Bad Back

I have been suffering, not in silence but I have made sure that every one around e knows that I a suffering.   This also mean that I have not been working, which in turn means that I have been thinking. I have also been watching daytime TV, surfing the net, and finding all sorts of ways of not doing my Tax Return.   I think what actually did the damage to my back was playing Mrs T stood up waiting for the Croydon Christmas lights to be turned on.

Having cut the marching lugs off the EEb and the ones on the CC being for a European style strap I had to use Mrs T.   Nothing wrong with that,,,,except that she is a little heavy, ad I haven't played a BBb in bass clef for about two years.  Seriously I just couldn't put the right fingers down.   I just hope that there weren't too any musicians listening. I also hope I can get back to work soon

Saturday Night

Saturday night just over half of the members of the Croydon Band band played at the end of a masons dinner.  To be be perfectly honest it wasn't our best performance.   We were missing our two top cornet players, and we really missed them.   There were a couple of moments when,,,,,, no I think I will leave it at a there were a couple of moments;- while I know that the band was a bit disappointed and I know I was too by some aspects of our performance, the punters seemed to enjoy it.   Yes I know they had had a few drinks, and I know that they enjoyed the jokes, but, still we had to play the tunes.

The important thing though is that the audience enjoyed what we did.   We gave them what they wanted and I hope enough of it to be asked back at some point.   I also realised that playing the trombone and conducting at the same time is not a god idea with a bad back.

Bad Back

Just when I am really busy something goes and throws a spanner in the cogs.   Last night I went out to pick up a new(er) van, on my way home I stopped for some shopping which I put on the front seat, reaching across to get something I put my back out.

I have been t the osteopath today to get pummeled and he assures me that I should feel better over the next few days, but I have already had to have one day away from vigorous work, and can't really afford many more.   Add to that how much I have on on the music front and it looks a bit desperate.   Tonight I am meant to be playing trombone and at the moment I'm not even sure I can hold it!   Then tomorrow we have an extra rehearsal with the brass band, and then the mega weekend - think of me and my pain!

Busy Weekend

I have a busy weekend looming ahead of me, on Saturday the Brass band has a gig in Surbiton playing for a Mason's dinner.   We are only doing a half hour slot, but it still takes up the whole evening, and off course I will have to take the band kit and give a couple of members a lift.   We will not be doing anything too taxing, but this job came in very late so quite a few members are already committed to other activities, still we should be able to give them an entertaining half hour with a few songs to sing along to.

Then on Sunday it all gets a bit more serious. CSB are playing at the Colchester area round of the BASWE National Wind band Festival.   I shall be playing Bass Trombone for this, I am glad to be getting the trombone out, but am still surprised at how little I get to play.   It is always an odd feeling when you look around the band and see everyone else blowing their hearts out while you are still counting bars rest.   Of course with a Bass Trombone there is always an impact when we do come in, especially if it's a ff fzf.

One orchestral conductor I had stopped the orchestra to point out to the violins that the Bass Trombone had a dynamic that no other orchestral instrument possessed, "Obliterato".

Mrs T allowed out!

Yes Mrs T has had an outing.   Last week I played in Croydon tow centre with the All Saints Concert Band.   I was originally booked to play euphonium, but after being let down at the last minute i ended up on Bass with the euph part being covered by one of the trombones.   Now the thing about this gig is that we had to play standing up.   A few years ago I decided that I didn't lie playing standing up and wasn't going to do it, after all that's why I didn't join the Arny.

Because I wasn't going to play stood up I cut the marching lugs off my EEb, and my strap won't fit the CC therefore my only option was Mrs T the original mighty BBb.   It was only after I had got into Croydon and started to play that I fully realised what I had done.   It is over 2 years since I last played a BBb in concert pitch and could not get my brain around the fingering.   I half expected to use EEb fingering by mistake, but I actually ended up using more CC fingering.

I'm not sure why I enjoyed this outing, since I was struggling with the instrument and I hate playing stood up or on the march.  I can only think that it must have been something to do with the company.

