We were delighted to perform at a private belated Christmas party on the 27th Jan, in a festively decorated room of the Chippenham Sports Club. The accompaniment by the audience in the Bohemian Rhapsody section of Queen in Concert was heartfelt indeed!
It was a rare chance for us to get our bow ties on for a change! (Normally we wear long ties embroidered with the band logo).
Our final music played in 2019 (22nd December); a 2 hour set towards the exit at Morrisons where we performed festive tunes as well as more traditional carols.
Christmas hats (and antlers) were worn in the spirit of the season and many shoppers stopped by on their way out of the store.
Donations were collected in separate tubs for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance (https://www.wiltshireairambulance.co.uk/ ) and also for Chippenham Town Band (to help fund our rehearsals).
We played a 2 hour set at Morrisons near the exit (our band was too big to fit in the foyer!) Many a shopper enjoyed the tunes which ranged from music such as Jingle Bells and I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, to traditional carols (Away In A Manger, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, O Come All Ye Faithful to name but a few). We only just reached the end of the carol book and were able to repeat a few of our favourites.
Donations were collected for our charity; this carol set was supporting BLISS: for babies born premature or sick (https://www.bliss.org.uk/).
Some of the band even wore festive jumpers or Christmas hats to mark the occasion and all were in festive spirit. If you missed us, please pop by on Sunday 22nd December when we will be playing in the afternoon.
The band was invited back to play a concert (first half our “regular” tunes and the second half diving into carols!) There was a festive feeling in the air with lots of audience participation; one of our favourite gigs of the year.
We were honoured to play a morning concert at Longleat Centre Parcs including a bugle call at 11 by our conductor, Alan Horner. Visitors to the plaza lingered near the entrance to hear our music starting with Barnyard Castle and ending with We’ll Meet Again. Some Elvis Presley and Louis Armstrong pieces were played during our 90 minute set.
A brilliant last of the summer concert season at John Coles Park, Chippenham; the sun shone as if it was the height of summer! There was a brilliant turn out of visitors to the park and the bandstand itself was filled nearly to bursting.
We played a variety of tunes, concentrating on the more well known big band and theme music – definitely putting our newest members through their paces as there were a few pieces they hadn’t rehearsed yet! Everyone played really well – more than deserving of ice-cream in the interval.
Hopefully when we start the summer season next year in May we will have some new songs in our repertoire. (We use the winter season to practice new tunes as well as maintaining the old ones).
What an incredibly hot day! We played two sets in the school yard under an unrelenting sun; thankfully the applause from the audience was a worthy reward for our trials. Many a fetching hat was worn, much sun cream applied and lots of water was drunk. Ice lollies were enjoyed in the interval too.
The fair was exceptionally popular and other local events caused quite some traffic build-up which meant that I and a few others were slightly delayed – thankfully this didn’t cause any disruption to the music.
We played a mix of music from Basin Street, Locomotion and Take the “A” Train to medleys including Disco Lives, Beach Boys and Ellington. Even our very worn copies of the Teddy Bear’s Picnic saw play (such a delightful tune). Tequila was another fun one played. We finished with We Will Meet Again; there were quite a few friendly faces in the audience – hopefully some of those we’ll see at our next event, John Coles Park on 15th September.
It was our first time to play in the Swindon Town Gardens bandstand; quite a stunning park (particularly the rose garden). Unfortunately there was a slight mix-up which meant the bandstand was double-booked so we were only able to play for the second half of the time.
We took shelter from the rain as we waited to be able to play, listening to the latin style music.
The other group were very helpful in packing up quickly for the changeover. We got through as many pieces as we could in our 45 minute set, all of us keen to play what we’ve been rehearsing.
The weather eventually cleared up and there were quite a few visitors to the park who listened to both bands. Definitely weather for a cup of tea instead of ice-cream despite it being August!
A delightful summer concert in the park, with lots of visitors listening to our tunes.
We were delighted to be welcomed back to play for shoppers at Leekes, this time for a Privilege Card holders’ evening 6-8pm. We were invited inside and upstairs to the cafe area to play as the cafe was closed from 4:30pm. Shoppers had some stalls on the ground floor for drinks and nibbles.
Quite a few shoppers paused to try out the settees whilst listening to our music which included a Beach Boys medley, Elvis Presley tunes, Moonlight Serenade, Basin Street and The Muppets to name but a few.
I was seated right next to a display of delicious cakes and biscuits – I simply must return when the cafe is open!