Then it was back to Berlin and another stint in our ‘home-from-home’, Tipi, Zelt am Kanzleramt. We never tire of performing there and are always delighted to see any of you who use us as an excuse to spend a weekend in this great city. We have been contracted to do a new Christmas show there next year, from late November to New Year’s Eve and we are already dreaming up repertoire ideas to fill that programme. November saw our first visit to Vienna, a one-nighter, which meant we saw almost nothing of this beautiful city…ah well, next time. But our most exciting first visit this year has to have been Mexico! What an amazing country, and of course we only saw a tiny percentage of its vast landmass in our five-day trip. Our first concert was in the stunningly picturesque city of Morelia for its annual international music festival, which is themed and this year’s theme was Britain. The 4,000-strong throng in the Town Square for our open-air gig was excitable and vocal and when we encored with a Mexican favourite hit, “Volver Volver” suggested to us by Jamie’s Mexican wife, Susy, the place went wild! We always enjoy meeting the audience after the show and, as married men in our forties we were all set to be embraced by the heaving mass of gorgeous young Mexican girls screaming in the piazza. Unfortunately (especially for the unmarried Michael!) the security cordon told us it was too dangerous!!!..and we were whisked out the back into a darkened SUV, flanked by armed guards. Damn! Still, we will never forget that one moment of feeling like the Beatles! In Mexico City we saw the largest man-made Christmas Tree on earth being built; at 377 feet high it’s not much shorter than Salisbury Cathedral Spire, to give you some perspective. We also bought three beautiful pairs of Mexican cowboy boots which we wore with our kilts for that night’s encore of “Volver Volver”…not a great look as a combination but they, and we, enjoyed it! One of the year’s final highlights was singing at the 350th Anniversary concert for George Heriot’s School to a packed Usher Hall in Edinburgh. We had spent a day in October working with the students on some of their songs and on the grand finale: our version of Highland Cathedral, performed by the school’s orchestra, pipes and drums, organist, all the school’s choirs, with Graeme Brownlee, the school's Music Director conducting…and us, a mere blip on the radar of that stage! All in all about 600 performers raised the roof of the Usher Hall in a blaze of glory that must be some kind of record…we shall have to investigate. And, because you can’t get too much of a good thing, we all sang it twice. Hurray! If you would like one last dose of Caledon before the year is out, come to Greenock Town Hall, Clyde Square, Greenock for our Hogmanay Gala on Thursday 31 December at 18.30, with The Scottish Festival Orchestra, Inverclyde Singers and the haunting sound of the pipes and we will serenade you into 2010! Call 01475 723038 for tickets. You can also hear Caledon on Take The Floor on BBC iPlayer at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0079g5m Caledon's new CD and DVD in all good UK record shops now. or order online from www.caledonmusic.com - it's still possible to get Caledon merchandise in time for Christmas. Caledon on YouTube and Facebook - those looking for Caledon online can see our videos by typing in Caledon Tenors on YouTube or Caledon Fan Club on Facebook - why not join the Fan Club while you are at it - it's free. Please feel free to forward this newsletter and all Caledon details onto friends and family who are online. All that is left now is to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and to thank you again for supporting us this year. Alan, Ivan, Jamie & Michael