Another busy weekend for the band was spent travelling to sunny Blackpool to compete at the Spring Festival. This was the first time that the band participated in this revamped competition since 2000. In those days, pre 2000, if you were invited, you entered the Grand Shield section and if you were successful, received an invitation to compete in the British Open. In 2000, however, the organisers saw an opportunity to develop the contest by introducing two further qualifying sections, The Senior Cup and the Senior Trophy. Now, bands could be promoted and relegated and new entrants would have to start at the bottom and progress through all three sections before they can compete in the "Open".

It was frustrating for us, as former winners of the Grand Shield in 1974 and 1985, to find ourselves victims of the relegation system introduced in 2000 and so rather than compete in the lower sections we stopped altogether.

Now, under the inspirational leadership of our Professional Conductor, Dr. Nicholas Childs, the band felt that it was time to get back in the saddle and set out on a journey back to the "Open". On Saturday 10^th May the first part of that journey was completed with aplomb when the band came second in the Senior Trophy playing the set work, Percy Flecher’s "Epic Symphony". The self appointed brass band pundits website 4barsrest.com had us as winners by some margin, however, the judges, Peter Roberts and Geoff Wytham placed us 2^nd but that was not too disappointing because the first four bands receive promotion to the next level. Mark Pye once again covered himself in glory by winning the best soloist prize!

As if to justify my assertion in last month’s magazine that the band is playing very well, it went to Torquay and qualified for a place at the National Finals to be held at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 11^th October 2008. Playing off a No. 7 draw, the band was placed 2^nd from a field of 12 of the best bands in the west – all graded Championship bands! The contest was attended by 72 bands of all abilities and from all points west of Gloucester, Hampshire and Wiltshire. The bands were graded into sections based on previous performances i.e. a promotion and relegation system operates on similar lines to that of the football league. SWT Woodfalls Band is proud that it has been in the top-flight continuously since 1965 – only one of two bands in the west to maintain this record – the other being Camborne Town.

An interesting fact! Disregarding the eighties, the band has recorded a 20% success rate with two qualifications from the fifties, two from the sixties etc. through to the present decade. The eighties were not a disaster – we were 3^rd and 4^th a couple of times but just narrowly missed out on qualification. This was due mainly to the fantastic playing of the Sunlife Band from Bristol that dominated the section for over ten years, winning it every year, this effectively left only one qualification place for the rest of us to fight over. Sadly, or perhaps thankfully, The Sunlife Band disbanded some years ago and since then no band has ever managed to retain the title West of England Champion – this is a measure of how closely matched the top 4 or 5 bands have been in the years since the demise of Sunlife. It would be nice to speculate on the fact that last year we were 3^rd, this year we came 2^nd and perhaps next year we shall become champions again and with it the dream of being the first band to retain its title.

Thus far, 2008 has failed to deliver any tangible reward for the huge amount of effort. The band traveled to Skegness to compete in the Butlins Mineworkers Championships in optimistic mood and full of hope. Perhaps I was caught up in the occasion or perhaps it was that we had the Black Dyke MD but I felt that the band gave a performance that was better than at any time in my memory, which goes back to when I first joined in 1974. Unfortunately, my opinion, and those members of the audience that covered us with equal amounts of praise for the performance and condolences for our placing of ninth, count for nothing. The decisions ultimately rest with the adjudicators and so in true brass band parlance we can only revert to the age-old cliché of "we was robbed" and then move on to the next contest.

Two weeks later and with renewed optimism the band entered the Yeovil entertainment contest. We did much better with a creditable fourth place, this time conducted by our Resident Conductor, Melvin White. The brass band contest road show now moves to Torquay where we have to finish first or second to qualify for a place at the Albert Hall in October. Last year we came third so we are hoping that this year will be our turn – we last qualified in 2002.