This is Smudge

he's not been well, a week or so ago we found he had a viral infection, that was effecting his kidneys, we weren't at all sure he would last.   But he is a strong young cat and after he got through the week we knew he was through the worst.   He has lost a lot of weight, stroking him you can feel all his bones, there's no flesh on him.

Now Smudge is getting better, yesterday he was at last beginning to eat a bit, then last night we gave him a steroid pill, since then he seems to have got his appetite back. Although he is still painfully thin I get the distinct feeling that he is past the crises. Now we just have to feed hi up so he can get his strength back.
I have got to replace Gloria. There is nothing wrong with her, she would happily give me another 3 or 4 years service, she is just the right size and power for what I do. I love he driving position and "feel" of how she drives, the steering is just the right weight. All in all she suits me, added to that all the experts tell me that this is the best model Transit Ford have made. So why replace her. Simple in January the London Low Emission zone is being extended to include light vans. Being well over 10 years old Gloria cannot get through the new restrictions, if I use her after early January I will have to pay £100 each time I use her. As a self employed tradesman I simple can't afford to pay this, but in the current economic situation I can't afford a new van either.

Gloria, somewhere in France

This is a real catch 22, I can;t afford to not work, I need a van to work, I can't afford a new van. I know that some micro businesses are just closing up as the need for a capital outlay at this time when we all have reduced income is the final straw. I can't stop working as I need the income for a few years yet, so I have a bid in on e-bay for a new van, can you all keep your fingers crossed for me please.

HMS Belfast

Yesterday we played for the remembrance service on HMS Belfast.   This is a wonderful experience, and puts a lot of what we do into perspective.   The HMS Belfast is part of the Imperial War Museum. a second world war battle Cruiser, and the home of the main naval remembrance service in London.   This particular remembrance service has been going since about 1983, and the Croydon Band has played at nearly every one of them.

Initially it was a simple question of there being no service band avaiable, but the veterans wanted to have their service, at that time one of the veterans was a member of our band so he volunteered us.   Since then we have been privileged to be part of this event every year.

A few years ago the service went into a bit of a decline, less sea scouts and of course less veterans who served on Her around each year.   However over the last few years it has really picked up again.   Yesterday there were around 200 - 300 people on the quarter deck, including senior officers from at least four different Navies.   I am glad to see an increase in awareness of the sacrifice of servicemen, I just hope that by remembering we do not gloriefy war, but rather make sure we avoid it.

Hard work

Today has been hard work, in many ways just hard slog, but also good rewarding stuff.   One of my customers has been concerned about her pond for ages, it would be filled up, then g down a few inches in short time.   Obviously there was leak, rather than tr to patch I decided tat the best thing to do was to empty the while thing our and put in a fresh liner.   This would also give me he opportunity t level up the edges; when it is was put in there doesn't appear to have been a spirit level available!.

The pond itself is a nice natural type pond with broken paving slabs around the edge over gravel ad some feature rocks.   There are a few plants and lots of frogs, newts and even some toads but no fish.   Today I emptied out the pond, lifted all the slabs and rock, and cleaned up the gravel.    I managed to raise the side that was low with some soft sand and put in the new liner and filled with water.

By this time I had lost the light so I will have to go back tomorrow to finish dressing the pond.   The rocks and paving will go back more or less as they were but I have divided the plants which should leave a bit of room for the amphibians.   I will try to get a couple of photos when I am finished.

Although I really want to get this pond finished I could have done without working tomorrow, as I want to make sure that I am proper set for Sunday, and I need to pick up all the band kit in the afternoon as well, oh well who wanted an easy life anyway?

The Program

I should have said what the program for the festival is we are playing three pieces
Finnegan's Wake by Archibald J. Potter
The Sun Will Rise Again by Philip Sparke, and
The first three movements of Robert Russell Bennett's Suite of Old American Dances.

this is a good varied, and challenging program.   Let's hope the adjudicators agree.

