Torquay 2007 – Voyage into the unknown once again
Finally the waiting was over- the weeks of practice were at an end and we set off for the West of England Championship with Captain Roland at the helm desperate to prove ourselves worthy of the third section and show the world what we were made of. By the end of the weekend we had certainly done that, both on and off the stage, although to what avail we are still not too sure.
Friday night started with the customary band meal at a very hospitable Chinese restaurant. The meal was a pleasant unremarkable affair apart form the suspicious doggie bags kidnapped for the Wright family and the amazing quantities of food consumed by Gaz in the interests of a night off from the diet. Joe (our new mascot) certainly seemed to enjoy communing with his new band chums, even if he wasn’t entirely sure what was happening.
The hotel this year was faded in décor but more than made up for that in the general bonhomie and atmosphere created by the host and his staff. There was a brief moment when I felt that we had all been transported back to the seventies but then realised that I was not having a Life On Mars out of body experience and it was still 2007. The car park was like the Krypton Factor of parking crossed with Kerplunk but, since it was only us staying there we only annoyed each other – what’s new?
A few genteel beers later and we retired to bed to psych ourselves up for the challenge of the next day – you could say the Prelude to the Jubilate we hoped for!
Saturday kicked off with the traditional fry up except for Gaz who had forsaken his seafood (see food?) diet for an apple. Oh the self control of the man! Then it was into the rehearsal which was actually pretty good – well, the band were good and we WAGS were the pretty ones! Still Roland was quite happy until we received the glad tidings that we were drawn number one. ‘It’s a sign,’ I cried, remembering the glory year of Lydian Pictures – ‘don’t be so stupid, ’yelled all the rest of the serious musos.
So over to the Riviera centre we went, the air dripping with anticipation or was that just Joe’s nappy? The band went round the back and as I am not a playing member at the moment, I have no idea what happened there so I will invent something involving an inflatable fish, a flying helmet and an egg whisk (or was that too many reruns of Allo Allo?) Anyway the band took to the stage and had a chance to have a good blow by starting the section with the National Anthem. Into the performance we went – the band acquitted itself very well and did not choke at the start which had become something of a Downton Band tradition. Notable solo efforts were Matt on sop, and Jolyon on horn at the very exposed start, Gaz and Rachel on cornet, Lloyd duetting with Gaz, stand in supersub Kevin Hillman- is he a euphonium?, no he’s a cornet no he’s an Eb bass! The scarlet pimpernel of Downton Band – where will he be next? The appreciative WAGs group whooped their delight from the auditorium and whistled embarrassingly so the adjudicator might think the band had done even better than they thought.
After the gruelling start to the morning, the band was in need of liquid refreshment and was confident that they could prove their credentials even more convincingly in the Riviera centre bar. By our standards we were quite restrained. Most of us made the auditorium to hear our 10th place without any chance of mooning. We were bemused by this placing as we felt that we had performed well and deserved a higher position. There was no clarification when we read the remarks as they seemed very complimentary. Generally a bit peeved we decided to repair to Albert’s Bar. Rugby was watched and many beers were drunk and the foundations of Rachel (WAG soon to be Pearce)’s initiation were laid. Some of the band warmed up their drinking heads quicker than others. Danny came over all unnecessary and Gaz practised lurching at every opportunity. Some of us saved ourselves for the evening of excitement in store.
Following on from the band meal at the hotel, which again could be described as touchingly retro, we headed for a skittle and karaoke evening- an opportunity for the band to bond once again. The skittle teams were formed up and people dusted down their skittling knowledge to psych out the opposition. Others of us just chucked stuff and hoped. Still it went quite well as my team ended up runners up to the great Gaz and his skittling posse. So elated was he by his victory that karaoke transformed itself into Garyoke. He reached new pinnacles of vocal entertainment matched only by Jolyon with his adventurous warblings. Even the silver fox gave a rendition, as did Fred who was obviously auditioning for his new role of chairman by singing Whitney Houston for all he was worth. Rachel continued her drinking masterclass, outperforming many of the lads and maintaining her extremely good cheer. Rachel Bartlett showed that she had an excellent voice and even managed several duets with Gaz – not a bad achievement for a woman in her delicate state! The evening eventually drew to a close in a haze of beer, spirits and Gaz.
Sunday was ushered in very quietly with Rachel (soon to be Pearce) not even managing breakfast and some other notable absences. Afterwards the hotel manager gave us our most positive feedback of the weekend and then the majority of the band chose to extricate their cars from the car park or head off to the Riviera centre to hear some of the other sections. Roland prepared himself mentally for the Championship section and Rachel prepared herself physically for the journey home. Joe decided to donate some of his nappy bags to her to avoid those embarrassing vomit in the car incidents.
All in all another excellent weekend was had by all with the only fly in the ointment our possible relegation to the fourth section when we may once again be subsumed by a cast of thousands. Here’s to Torquay 2008 whatever it may bring.
Our thanks go to those who helped us out over and above the call of duty
Rachel and Lloyd( good luck with future Bartlett)
Kevin and Laura
Matt on percussion
Jolyon
(although all these good people are rapidly becoming an integral part of the band )
Thanks to the whole band for your dedication and good humour.