Don’t forget that tickets are now on sale for the band’s next concert, which is entitled "A Viennese Spectacular". It takes place at Salisbury Arts Centre on Saturday 29^th March starting at 7:30p.m. Telephone the box office now on 01722321744

The band starts the New Year with the great news that its sponsor, South West Trains has once again renewed the partnership for yet another year. It was way back in 1993 that I first contacted the company with a proposal to sponsor the band. I was told that the trains were not privatised for another 9 months and that I should write back then. I thought this might just have been a kind way of rejecting the approach but, ever the optimist, I wrote back in 1994 and was invited to make a presentation at the head office in London. A brief meeting at which I displayed old pictures and uniforms etc and I was on my way home feeling very negative about the meeting, however, a couple of weeks later and I was approached regarding a full sponsorship on a yearly basis. I subsequently found out later that, at an executive meeting, the weight of probability was against us and in favour of the Bournemouth Orchestra who were also in the running for full sponsorship. It just so happened, however, that one of the directors was the brother of a bass trombone player of Tredegar Town Band and a quick telephone call established our credentials and the rest, as they say, is history! We hope to have a good 2008 and I close this paragraph by wishing you a musically rewarding 2008.

Don’t forget that tickets are now on sale for the "Viennese Spectacular" that takes place at Salisbury Arts Centre on Saturday 29^th March starting at 7:30p.m.

On Saturday 1^st December the band entered the annual Wessex Brass Band Association contest to find its Champion Band and, at the end of the day, South West Trains Woodfalls Band was crowned Champion band of 2007. I had to look up our records to discover that it is 10 years since we last entered and won the local contest that has recently been held at the Pavilion, Weymouth. Before 1997, it was our tradition to end the year by competing at the local association contest but it now falls at such a busy time of year that it just became too much for the band’s busy schedule. However, the current thinking is that we should always have one eye on the local contest, as this is a good source of up-and-coming young brass players that may one day aspire to join our band. Hopefully, any young players listening to our performance of Paganini Variations by Philip Whilby were suitable impressed and we would welcome their interest! It has to be said that local band Shrewton Silver surprised everyone by coming second at the contest, albeit three points behind us but highly commendable nonetheless! Our very own Woodfalls Concert Brass finished in sixth place but this was the first time that the two bands have competed in the same section so well worth a mention.

The band diary for 2008 is now filling up fast with contesting trips to Skegness in January, Torquay in March and Blackpool in May. Locally, we shall be promoting four concerts at the Arts Centre with the first one being a Viennese Spectacular on Saturday 29^th March. Plus we have the P&O Sailings that have become the bread and butter for the band – this year we look forward to playing out the new P&O Flagship, Ventura on 31^st August.

"We Will Remember Them", these are the words that we have all said over the Remembrance weekend. Perhaps, at last, Salisbury District Council have finally realised that they also have a duty to remember those that sacrificed their lives for the freedoms that we enjoy today. The recent "We Will Remember Them" concert on 4^th November was given a last minute boost from the Council when they awarded the band the free use of the City Hall. The Council was urged to make this decision by Frank Lockyer on the grounds that the City Hall was built as a memorial to the fallen and with monies collected locally. We now hear that the Council has gone one step further to make it an annual gesture to the Royal British Legion and for one day each year. This is great news for the concert because we shall now be able to slash the ticket prices and hopefully increase the audience, which incidentally, was already, over 500. We have more plans to make the concert a civic event with representatives from the emergency services, councilors and MP etc. so, if you have any expertise in such matters we would like to hear from you.

It now remains for me to inform you of our Christmas activities. You can see the band at Salisbury Arts Centre on Saturday 15^th December at 7:30p.m. – Tickets £10 & £9 (concession) Tel. 01722-321744. Locally, the band will be playing its annual Christmas concert at the social club next to the Woodfalls Inn. I believe it is free admission and is open to non-members – it starts at 8:00p.m. – Be early to get a seat. This year, with the no smoking ban, the band will be able to breathe so should be better than ever! Have a good Christmas and thank you for supporting your local band!

