Here we are at the start of yet another year - what happened to 2008?
We will start our article by updating you on our recent engagements. As we signed off last year we were fast approaching Christmas and we had our usual round of Christmas dinners, carol services and concerts. All were received very well and by the time we had played at our final dinner we were all ready for leave. When we came back from our break it was eyes down and preparation for Burns Night at Sultan Wardroom. Now this is normally a fairly short gig with the usual ceremony of piping in the haggis, a rousing toast to the haggis that nobody really understands and the Band playing loads of Scottish ballads. Not for us this year; new routine but no-one thought to tell the Band. Suddenly there was a laddie toasting the ladies and then later a lady toasting the laddies, again in some jargon that none of us could really understand, and we finally finished playing at 2330! At this point we should welcome Jay to the Band and reiterate to him that not all the gigs go on this late. We had told him that it would be finished by 2230! It was also great to welcome back some of our past members: Ken Mann, Tina Ball and Ken Walker. We just hoped the late night and selection of music didn’t deter them from returning.
Our last engagement was the Valentine’s Dinner, again at Sultan Wardroom and thankfully this didn’t go on too late, which was probably just as well as Ken Walker was getting very concerned as to where he might find a late night opening garage to pick up a bunch of flowers and a card. Who said romance was dead? Due to the fact that we used every single piece of music we had rehearsed at the previous dinner we were determined that there would be ample to cover this one, so on the order of music at the bottom was an additional list shown as Spares. Not wishing to mention any names but if anyone knows of a piece of music called ‘Spares’ could they let Margaret Holland know and then we will ensure we play it at the next dinner!
Looking ahead we are preparing for a number of dinners for various organisations, the charity cocktail party, Divisions and of course the Band Festival. These engagements will involve all sections of the Band; concert band, Corps of Drums, small combinations so it's eyes down at rehearsals over the coming months.
In February it was arranged for two nenbers of the Corps of Drums, Tom Parsons and Chris Blockley-Webb, to attend a Drum Majors' training day down at RMSoM. This was received well and both are looking forward to a return visit. Our thanks go to Drum Major Graham Scollick for his help and patience.
On the social front we had a very enjoyable Christmas Social at a local hostelry. Although not on the scale of Christmases past, we still had a great time and of course we had to have our raffle. As usual the draw was conducted in a fair manner and gasps could be heard all round the pub when the first ticket out was for Denby Grant who unfortunately couldn’t be there. As the phrase ‘same old faces’ echoed around the room Lynne Mabon had the task of picking the ticket for selecting the prize. Was it going to be one of the bottles of spirits, or perhaps the wine, maybe even the chocolates or biscuits? No, a rather nice selection of ladies' toiletries. Phew. "Thank goodness that prize had gone" could be heard whispered in the background by various guests. It was good to see some familiar faces back to support us and, as we always say at Sultan, you are always welcome. Looking forward, we now have plans for trips to the theatre to see West Side Story and Chicago and another night down at the Greyhound Stadium. Additionally, by the time this article is read the Corps of Drums will have been to the Mountbatten Festival of Music.
Slowly but surely our numbers are beginning to rise and we welcome back Mark Gosling and Ken Walker. It is also good to see Vinnie Vinniecombe back with the Band after a short trip on HMS Invincible. He and Tom Parsons are now civilians and we wish them well for the future. Also we welcome Eddie McDermott to our flute section and Sarah Keane to our Corps of Drums.
Well, it is a short but sweet article this time but we just wanted to let you all know that things are going well at Sultan.
ACN

Last updated October 2009