our usual third-floor corridor HQ briefing this morning — and I finally managed to capture a photo of the group just beforehand. There’s something quietly hilarious about gathering 40+ pupils in a carpeted corridor, but acoustically it’s one of the best briefing venues I’ve ever used. Every golden nugget of wisdom I impart echoes beautifully off the magnolia walls. Not glamorous, but effective.

Our first destination today was a wonderfully quirky exhibition called Little Canada, showcasing miniature versions of major Canadian cities and landmarks. Naturally, no RHS trip would be complete without a navigational hiccup (the school strapline may be Navigating Success, but on this tour, we’ve rebranded ourselves as Misnavigating Canada). While I nipped downstairs to sort tickets, I asked the pupils to wait at street level before coming down to me. Of course, their interpretation of “down” led them up an escalator, then down again — creating an unintentional but highly amusing game of musical escalators. Eventually, we all ended up in the right place, and it was well worth the journey.

The Two Brians - The Two Trombonists!

Little Canada was absolutely delightful — an intricately designed miniature world where we spotted places we’ve visited for real on this tour. We saw a tiny Niagara Falls, complete with tiny people doing the Journey Behind the Falls experience we did yesterday. The pupils also loved the “Maurice the Moose” scavenger hunt, with great pride taken in earning the special sticker. We even found a miniature version of the food market where we had lunch earlier this week… complete with an eerily accurate model of a Toronto traffic jam. Art imitating life.

After some downtown shopping and lunch, we returned to the hotel to prepare for this evening’s grand event: a performance at the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada’s Gala Dinner. The venue was the regiment’s main drill hall, beautifully laid out with tables and flags — a truly atmospheric setting.

The band had some rehearsal time, including a vital tune-up of O Canada, which we hadn’t yet performed on tour. There was some healthy debate amongst the pupils over just how many flats were in the key signature, but we got it sorted in time. For the record, we got it right during the actual performance!

Before the performance, we were treated to a brief moment of luxury in the Officers’ Mess — a rare quiet moment before the gala began. The band opened the evening by playing to a slowly-filling room of curious guests who, I suspect, were quite surprised to discover the “professional band” they were hearing was actually made up of school pupils. The reaction was overwhelmingly positive, with several people remarking on how polished and impressive the playing was.

This was very much a band-focused evening, but the choir also had a moment to shine. Just before dinner, they sang John Rutter’s The Lord Bless You and Keep You as a grace. Mr Allen decided we’d sing it from memory — a mildly terrifying prospect for some (....me) — but the result was magical. Without sheet music, faces lifted, the sound filled the entire hall with warmth and beauty. It was a special moment, and one we’ll remember.

And then… Amazing Grace. This was our much-anticipated collaboration with the pipers and drummers of the Royal Highland Fusiliers. Now, we’ve often joked that bagpipes are in “every key at once” — and tonight that theory was confirmed. The pipers played a haunting solo to begin, then joined together as the band entered. Unfortunately for our lungs, they took it at a very reflective tempo. Mr Allen and I both agreed we should have brought oxygen tanks — it was a lung-busting exercise in sustained playing! But the pupils rose to the challenge magnificently. Special mention to Tommy, who soared above the pipes with a glorious, crystal-clear top note. A triumph.

After the performance, we were honoured to receive a commemorative shield for the Music Department — a lovely token of a truly memorable evening.

Back at the hotel, the packing party began. Miss King, who has organised and supervised everything this evening with unshakeable calm, quietly checked every single room, replaced luggage tags, and ensured that everything was ready in case British Airways fancied another luggage-related challenge on our return leg. She's also been the ever-reliable point of contact for medication, personal care, food requirements throughout the trip, taking the majority of the photos used on this Blog and on Instagram — and, at one point today, physically reassembled (twice!) a pupil’s uniform trousers. She's been absolutely phenomenal throughout the tour, and I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank her. From all the music staff — myself, Becky, and Ed — a heartfelt and enormous thank you to Zoe. We couldn’t have done this without you.

Tomorrow is our final performance: a Palm Sunday service at St. John’s Dixie in Mississauga. It's a significant occasion in the Church calendar, and we’re providing music throughout the entire service — more than 16 musical items in total - with both the choir and band very busy. It promises to be a moving and fitting conclusion to this remarkable journey.

As the tour draws to a close, I’ll aim to post a brief update tomorrow evening (though with our overnight flight, timing may be a little tricky), and then follow up next week with a fuller reflection on the entire experience.

To everyone who has followed along with the blog — thank you. Your kind messages and support have been much appreciated. It's been fun to share this adventure with you.

Goodnight from Canada.

Brian Martineau