Another day another dollar

Funny old game in't it? Today I acquired my new laptop, courtesy of a highly valued customer.    have managed to transfer all my files across and am just beginning to get to grips with it, this does however mean that I have not done much that pays me today!   Still I have managed a fair bit of admin stuff that needs to be done.

This evening we had a CSB rehearsal, I am getting the hang of the Trombone after m long lay off and beginning to remember why I took it up to start with.  We rehearsed the selection we are going to play at the the Colchester region round of the National Wind Band Festival and it is beginning to sound fairly well, still plenty of work to do though.   Musically I am mostly concerned with Sunday's Remembrance Service, we now have a drummer who will be playing so I am greatly relieved to know that we can start the National Anthem with a drum roll.   The congregation expect this, it gives them a chance to stand up and prepare themselves,whereas for eh last few years we have had t play an introduction and that just seems to confuse people.

Practise

I have a few performances coming up, with wind band, brass band and orchestra.   Now as a conductor I am always telling the members of the band that they have to practise, it's simply not enough to rely in the playing we do at rehearsals.   We need to practise so that when we get to the rehearsal we are ready to rehears the piece not practise the instrument.

The trouble is a lot of the time I don't follow my own advise, and now I have been found out big time!   All the time I was playing Tuba I was OK, I could pretty much cope with anything thrown at me, but at both the Orchestra and the Wind Band I will be playing Bass Trombone at the next few performances, and I NEED TO PRACTISE.   If you live near me I apologise but I just have to do it.

The Orchestral job is with the London Charity Orchestra and we are going to be playing lots of "lolly pops" including the Capriccio Italien, Roman Carnival, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, and Dambusters, so it looks as though I could end up with quite a bit to do.

Remembrance

HMS Belfast in 1948

The Croydon Band will be playing for the remembrance service on HMS Belfast again this year.   I think this is the most important thing we do as a band, it is a real honour.   Two of our cornet players will be playing the last post, as well as the full band accompanying hymns for the service and some solemn music before hand and some marches afterwards.   Tonight was the last rehearsal for this, and all in all I think it went pretty well, we have a decent selection of solemn music for before the service, and a couple of appropriate marches for afterwards "A Life on The Ocean Wave" and "Hearts of Oak".   For years we used to play "On the Quarter Deck" and I could never understand why, it's not a very good march and nobody ever recognises it, so last year we changed to "A Life on The Ocean Wave" and got quite a few favorable comments.   I just hope that this year we are able to get it right again.

This is the second of these services I will have conducted, but I have played in them for many years and have always got a kick out of seeing how important it is to the veterans, especially those who served on the Belfast herself.   Last year I was very nervous, I hope that this year I will be a little more relaxed, and will be able to enjoy the experience.

Cartoons

I love cartoons, I must have said this before, but it's true.   This one tickles my fancy and is specially for all you closet Jazzers

Hi Honey, I'm home

Well I know it's been a long time, but here goes, lets get restarted.

I'm still conducting the Croydon Brass band, and we have had a few gigs, including two to celebrate our Centenary year. the last one was last month, and I was very encouraged in that most of the band that played were regular members coming along to rehearsals each week.   When I took over back at the beginning of 2010 we had only four or five players at most rehearsal, now we regularly have have 11 or 12, that means that we have more than doubled our regular attendance.   Which in turn means that we Can play some good challenging music and put on decent performances.

The Croydon Symphonic Band is still strong, however we have lost one of our bass players and one of our trombones, we have had some new members join so the numbers are more or less the same, but we are short on heavy brass.   The change in Bass players has left me with a problem, the chap who has left played a Cervany BBb. ad the New Toy blended nicely in tone, the new player uses a Besson Sovereign, my CC just doesn't blend at all so I have been using new Little New Standard EEb which works perfectly, the problems is that I am just not using the CC at all.   I am playing the EEb the Euph and the Trombone but the Mrs T and the New Toy seem to just be living in their cases.

Since I need the money to buy a new van I am planning to put the CC up for auction on e-bay, a great shame but I can't see a way round at the moment.