Monday
Having had a week away recruiting last week, it was a bit of a shock to the
system coming back to a Basic Fitness Test (BFT) at 0730 in a Monday morning.
Nevertheless I did pass with a reasonable time. The other Buglers had assessments
this morning, however, I have another week to go until mine and so I spent much
of Monday rehearsing pieces and studies for that. The evening was spent preparing
for rounds the following morning. I also had to visit the letting agents to
sort some forms out for moving into a flat in Portsmouth at the weekend.
Tuesday
Rounds this morning took on a slightly different format in that today, we were
all fallen in by our beds. Usually it is carried out by an NCO while we are
at work. It was during this inspection that the only reported April foolery
took place with Musn Gray and Bug Keeping emerging from the dark depths of the
drying cupboard to report their rounds.
Tuesday is always a long day for me as, there are no lessons to break up the
day, and so the period from 0830 to 2000 is spent in the Buglers suite, just
breaking for meals. However, with my assessment next week, I found plenty to
do and the time passed quite quickly.
Wednesday
The day started at 0800 with Parade Band on the Wardroom lawn. This was a rehearsal
for the a Beat Retreat next Monday at HMS Collingwood. For the first time I
was going to play a static on a gig and I was quite relieved when the rehearsal
went by without too many glitches.
For RT this afternoon, the PTIs had arranged a trip to Longmoor Camp to try
some Clay Pigeon Shooting. I struggle to hit a fixed target on the ranges and
so with the added complication of a moving target, it was not surprising really
that I scored a grand total of 2! Prizes were given to Bug Ford, Musn Beasley
and Musn Dolby for the top scores. Once the range was cleared, we enjoyed a
barbecue and some drinks before returning to base in the evening.
Thursday
The PTIs gave us an easy session this morning as a bit of a warm down to the
end of term.
There was a visit to the School today from a number of high ranking Officers
including FOTR who came to see the new computer equipment in use in the Buglers
suite. The day ended with our last harmony lesson. My term have done a year
long level O harmony course. Level 1 is then optional.
Evening instruction was spent perfecting the repertoire for the Beat Retreat
next week.
Friday
Again, we rehearsed the Beat Retreat programme at the Wardroom. Some of the
Term One's practised with their pith helmets on for the first time before their
first Parade Band gig on Monday.
On completion, I had a lesson on herald trumpet with Mr Yates, followed by my
T5 aural exam with Sgt Ridley. I found this quite challenging compared to earlier
exams but I'm sure I did fine in the end.
After lunch, we were back with Sgt Ridley again for history. This was also our
last history lesson with just a test to go next week until the end of our level
0 course.
With just enough time to ditch our folders and put on our drums, we were on
parade again at the Wardroom to have another Beat Retreat rehearsal. By now
we all knew what we were doing and it all went quite well. Well enough in fact
to get us away for the weekend 20 minutes early.
After work I went to collect the keys for my new flat and spent the weekend
moving in and getting things sorted. I heard last week that I'm getting drafted
to Portsmouth Band in the summer and so hopefully I will live in this flat for
the foreseeable future.