This is my last opportunity to invite you to attend the revamped "WE WILL REMEMBER THEM" concert. It will be held at the City Hall, Salisbury on Sunday 4^th November starting at 7:30p.m. Rosemary Squiires will be the compere and HM Royal Marines Corp of Drums will be the special stars of the show. Also on the bill will be Salisbury Navy Cadets doing the Hornpipe and the show will climax in traditional style with Sunset featuring the entire company. Tickets can be purchased directly from the box office on 01722434434 at just £10 & £12 - concession available.

One disturbing piece of news to reach me last week was that there is a rumour going around the village that The South West Trains Woodfalls Band has in some way been responsible for the termination of the Woodfalls Junior Band – apparently we evicted them from the band hall. The facts of this are that …we have not! We do require the band hall on a Tuesday (their night) from 8:00p.m. about once a month when our professional conductor visits the band from his home in Yorkshire. This is unavoidable and I am always careful to make sure that they always have plenty of notice so that they can cancel, finish early, or reschedule! I should stress, however, that the Junior band has not disbanded – it has been suspended due to poor attendance and a lack of instructors. I believe that there is a proposal for it to be reformed with rehearsals taking place on a Sunday evening. Finally, I would add that our band has sponsored the junior band for many years. It does not pay anything for the use of the hall or its services – that comes out of our funds!

This month I thought it would be good to look ahead to 2008. We have accepted an invitation to compete in the Mineworkers Brass Band Championships on 19 & 20 January at Skegness. This contest was, until recently, only open to colliery bands but since the decimation of the mining industry and with it, most of the colliery bands, community bands like ours have been asked to fill the void. With the loss of the miner’s pound the organisers have also found it necessary to move the contest into the commercial world of the 21^st century - it is now held at, and sponsored by, Butlins – well, they have to fill the chalets in January some how!

The format for the weekend is a set test-piece on the Saturday and an Entertainment Contest on the Sunday. This means that, to be ready to play on Saturday morning, we shall be travelling to Skeggy on Friday and not getting home until the early hours of Monday morning.

The Black Dyke maestro, Dr. Nicholas Childs, will conduct us and the ambition is to try and win the £6,000 first prize. That may seem like a tall order but the band is playing well and with 4 months to prepare you never know your luck.

One thing’s for sure, as we are staying in chalets in January I’ll be taking plenty of £1 coins for the electric meter.

Surely, the most successful concert that I have put on in recent times has been the annual "We Will Remember Them" concert and this year it promises to be even bigger and better than ever – we are hoping for a sell-out!

In association with the Royal British Legion, this year we have reinvented the format to make it even more like the Festival of Remembrance from the Royal Albert Hall. To this end, we have secured the services of none other than HM Royal Marines Corp of Drums and Bugles. They will perform one of their fantastic world renowned displays plus other participation in all the traditional aspects of this concert i.e. Last Post and Reveille, Sunset and they will also create a drumhead alter for the Service of Remembrance. There will be a hornpipe display from the Naval Cadets plus this year we have answered your request for more 40s community singing, which will be led by Rosemary Squires. Rosemary has also agreed to compere the show in her inimitable convivial style. We have also promised to play some Glenn Miller music so all in all this year will be the best ever!

The concert will be one week earlier than in previous years and on a Sunday instead of the usual Friday but we think this earlier date of Sunday 4^th November will suit everyone. This year we are delighted to announce that we have secured a sponsor in Doccombe Transport, they have agreed to sponsor the programmes so if you would like to advertise in this glossy programme please contact me for details. The tickets are now on sale through the box office at just £10 & £12 with concessions. Telephone:- 01722-434434

On September 16^th the band will be embarking on a new venture to compete at the Wychavon Entertainment Contest. This contest has been running for over 20 years and it attracts some of the finest bands in the midlands. September is usually a dormant month for our band, falling as it does between summer and winter, a time when we usually take a breather from the summer events. It is hoped that this year the Wychavon contest will fill the void and launch us into the autumn season of concerts and contests.

