RN Volunteer Band JSU Northwood

BdCSgt D Boorer RM

 

Emmanuel Concert & Elizabeth Gething Trophy

John Marsh receives the Elizabeth Gething Trophy

The Emmanuel Church Concert has become a regular fixture for us. Although the Band is now large enough to support the concert in its own right, we were nevertheless pleased to have our ranks swelled by old hands that returned from pastures new to rejoin the fun and some additions from HMS Nelson Volunteer band, plus ex VBIs from the Royal Marines, all of whom filled a few key gaps. (Brass players are still on the endangered species list in this neck of the woods.) The concert was very well received by the audience and Dave Matthews really enjoyed wielding the baton in what was his last night of conducting us. In fact he was enjoying it so much that after the finale and an encore, when the audience still asked for more, he was on the point of saying “yes” but the worried looks from the band reminded him that we had been playing for 2 hours and perhaps we needed to stop. I think Dave would happily have carried on all night. Apart from the enjoyment of all those present on the night we were also delighted that the concert raised £1200 for the Help the Heroes charity.
The Elizabeth Gething Award is made to the “most improved player”. Dave had a hard time selecting someone to single out for this honour, as there were many deserving candidates. Finally Dave made his choice, and at the end of the Emmanuel concert Colonel Ian Brazier, then Commanding Officer of the Joint Support Unit, was invited onto the stage and a presentation was made to an unsuspecting player: John Marsh (Cornet). John has been a dedicated member of the Band for two years and is a worthy recipient of the honour. He always joins in with the spirit of the Band and gives his all.

Farewell Dave and welcome Dave

Having had a quiet couple of months, April and May became very hectic. So much so, that we had to have our leaving run for Dave Matthews prior to the Emmanuel Concert and his actual departure. I’ll spare you all the details, but trust me when I say it was a great party. You’ll have to settle for the group shot of us all with Dave after the Emmanuel concert. Thanks for all your patience and hard work, we will miss you Dave (especially all the stories). Dave’s next posting is an instructor at the Royal Marines School of Music, which I’ve no doubt he has already relaxed into.

BdCSgt Dave Matthews (left) hands over the batton to BdCSgt Dave Boorer

May 6th marked Dave Boorer’s arrival. If you look at the photograph taken to mark the event it is fairly easy to spot the incoming and outgoing bandy. The outgoing one always has the biggest smile and the incoming one the nervous grin. Don’t worry Dave; life being in charge of a band made up of mostly civilians isn’t that bad. Honestly!

Dave’s fist gig, only one rehearsal after he’d arrived, was a farewell dinner for the CO, Col Ian Brazier, at which Dave Matthews reappeared to dine and grin at us from across the room, and to present the CO with a bugle as a mark of thanks from the Band for all his support over the years.

Our own band room

Within two weeks of Dave’s arrival it was time to pack up the band room, store and office and move. The building works continue at Northwood, so it was all change again as on the 1st June we moved into our very own, albeit temporary, band room. This is a luxury for us, as we no longer have to rig up and de-rig for every rehearsal. Actually it’s an old accommodation block which is our temporary stopgap for the next few months. The band store is a converted accommodation TV room with plenty of room for us to chill out during that all important tea/beer break in a rehearsal, with a similar room across the corridor acting as our rehearsal room. Anyone familiar with these rooms will understand why all music in rehearsals is now played ppp out of necessity – good for the intonation skills. We mustn’t get too attached to the space though because with luck our long-term band room will be ready at the end of the summer.

The move all went very smoothly with only a few teething problems such as: finding the new venue (another corner of the base I hadn’t seen before); the logistics of the band office now located a long way from the band room; and “Anyone seen the backing boards?”. Each rehearsal, we searched for them to no avail but eventually Dave found them, don’t say I told you so but…

Festival preparation

No time to rest for Dave. As soon as the band room move was over, we were straight into preparation for the Festival and marching is the order of the day, with Dave giving up fairly quickly on the “softly, softly” approach and bellowing “left, right, left” to whip us into shape. He decided the tennis courts are sufficiently far away from the accommodation for us to use them to rehearse outside in the evenings. No complaints so far so maybe we are improving after all. In the midst of all our enthusiasm for the marching, some of us took time out to go and watch the massed bands of HM Royal Marines, Beating Retreat at Horse Guards. It was awe inspiring to see over 200 musicians in perfect step completing intricate displays. The Corps of Drums was larger than our entire band! For us it was an enforced break because Dave had been “borrowed” from us to take part in the display. I don’t think he minded too much and we all got to have an excuse for another night out.

News from the Northwood Corps of Drums

It would seem that I’ve neglected in previous articles to mention in sufficient detail our COD and as we treasure them highly I decided to give them a special mention.
Penny: So what have you been up to recently Nik?
Nik: We have been fairly busy with the usual mess beatings around the base. Earlier in the year we said goodbye to Bryn Hawkins who has gone on to pastures new. On the plus side we said hello to new Bugler, Kristina Baker. Kristina has been working really hard at learning all the new dots and footwork, and also at keeping the remaining Buglers, Steve, Joel and myself, on the straight and narrow.
Penny: Are you looking forward to the Festival?
Nik: Very much so! We’ve been working hard on our display and on our part in the concert too - bring on the beer!
Penny: Anything else worthy of a special mention?
Nik: Oh yes the digestive biscuit challenge! For those that are unaware this involves the eating of 3 digestive biscuits in under a minute (including swallowing them without the aid of beer). Not as easy as it sounds but on the third attempt Bugler Joel Hawkins succeeded!
The results were quite hilarious to watch - each had their own method - however a warning to anyone that fancies trying this at home - the floor is now peppered with biscuit crumbs!

Other Leavers and Joiners

We are sorry to say goodbye to Joy Parking (Clarinet) but we are delighted to welcome newcomers: Lorna Dodsworth (Oboe); Michael Crowther (Euphonium); and old hands returning for another stint with us - welcome back to Lt Vicky Guilfoyle (Band Officer) and CPO Penny Butler, both on cornet.

Penny

Northwood HQ Band

Last updated January 2010