Planners of carol services should consider the vocal stamina of congregations when choosing carols. By the end of an otherwise very well-thought-out service we (two competent singers) were nearing vocal exhaustion after singing through, in quick succession, all verses of ‘The holly and the ivy’, ‘Angels from the realms of glory’ and ‘The first Nowell’, all of which sit very high in the average voice. But the mulled wine afterwards helped to restore tired vocal cords!