| Strike Up The Band | Send In The Clowns | El Companchero |
| Selections From Barnum | ||
| A Sucker Born Every Minute | One Brick At A Time | Come Follow The Band |
| The Colours Of Life | Come Join The Circus | |
At 7am on January 1st we travelled to London for the New Years Day Parade through the City. It was obvious that most of us were feeling the effects of a hangover from the night before, so the 2 hour journey to the centre of London was very quiet. It was an extremely cold morning which only added to our woes and severe sense of humour failures. We arrived at the muster point and soon marched off, parading through the streets of London past some of the famous landmarks. At the halfway point the Mayor of London sat watching the procession and acknowledged the participants of the parade. There were a panel of judges sat alongside the Mayor taking note of the drill, appearance and musical ability of the band. We stopped here and played through The Return of the Jedi before marching off again. We were eventually announced as the runners-up behind the Conquest Alliance, and whilst many believe that there was a slight mix-up in the rules, I believe it was the overpowering stench of alcohol coming from the band that let us down! We were grateful to get back on the buses and return home after what has to go down as one of the band's worst engagements.
At the annual inspection ceremony in January the band were presented with a large cheque by Mr. Geoghehan, the General Manager of British Aerospace, Filton. We had recently landed upon a three year sponsorship deal with the company which involved cash payments and rehearsal facilities within the grounds of British Aerospace. Mr. Geoghegan remarked on that evening "It seems fitting that the two most successful organisations to come out of the South West of England should come together to form a perfect partnership."
It was decided that this year's show was to be unlike anything that we'd tried before. Based on a circus theme the idea was to provide more entertainment for the spectators and fun for the band whilst performing. Dave also felt that it was time for a uniform change, doing away with the old white shirts, instead opting for a more up to date look with white tunics for the wind section and green for the percussion. The trousers and skirts were only very slightly altered with a thinner gold stripe down the seams. Alexandra Workwear were the new sponsors of our uniform and they did an excellent job in getting them ready for the new championship season. The colour guard, rifle guard and majorettes were also given a change of uniform, although this time it was styled around the display's new theme, dressing in colourful clown out-fits and top hat and tails.
It took a little longer than usual to learn this year's display and the show still wasn't fully finished when we made our first public appearance in May for our fete at Blaise Castle. The band put on three shows in total and for the final performance we changed into the new uniforms, adding the finishing touches of the citation cords and epaulettes. During the show it poured down with rain, well and truly christening the uniforms.
During June and July we entered four regional competitions at Hornchurch, Eastleigh, Midsomer Norton and Hove, winning at all four. Before the contest at Hove we travelled to the R.E.M.E. Barracks in Reading to take part in their Open Day. We stayed overnight, taking full advantage of the Army's sports facilities (and cheap bar!). It was here that the band was issued with white belts for their uniforms, replacing the very worn and discoloured cummerbunds.
Also in June we welcomed our friends, the Damiate Band from Haarlem, Holland who were over for a weekend of performances with us at the British Aerospace Family Day and our own International Tattoo on Sunday 28th June at the Whitchurch Sports Centre.
On 18th August the band left Bristol for a two week tour of the east coast of the USA. We flew out from London's Heathrow Airport on Pan Am flight 103 at 1800 and landed at New York's JFK Airport at 2030 (0130 GMT). There was an incredibly frustrating three hour wait before getting through the US customs and immigration. We finally boarded the Greyhound buses and were taken to the Holiday Inn, North Bergen just outside of New York. It was past midnight when the band were eventually shown to their rooms.
WEDNESDAY 19th AUGUST
Everybody was up at 730am for breakfast and already it was hot outside. Today was to be our first performance in America, a short concert on the steps to the City Hall in New York. After breakfast the lorry was unloaded and there were chaotic scenes as over a hundred people were trying to locate their uniforms, instruments and equipment outside of the hotel. Eventually we left the hotel for the City and paraded in front of the City Hall, before lining the steps to play through the championship routine. Almost immediately after this we formed up to play in concert, opening with the traditional Standard of St George with the colour guard, majorettes and rifles also performing their respective items, Yesterday When I Was Young, Gonna Build A Mountain and St Louis Blues which went down particularly well with the American audience. The concert closed with the playing of both the British and American National Anthems, followed by a brief appearance by the Mayor of New York who unfortunately had been ill over the summer months so it was indeed a great honour for him to say a few words, officially welcoming us to the City.
We were given a little time for sightseeing visiting China Town, Broadway, The Empire State Building and The World Trade Centre.
THURSDAY 20th AUGUST
Early the next morning (again!) we were up preparing for a five hour coach journey to Washington D.C. The trip took us across the state lines of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland before the coaches eventually pulled up outside of The Harrington Hotel where we were to stay for three nights. The evening was left free to do as we wished, and most of us took up the opportunity to look around the surrounding area before returning to the hotel later in the evening.
