Earlier this month (Tuesday 12 December) The Dean of Salisbury, the Very Revd Nicholas Papadopulos, welcomed over 500 group visitors to Salisbury Cathedral for its annual Carol Concert for Groups.

With the Cathedral’s magnificent 32ft Christmas tree behind them, visitors were treated to some fine singing from the Cathedral’s world class choir, directed by David Halls, Director of Music, interspersed with special Christmas readings by staff and volunteers. There were opportunities to sing along too. Assistant Director of Music John Challenger accompanied some rousing renditions of much-loved Christmas Carols on the famous Father Willis organ. At the end of the service there was a special mention for one of the Cathedral's longstanding customers, Geoff Allen from Travellan Travel. Geoff  is well known to the visitors team, so when he announced that he planned to retire at the end of this year they decided to give him a proper Cathedral send off.

Hannah Paye, Visitor Experience and Bookings Manager said: “I have worked with Geoff for many years and I know we will feel his absence. He has been a loyal and friendly colleague – always a pleasure to deal with and full of enthusiasm for what we do. A perfect customer.”

Geoff added: “It has always given me personal pleasure to attend Salisbury Cathedral events, especially the Carol Concert for Groups each year. Our visitors thoroughly enjoyed the concert and it certainly was a memorable occasion for me, as I’m sure it will be for many others.”

Once the concert and farewell to Geoff were over, concert goers enjoyed festive refreshments courtesy of the Refectory team and made the most of their exclusive access to the Cathedral. A new feature of this year’s event was some post-concert music played by the Assistant Director of Music, John Challenger on the Cathedral's beautiful Blüthner piano, a perfect background track to the visit.