Summer is coming
We are practising hard for our summer concerts.
Be sure to come to our concert at the Hitchin Festival on 23rd July. See the above poster for ticket information.
Next is a concert at St. Francis Church in Luton on 5th August. See our Get Tickets page for information.
Our final concert of the summer will be at the Priory Church in Dunstable on 26th August. This is a free concert and Margaret Blenkin’s final concert with us. Please come along and enjoy a spendid evening of music celebrating 20 years of Caritas and Pasque Harmony music.
The ladies of Caritas Harmony would like to thank all the people who came to our concert in Harpenden and gave so generously to the Hospice of St. Francis.
In case you’re wondering, this is the end of our song The 12 or So Days of Christmas! Such fun!

Peter, an ambassador and volunteer at the Hospice of St. Francis told us his personal experience with the Hospice and encouraged people to give generously – which they did.
Barcelona Tour 6 – 10th October 2023
After a ridiculously early start, we all arrived at Heathrow airport for our 6 a.m. check-in. What a sight for the other passengers passing through – 30+ ladies dressed in our new raspberry polo shirts. We drew many puzzled looks and comments, but we were so happy to be finally on the way to Barcelona.

After a relatively short wait and easy pass through passport control we were on our way. The other passengers on the plane were pleased that we were all sitting together at the back. as we were all very excited and all talking at the same time – not singing. We were saving our voices for the concerts ahead.

After a short flight we arrived at Barcelona and were met by our Rayburn Tour reps Lucy and Tim, who had organised the tour and were going to be with us every step of the way. Our first trip was a visit to the Freixenet Cava Winery.

Nolly, Bev, Clare and Jenny sampling the delicious Cava – Cordon Negro.

We drove to Barcelona along the Autovia and many were happy to snatch a quick snooze when we were jolted awake by the driver slamming on the brakes. A car had cut in front of us and missed by a whisker. How the driver of the coach managed to keep control of it was a miracle! Thankfully we reached Calella and our hotel for the stay with no more mishaps.
We had a quick rehearsal in a room set aside for us in the hotel and then enjoyed our first meal of the day. Early bed for many as we had to be down for breakfast at 8 the next day.
Day 2
Today we were doing two concerts. It was very unfortunate that our two concerts which included the whole choir were on the same day, but it couldn’t be avoided. Our first concert was outside in the famous Pueblo Espanyol. The sun was shining and it was very hot. We were dressed in shades of pinks and lilacs, a change from our usual black and white.

Here we are singing The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B. The view of Barcelona behind us was amazing and lots of people came and took pictures and videos of us. A few lucky people who managed to get a seat in the shade stayed for the whole concert. We were lucky to have our own band of groupies with us, Eric, John, Ian, Dave, John, Andrew, Simon, Joe and Adam, as well as friends Fay, Norma, Wendy and Jo.

Back on the coach for the next venue. Margaret’s sister-in-law, Carmen, sings with Trencacors and we were delighted to be sharing the concert with them. We arrived at the beautiful old church and had a quick rehearsal before Trencacors had theirs. We changed into different pink tops for this concert, more fitting for a church setting.
Trencacors began the concert with a Spanish cantata accompanied by keyboard, clarinet, guitar and saxophone. Their sound was so different to ours, with the more typical SATB set up. They had brought many supporters with them and the church was quite full.

Then it was our turn. Carmen introduced the choir and was very emotional in her speech. We had to take deep breaths and calm down before we sang!!! The acoustics in the church were really amazing and when we finished each number, especially ones like How Great Thou Art, the last notes echoed like never before. As you might expect, the Spanish audience really appreciated Hail Holy Queen with the addition of the tambourine. Shouts of ‘Bravo!’ made this a very special number.
We all agreed this was a unique experience which we’d all remember for years! As the audience and Trencacors applauded, there were more calls of ‘Estupendo! Bravo!’ which all added to the enjoyment of the occasion.
Back to the hotel, very tired, but ready for dinner. We had had a packed meal prepared for us, but most people didn’t eat it at all, preferring to go out in Calella in the evening and then socialise in the bar. Another early start tomorrow.
Rayburn Tours prepared flyers for our visit and handed them out in the places where we sang. Castanets were bought to add to the singing in the bar!! The flower, a lisianthus, was one from the bouquet given to our lovely accompanist, Sue Trost, who, as usual, played beautifully as well as joining us to sing in Monserrat and La Sagrada Familia.