The next autumn concert will be at Salisbury Arts Centre on Saturday 29^th September tel. 01722-321744. This will be the 3^rd in the 2007 series, and so far, each concert is attended more than the last - obviously word is getting out that this is a very nice concert venue! The theme of the concert is the ever-popular ‘Last Night of the Proms’ so be sure to bring your flags etc.

This month I bring news of a business opportunity. The band has some large rooms that are currently home to just a few spiders, and so we would like to let the rooms for business purposes. This would be an ideal opportunity for a local cottage industry to expand or perhaps to have an over spill storage unit. The rooms have a private entrance and are completely self-contained with lockable front and rear entrances. The band only rehearses in the evenings so there should be no conflict of use or sound and you will not encroach on any band space. Room 1 is 28’X12’ & room 2 is 20’X10’. In addition, and contained within the lockable space, you have a private kitchen, WC & shower room. The rental will be £6,000 per annum.

NEXT CONCERTS

Friday 20^th July – Downton School

Saturday 21^st July – New House, Redlynch

The first is an outdoor picnic concert (is there any other kind) at the Trafalgar (Downton) School on Friday 20^th July. The concert will commence at 6:30 with a performance by the School Junior Band with our band starting at 7:30. The concert will climax with a mini Last Night of the Proms set so bring your flags! We did this engagement for the first time last year and the setting behind the school is beautifully pastoral with views across the water meadow - a fine way to spend a summer evening! Tickets can be purchased directly from the school.

The second concert is the very next day on Saturday 21^st July at the New House, Redlynch. This time the Redlynch Players will be headlining as they celebrate their 50^th Anniversary with an outdoor (there is another kind but not nearly so nice) play entitled Toad of Toad Hall. The band has been invited to join forces with the Fordingbridge Choral Society in, wait for it, a grand finale of Last Night of the Proms – more flag waiving and singing!

Before all of that, get yourself in the mood at the Salisbury Arts Centre on Saturday 23^rd June. We shall be performing the second of our 2007 concert series entitled, A Night at the Opera. Telephone the box office now on 01722-321744 for a choice of ticket options.

CONCERT NEWS - This month I bring news of an opportunity for you to listen to one of the best in the world!

That is quite a claim but I feel confident in making it. Steven Mead is one of the finest euphonium players of his generation and he will be accompanied by our band in a concert to be held at the Boscombe Salvation Army Hall on Friday 4^th May 2007. Steven is a former Boscombe Salvationist and spent his formative years playing second euphonium to Graham Lawrence, our solo euphonium player!   It is because of this contact that Steven has agreed to find the time in his busy schedule of touring the world as a soloist to make a rare return visit to his roots to play some of his favourite solos. To book tickets for this special one-off concert telephone 01202-567921 now.

Later, at the Salisbury Arts Centre on Saturday 23^rd June, we shall be performing the second of our concert series which is called A Night at the Opera. The programme is being selected as we speak but some of the early suggestions include The Pearle Fishers, On With the Motley and Phantom of the Opera, so you will be in for a treat! Telephone the box office now on 01722-321744 for a choice of ticket options.

CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR! Huge disappointment was experienced by our band members on Sunday 11^th March when at the Riviera Centre, Torquay, the band missed out on one of the two qualification places for the Royal Albert Hall by just one point! Third was the band’s final placing after a day in which everything went according to plan except the final decision. Elsewhere in Woodfalls, the corks will be popping as Woodfalls Concert Brass managed to achieve a superb 2^nd place in the first section that will give them a qualification to the lower section finals held at Harrogate in September – congratulations to them! If they keep this up it will not be too long before we have both Woodfalls Bands in the top section – what a thrill that would be.

The good news from our point of view is that the association with us and the Black Dyke conductor, Dr. Nicholas Childs has blossomed into a commitment by both parties to continue with the development of the band and it is hoped that future contests and projects will bring inevitable rewards. The next contest will be The International Masters in Cambridge at the end of May.