Oh my goodness, what a weekend!  Saturday saw us gain yet another trophy at the SWBBA Exmouth Brass Band Festival Entertainments Contest, for Best Second Section band!  It was a long day as we were rehearsing in Exmouth at 10.30 in the morning and then playing a half hour concert at 1pm in the Pavilion Gardens, followed by the contest programme at 5pm.  All the hard work paid off though, and we were absolutely delighted to have been placed 2nd out of the 13 competing bands for musicality, and 4th for entertainment value, taking a few scalps on the way! Whoop!

On a sad note, at yesterday’s Proms Concert at Hutton, we were extremely sorry to bid farewell to one of our most stalwart members of the band, Terry Down, who has been a member for well over 20 years.  An ex-RAF musician, Terry has sat happily on the back row of the cornet section putting all the right notes in in all the right places!  Terry has decided to hang up his mouthpiece to lead a more sedentary life. We wish you well, Terry, and thank you – your humour and ‘Welshness’ will be sorely missed.

The Proms Concert at Hutton was, as usual, a riotous evening, full of fun and laughter plus the obligatory flag waving and hearty singing.  This concert is a highlight of our annual calendar, and we have one more performance to go on 9th September at Winscombe Michaelmas Fair before the end of the summer season.  From then on it’s full steam ahead for more contesting, and then it will be Christmas.  “Oh Come, All Ye Faithful………………”