Torbay 2007

Day 1 - Friday 20th July 2007

Lions Youth Brass Tour 2007 began in high spirits despite the rain! As we left from Sandbach at about 5pm. By 11pm we had made it to just outside of Birmingham (yes, it did take us 6 hours). After numerous traffic updates from the front of the coach, which usually consisted of Alistair telling us something along the lines of 'we aren't going anywhere', the band settled down for the night. However, all was not lost, as no members of the band complained about this hold up (despite the heat felt at the back of the bus due to the air conditioning having to be turned off!) , and most took it on as some kind of adventure!

Day 2 - Saturday 21st July 2007

Unfortunately our travelling delay meant that one of our concerts had to be cancelled in the morning as we were still about 5 hours away from the venue!.

After a tiring 18 hours the band trundled into Torbay girls grammar school where we were to be staying until Tuesday. People quickly got to work assembling airbeds, and before Jane and Nigel knew it, the hall had turned into a complete bombsite!

the accommodation

That evening we had a concert in aid of a local charity at St Matthias Church, and the band were well fed by a small team of people before being received by a very welcoming audience.

The band then returned to the hall and were presented with the challenges of the week; a matchbox to fill with interesting things, and a bag full of craft things to use as props in the re-enactment of each group's chosen TV program or film

Day 3 - Sunday 22nd July 2007

The day began with an hour long coach journey to the nearby town of Dartmouth, where we played on a Band Stand throughout the day usually to a large crowd of people. During our free time Tim became the first band member to purchase the new Harry Potter book, and Ashley made friends (was pursued) by two young ladies!

Dan also caught a crab in the sea after making a few purchases at a local fishing shop, and long after the crab had safely been put in somebody else's bucket Alistair was still scaring many of the girls with his plastic crab which was about three times as big!

on the bandstand

The band were provided with delicious local Cornish pasties and treated to some rather tasty ice creams from a shop scoped out by Jane and Ruth. We then went on to play our final concert at the band stand and we then returned to the hall for a well earned rest.

Day 4 - Monday 23rd July 2007

Although we were meant to be playing at the seafront today, the weather had different ideas and it didn't seem to stop raining form the moment that we woke up (courtesy of Brian's "morning' campers!"). Despite pleas from the band for a day off Nigel decided that we would all benefit from a practice, so all of the beds were tidied away and we got out some new pieces of music to have a blow through.

As the bad weather decided to continue all day, we then went swimming; unfortunately we didn't manage to persuade the committee members to join us!

After tea that night, each group acted out their TV program or film, and there were certainly some interesting performances!!

Zach, Claire, Mark and Michael were chosen as the winning group as they had an interesting take on 'Little Britain'.

Day 5 - Tuesday 24th July 2007

On Tuesday morning the band packed everything up onto the coach and we made our way to Minehead, where we were to be staying in the Rugby Club. We left plenty of travelling time just in case it took longer than we thought, like our journey to Torquay!

As we weren't due to play until the evening, we all decided to have a game of rounders, despite numerous attacks from water bombs and water pistols, as half of the rounders players decided to have a water fight at the same time!

The concert on Tuesday evening was at Danesfield Church of England School in Williton, where some of Mark's family who live locally came to support the band. Although not our largest audience, the band were made very welcome and all soloists performed well.

Day 6 - Wednesday 25th July 2007

Due to the rain over the past few days/weeks one of the venues that we were due to be playing at this afternoon got changed, however, the Queens Hall Public House on the seafront turned out to be a wonderful place to play, after all the shopping we'd done in Bridgewater earlier on in the day. Although the audience weren't accustomed to a brass band accompaniment to their lunch we were all well received and much to Michaels Potts' delight the toilets had individual TV's in the urinals. After the concert the band were given some time to go shopping, and the weather luckily stayed pleasant. That night all the groups handed in their matchboxes for judging, whilst enjoying some free time, before our concert at the Holy Cross Chapel in Watchet that night. The band played brilliantly and were well appreciated by the audience, especially the cornets performing 12th street rag on the balcony. And the committee dealt very well with the youths standing outside, who were persistent on disrupting the concert.

After a long, but enjoyable day the band returned back the rugby club for their well deserved sleep.

Day 7 - Thursday 26th July 2007

The band woke up on Thursday to rain, which put any plans we had on hold. We were all very excited to hear that we going to go swimming, and which meant having the pool to ourselves as well as having the use of an inflatable. The inflatable dragon however, was made much harder to cross than first expected, by a life guard who seemed intent on dislodging anyone who dared attempt to climb it. Unfortunately Sarah managed to cut her head on the pool just as we were leaving, but this was swiftly dealt with by the first-aiders who patched her up good as new. After swimming it was proposed that we all went shopping; half the band braved the weather whereas the other half went back to the rugby club and entertained themselves, this also gave a few players some time to catch up on their Harry Potter.

In the evening we travelled to Clevedon, where we played in the Princes Hall to a crowd of over 200. The crowd were excellent and enjoyed some of the finest playing that the band did throughout the whole of tour. After receiving a standing ovation and with 75 CD's sold the band were extremely pleased and we made our way back to the rugby club where the band would be spending their final night of the tour.

Day 8 - Friday 27th July 2007

As the weather had slightly picked up from Thursday morning the band set out again for Watchet to play on The Esplanade. Although windy and drizzly the band braved the weather and played excellently which was useful in attracting the attention of passer-bys and we played a number of well known tunes for the crowds to sing along to. As 12 o'clock approached the band had to set off for a hopefully shorter bus ride home, much to the disappointment of the audience. The coach fortunately had few hold ups and we were in Sandbach for about 4:45. Immediately the band walked to The Limes Restaurant where we had a choice of turkey or beef roast dinner. After we were well fed and watered we set about preparing for the end of tour concert at Sandbach Girl's School. With a full school hall and a brilliant audience, despite being worn out and ready for bed the band did not let this reflect upon the playing as they all played at their best. After playing an encore of Can-Can with all the usual entertaining choreography. The band received another standing ovation and kind words from Rotary Club members. After a quick tidy up from all the members, the belongings were collected from the school and the band went their separate ways, after an fantastic and unforgettable tour.

By Susannah Ball & Alex Holsgrove

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