FRIDAY 21st AUGUST
It was yet another early start to the day. Today we visited the Arlington National Cemetery, the final resting place of some of America's most honoured citizens. During our visit we were fortunate enough to witness a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier which is a memorial dedicated to all those American servicemen missing in action. We also saw the memorials to J F Kennedy and the seven astronauts who lost their lives on the Challenger Space Shuttle. Our stay here was brief as we had to return to the hotel and get ready for a display at the Western Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue in the centre of the City. On completion of this show there was a quick change out of uniform for another sightseeing tour, this time of the J F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts and the Capitol Building.
Our tour guides were hilarious, and you couldn't miss them with their bright umbrellas which they held up every time they wanted your attention. It was increasingly difficult to take them seriously and we would probably have appeared ungrateful to them, but they had yet to fathom that good old British sense of humour which unfortunately for them involved their ridicule!
It had been a tiring day and we were once again left with a free evening although there was an organised trip to the Washington Monument (Cleopatra's Needle) for those who still had the energy.
SATURDAY 22nd AUGUST
It had rained heavily overnight and it was still drizzling when we got up in the morning to leave for a sightseeing tour of the White House. The buses stopped en route at the Jefferson Memorial, a dome like structure attributed to the third president of the United States, with a fantastic view of the Washington Monument over the river. The tour of the White House lasted over an hour and there were rigorous security checks prior to entry with no cameras allowed inside which was unfortunate, as there were quite a few opportune moments for quality poses in front of various ornaments and rooms!
It was just after 1pm when we left the House and said goodbye to our excellent, but by now incredibly weary tour guides, who no doubt decided to take a well earned break to receive some sort of counselling! The evening was left free to pack as we were leaving the following day for Bristol, Pennsylvania just outside of Philadelphia. An early night was advised (?!)
SUNDAY 23rd AUGUST
All the cases were packed and we were on the road again. Our stay in Washington will be memorable for many reasons not least for the good time had in the Harrington Hotel, (I returned to Washington DC in October 1999, and can assure you all the hotel is still there, and still in the same need of repair!).
The journey to Bristol took a little over three hours. We arrived at the Truman High School, where we were to be hosted by members and families of the Truman Tiger Band for the next three days. The evening was left free to acquaint ourselves with our new hosts.
MONDAY 24th AUGUST
The whole of the day was left free with hosts (at last a lie in!) until the evening when we performed in concert at the Bandshell beside the river. Before this however we paraded through parts of the town to draw attention to the concert, rather like the Pied Piper! It was a warm evening and we played to a packed and enthusiastic crowd. After numerous presentations by various dignitaries the band formed up for the field display. By now it was beginning to get dark and, at the end of the performance all we could see were Richard Lorriman's white gloves and everyone else's white shoes. Our shows were given highly complimentary remarks by the local newspapers the next day.
TUESDAY 25th AUGUST
Today we were off to perform and sightsee in Philadelphia, America's most historic city, where the Declaration of Independence was signed and home of the Liberty Bell.
At noon the band performed on the JFK Plaza in the centre of the city. We started with a static run through of the year's routine, followed by a concert similar to the one played in New York. After the shows we all got changed out of uniform for an afternoon of shopping and sightseeing, with many of us rather sadly reliving a "Rocky" moment by running up and down the steps shouting "Adrian!" Funny at the time, but extremely embarrassing now! We got to see the famous Liberty Bell and were given a history lesson on the Declaration, which the Americans were evidently extremely proud of and took great delight in telling the story to a few bemused Brits. We left the city for a twenty minute drive back to Bristol where we were treated to a barbeque at the Truman High School and presented with a souvenir gift by the Musical Director of the Tiger Truman Band. This was to be our last evening in Bristol, so the evening was left free with our host families.
WEDNESDAY 26th AUGUST
All good things come to an end, and we said an early farewell to our superb hosts before setting off for a visit to Hershey. It was here that we visited the world famous Hershey Chocolate World, followed by an afternoon at Hershey Park, a huge amusement complex featuring rollercoaster and water rides for those brave enough to want to go on them, as it was a very dull and overcast day making it difficult to dry off.
At seven o'clock we assembled at the car park and were then taken to the "Quality" Inn, a hotel just outside of Hershey. The evening was free to relax or take advantage of the hotel's apparently heated open air pool.
THURSDAY 27th AUGUST
On another dull morning, all the suitcases were loaded back onto the buses and we departed for our journey to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. We were scheduled to arrive at Bethlehem's Liberty High School at 1430, but arrived some three hours late after stopping en route for lunch and a bizarre sightseeing tour of an Amish village. Here in Bethlehem, (Christmas City as it's affectionately known!) we were to be hosted by members of the two hundred strong Liberty High School Grenadier Band who had visited us in the previous year.
