Wheels down 1.44pm at Glasgow Airport. Grey skies. Back to Scotland. Touring is a funny thing: it's very intense while it's going on, but when you get home it's no different to coming back from holiday. You're pleased to be home, but re-entry can take a little while as you get used to not sharing almost every waking moment with 99 other people!

There's not much to write about on this last day, so instead, I'll just post a few pictures that I like for different reasons, but which never made it into the blog as we went along.

First a picture of RSNO double bass player Gordon Bruce at the Cafe Iruna in Pamplona, which was Hemingway's favourite haunt. Granted, Gordon doesn't look remotely like Hemingway, but he certainly looks more like some kind of eminent writer than an RSNO bass player. He has style, that's for sure!

Next a photo of the unloading of the truck. The daily grind of loading and unloading instruments is an essential part of touring, but it happens so much behind the scenes that most people dont't appreciate what a huge amount of work goes into getting the orchestra on stage each night. Tam, in the blue RSNO T-shirt, is our second driver, and is one of the unsung heros of the tour party. He and Michael Cameron do a fantastic job, but so often we don't see them at concerts as they are having time off or resting before driving to the next venue.

I loved this very creative huge season poster at one of the halls:

This photo of violinist Nigel Mason was taken rather by accident in a very dark backstage area. I'm not a particularly good photographer, so the artiness of it is accidental! But in hindsight I find it a great illustration of the concentration that every single musician puts into getting ready for the concert each night.

And lastly, somebody was kind enough to give me this empty juice bottle! Couldn't be a better last photo for the tour!

I'm not sure if the orange looks like me any more than Gordon Bruce looks like Ernest Hemingway. But at least it's smiling! Last night at the party we threw after the final concert I found myself saying a few words of thanks to the Orchestra. I always seem to end up saying the same thing, which is about how much I love listening to the playing night after night. I'm not sure if they really believe me, or if they think that's just a typical Chief Executive kind of thing to say! But it is the absolute truth. It's a tremendous privilege to hear music making at this level, and the way the performances get better and better over the course of a week is a fascinating process. And of course this group packs its special brand of Scottish heart and soul in its musical suitcase, which is enough to put a smile on any orange's face!

Thanks for joining us on our short journey around Spain. See you on the next tour...

Simon Woods
Chief Executive, Royal Scottish National Orchestra

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