Today saw the official beginning of RAG week, and with the close proximity of Valentine's Day, the City and Guilds Barbershop led off. These eight, suave students were tasked to sing a romantic barbershop song for the price of only ten pounds!

Starting at the early hour of 10am, the first quartet launched into a traditional barbershop song, Heart of my Heart, in Pippard Lecture theatre. The lecturer helpfully dimmed the lights, and to add to this romantic effect, the person being sung to was, in fact, the girlfriend of one of the singers!

The quartet then swapped members as they moved into Physics, before they charged into Meeting Room 7 with Deputy President Education and Welfare, Katherine McGinn, as their next job. To their bemusement, no one was found to be there! However, not all was lost as they quickly found her in the office. With help from Union Reception, who lured her out, a clearly embarrassed Katherine was serenaded in front of an audience. This was mainly made up of Union Staff, who had left their desks, curious to hear strains of barbershop filling the offices.

At lunchtime, the group split into two quartets to wander through the Union and Junior Common room, selling roses and bursting into song as people donated. Later, recombining as an octet, they entered the Senior Common Room. One particular highlight was singing to the staff members behind the counter, who were very touched by this gesture. Finally, at two, they serenaded an equally appreciative staff member of Civil Engineering.

They then literally ran back to the walkway as they heard that Sir Richard Sykes, Imperial College's Rector, had made a showing. Quickly lining up, the group embarked on a rendition of Heart of My Heart. Smiling throughout, Sir Richard, like all the others, was presented with a single rose at the end. One of the barbershop singers later commented that the Rector certainly seemed to enjoy their performance and it was a good laugh anyway.

The rest of the afternoon saw the quartet moving through Maths and Physics, revisiting Physics Lecture Hall 1 twice more in the afternoon (hence managing to cover all four years of Physics!) and even finding time to sing on [IC Radio|http://icradio.com//]. The last few hits were equally notable, with one person commenting "I've been set up haven't I?" as he saw the quartet moving into the Union Concert Hall.

The final song performed was to the RAG Chair, Leah Glass, who cowered in embarrassment as they sung.

Overall, it was a fantastic day for the Barbershop Group, doing jobs that were obviously requested for a laugh as well as proper Valentine's surprises. Though specifically set up Valentine's Day, they are still operating during the week and for more details or requests, please email rag@cgcu.net.