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.

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.

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.

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.

Stuck at home

I've been getting a bit frustrated this week, my daughter has been struck down with the dreaded lirgy, and since my wife can't take time off work I have stayed in with the young one. Having planned a full week out in gardens not only am I getting a bit stir crazy but also I'll be missing the money that I would have been earning.

On a better note (pedal C that's one of my favorite notes) I have been out to a rehearsal with a band I play with occasionally. The Surrey Yeomanry Band http://www.surreyyeomanry.com/ used to be the regimental band, but have now survived the Regiment but quite a few years. Not so long ago this band was struggling both with lack of players, and lack of ability. A new conductor and a few new recruits has transformed the ability and sound of this Band. They are now playing some challenging music, but more impressive to me they have a "sound". The sound they have is in the model of a Guards band with a wall of sound, big warm and mellow. This is not so surprising really since the conductor was trained in the Irish Guards, and quite a few of the players are ex-guards as well.

Just to add to my fun it was a real treat in an amateur band to sit next to a totally competent tuba player, again since the guy in question is currently with the Coldstream Guards again his playing was not a surprise, but finding players of that quality in a local amateur is a treat indeed.

Tonight I will be with my own band, Croydon Symphonic, http://csb.watchfresh.com/content.html This will be the first rehearsal after our last concert, so it will be interesting to see what music we will have out for the next concert which will be in Greenwich Park, then a more formal one in St John's Smith Square.

The photo on the right is from our Christmas concert last year, we played to raise money for a locally based charity Five Talents UK. www.fivetalents.org.uk

If you have been thank you for reading - I will post more tomorow