As soon as we got off the buses we were introduced to our new hosts, and souvenirs of the Liberty Band were immediately given to us, which included a recording of the band live at the Royal Albert Hall and a Christmas tree decoration! During our evening off many of us were taken to the town's Musicfest, a festival that invites musicians from all over the world to participate in.
FRIDAY 28th AUGUST
At 11am the band had to be at the Liberty High School for a rehearsal on the school fields. There was some confusion about what we were supposed to wear, so we had half the band in civvies and the other half in uniform. We then put on a full uniformed display for the Grenadier Band followed by a performance of their own which was incomplete as they were still in the process of learning their show for the American football season which started in September. Once again the rest of the day and evening was left free with the hosts.
SATURDAY 29th AUGUST
At last today showed signs of some brighter weather. We were to take part in the Musicfest in the afternoon for what was to be our last show of the trip. After warming up at the side of the street the band paraded through the streets of Bethlehem, stopping once to play through the championship routine before putting on an hour long concert. Our final performance in the USA was completed by the playing of the two National Anthems before loading all the instruments and uniforms onto the truck ready for our departure the next day. The rest of the day was spent at a picnic site with the Grenadier Band, and by five o'clock the bands all left for a free evening.
SUNDAY 30th AUGUST
Today we left Bethlehem and boarded the coaches for our return journey to New York. Once again we stayed at the Holiday Inn for our final night's stay in America. The time was our own until teatime when we had to assemble for our evening meal and presentations to those who had worked tirelessly to ensure that our stay in America ran smoothly. One of the American tour organisers presented the band with a plaque and the gesture was returned by giving some of our own band memorabilia, along with some words of thanks for the excellent organisation of a truly memorable trip. It had been a tiring two weeks, but once again we were afforded the luxury of some very warm and friendly hosts, and some well organised excursions. Even when we all look back on the rather run down Harrington Hotel in Washington we have some wonderful memories of how we made the most of the situation, and are thankful that Darren Nation looked old enough to buy alcohol! Oh yes, and we were extremely grateful for those free Pan Am bags so that we could sneak it all past those spying eyes of the instructors! The haircuts weren't that bad either were they, Paul Phillips?!
We were supposed to leave the hotel at 5am, but four members of the band (Steve Annette, Elliot Osborne, Seath Herbert and one other) overslept after spending much of the evening trying to dry their room out because the bathroom had flooded. This was due to a rather large blockage in the toilet caused by something Elliot had eaten! We checked into the airport an hour late, but thankfully had none of the problems experienced getting into the country and the flight left on time at 9am.
In September the band took part in the final regional competition of the year at Nottingham before the British Championships in November. The 3rd Glasgow Boys Brigade were competing in this contest and like us, they had so far gone undefeated at any B.Y.B.A. Competition. It was a close run contest, but we won the supreme title and were also named as the B.Y.B.A. League Champions for the fifth year running.
During October the band spent a weekend at Colerne to make final preparations for the British Championships. Although the music stayed the same there were some visual alterations made to the show.
Before travelling to London on Sunday November 8th we led the Remembrance service at the Cenotaph in Bristol. This meant meeting early at the Lochiel and we were instructed to wear our old uniforms in order to keep the others clean and tidy for the championship later that day. The parade was over by mid-day and we were soon on the coaches travelling across to London. It was clear that by the time we pulled up at the Wembley car park we were all feeling a little apprehensive. We hadn't rehearsed the show fully for five days.
The 3rd Glasgow Boys Brigade performed before us and had apparently brought the house down with an emotional rendition of the 1812 Overture. Unfortunately when it came to our performance, for whatever reason, things just did not work out for us. The show was a huge disappointment, and even though our fantastic and ever loyal supporters did their best to raise our spirits, we knew deep down there was every chance that we might not retain our title. There were no excuses, we were just not good enough on the day. Having gone nearly four years undefeated in field competition we were announced as Runners-up to the new British Champions, 3rd Glasgow Boys Brigade, but yet again ahead of the Blue Eagles Drum & Bugle Corps who were placed third. It was admittedly a bitter pill to swallow, but to win with a performance such as the one we had put on would have been undeserving, so we left Wembley defeated, but with a promise as always, to return the following year. Defeated, but definitely not down!
For a week in December we spent our evenings touring some of the districts of North Bristol on a decorated carol float in order to raise more funds for the band. It proved to be so worthwhile that it was decided this event would take place every year.
Halfway through the year it was reported that our president, Mr. David Lansdown had sadly passed away after suffering a long illness. Mr. Lansdown had been the band president since its formation in 1979 and during those years had been a tremendous help both financially and in ensuring that the band travelled in comfort whilst on his coaches.
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