France 2005
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The Bands second tour of Brittany, France, originated one early
morning in August outside of the bandroom, ’The Barn’ in the centre of
Whiston. As normal on these occasions when waiting for the tour bus to arrive
the men and women stand around in two distinct groups. The men talking about
men things i.e. the fishing tackle which is going to catch the ‘Big One’ in
the river which runs through the village Josselin which is to be the Bands
base for the tour. Alternatively, the women stand around and read newspapers
(Kath) or discuss how many pairs of shoes they have brought with them and
which dresses they have had to leave at home. The sensible people i.e. the.’
kids’ stand around patiently. |
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The first concert of the tour was played at beautiful seaside
location in the town of Quiberon, which is located on the south west of
Brittany. On this particular day the weather was glorious and the bands
playing attracted a fairly large audience although this picture is misguiding
in this respect. Additionally on this day, a female beech volleyball
competition was taking place to the rear of the sun-shading marquee much to
the appreciation of the bass and percussion sections. Following the days
action, band playing not volley ball, the band members and their families
spent time soaking up the sun on the beech and enjoying the local French
cuisine i.e. chips, hamburgers and kebabs |
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By the second day of the tour the bands reputation had spread to the town
of Pontivy in central Brittany evidenced by the much larger audience although
there were still a few spare seats in the stalls The location for this
concert was in the very centre of Pontivy and the time, mid afternoon.
Consequently, when the band had finished playing all the shops and
restaurants were shut. (Absolutely, no connection to playing standards and
the fact that the band is English). At least the band had one complementary
listener, from, apparently, the Timpanist of the ‘House Hold Cavalry’, who
said in a slurred cockney accent that the band were “commendable”. Thought: ‘
Isn’t it funny that when bands play in town centres that they attract weird
people!’ |
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The Band hit the big time the following day, for the location for the
next concert was the beautiful island sanctuary of Le Mont St Michel which
can be see in the back ground of the group picture opposite (Taken from 2004
tour). On a rock in the sea the religious monument of St Michel was built, so
as you can imagine and see in the picture the route to the top of the
monument is b***** steep! And to get the all the bands gear to the concert site was a monumental
(no pun intended) task. Actually we stopped climbing half way up and played
on a small patch of ‘greenery’, seen in the picture bottom right, to a very
appreciative audience made up of people from many nations, see below. |
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Rennes, the capital city of the region of Brittany, France was the location
for the next concert in the tour and the Band were very fortunate to be able
to play in a band stand in the most beautiful of parks. The gardens of the
park were spectacular with many fine specimen flowers shrubs and trees. The
residents of Rennes were seen to use the park to relax and soak up the sun
(See Below) yet on this particular day the ambiance was somewhat improved, we
think, by the magnificent sounds of a traditional ‘English’ brass band. The
Bands resident audience (Rock groups have ‘Groupies’) were also seen (bottom
right) to sit back and let the time and the tranquil atmosphere roll over
them (They just look knackered to me). |
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St Malo is a medieval walled town on the northern coast of Brittany and
provided an excellent spot for the Band to enjoy a day exploring the ramparts
of the old fort of St Malo (Opposite)…
…Or to spend the day on
the beech…
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St Malo also provided the chance for the Band to get out their
instruments and have a ‘blow’. Well that’s what we went to France to do! The
location for the Band’s concert was out side the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall to
you and me) and the walls here helped form a magnificent amplifying acoustic,
a good job since the French at this stage in the tour had started to become a
little inquisitive towards our music making yet generally kept their
distance. (Note the empty seats in the stalls again) We think this must have
something to do with the collection boxes located in front of the Band. Good
eye sight the French and good hearing! |
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Following a long day in St Malo (We arrived back at our base after midnight)
we were up early the next day to travel to Vannes, a picturesque inland port
for yet another concert in a bandstand. However this was no ordinary
bandstand yet had an electrical socket and had been specially washed out with
disinfectant just before we arrived (We cant work out why?) |
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On the same day we also travelled to another small town on the south
west coast of Brittany called Sarzeau and again we pitched our tent outside
the Hotel De Ville (I think this must be the French equivalent of our Travel
Lodge or Ibis Hotel chains). By this time in the tour, our reputation had
spread vastly in as much that every concert now warranted the wearing of
formal band jackets. No one said anything about bringing along dress shirts
so we wore our jackets over the free issue Whiston Brass polo shirt. Have you
ever tried wearing an elasticised ‘dicky bow’ with a polo shirt? Makes ones
head look as though it’s disappearing down the bell end of an instrument. |
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And so our last concert of the tour was given in the town, which had
been our base for the last 12 days, Josselin. Located just south of central
Brittany, Josselin holds its weekly market on a Saturday morning. Here very
fresh produce can be purchased including sea crabs which Ben our Second Euphonium
player found out when the crab decided it did not want to play third
euphonium. Fortunately, dropping the crab in the communal tea urn sorted
things out but unfortunately tainted the tea much to the annoyance of Kath
for the remainder of the tour. Initially we were going
to play our concert in the centre of the market in Josselin surrounded by the
stalls selling pungent cheese, seafood, garlic etc, yet since playing a brass
instrument involves taking in large amounts of air we decided again to plump
for playing outside the Josselin branch of the Hotel De Ville chain seen in
the picture opposite |
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So our tour of Brittany France came to an end 12 days after it had
begun much to the disappointment of all who were privileged to have been part
of it. The tour involved around thirty people living, working, socialising
and of course playing music together. To accomplish this without any form of
distress is a credit to every one concerned. To all our friends in Josselin
and other parts of Brittany who helped arrange this tour on our behalf we
extend our sincerest thanks. We hope that you, the reader have enjoyed a
little of the flavour of our tour and that the taste of garlic diminishes
quickly. Vive La France - On Ilkey Moor Bhat Tat |
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September 2005