A SOUTH Lakeland choir was congratulated by the Ambassador of Slovenia at a function in the London Slovenian Embassy, where the choir sang alongside the Slovene choir Gallus Aeternus.

The ambassador, His Excellency Tadej Rupel, thanked Lakeland Voices for making such effort to learn over a dozen Slovenian songs which they sang separately and alongside the Slovenian choir made up of Slovenians living in London.

In the evening, Lakeland Voices also hosted a "Singing Supper" at the Ambassador Hostel in Tavistock Square to which Slovenians living in London were invited to join them in the singing.

"We sing almost 20 songs from Slovenia - it's always such a pleasure to sing these national folk songs with people who know them," said choir leader David Burbidge, from Sedbergh. "One man said he had lived in London for over 60 years but this had been the first time he had ever heard English singers singing in Slovene.

"Singing is very important in Slovenia - for centuries it was used to help maintain their sense of national identity during several centuries of occupation by larger countries."

The choir also sang on a walk across London singing in a variety of places including the British Museum, Trafalgar Square and the Supreme Court. They ended at the grave of Alfred Lord Tennyson, inside Westminster Abbey, where a wreath was laid on Tennyson's grave to mark the anniversary of his death. The choir sang an arrangement of Tennyson's famous poem, Crossing the Bar.

Every year Lakeland Voices visits Slovenia where they sing on a tour in Sedbergh's twin town, in the Capitol, at the Bohinj Wild Flower festival, and alongside many choirs throughout the country.