It has been ages since I wrote an article for the website and it is high time that I brought things up to date with a short review of the year.

As with any year there have inevitably been some lows but Betteshanger Band have experienced more than their fair share of highs and it is a healthy situation to be in when we have got more than 40 players on the books!

This is not as one might think because there is a shortage of brass bands in the area; indeed there are two others quite close by. Despite this fact a number of our players travel reasonably large distances from Canterbury, Thanet and the Folkestone area twice a week for rehearsals as well as for the concerts, which are, in the main, centred in the Deal and Dover areas.

Of course it is easy for me to say, living in the area, but I know that if I were in the same position I would travel too. This is a wonderful band to be a part of and is a real pleasure to play with. It is a great balance of fun, friendship and serious music making which genuinely gives audiences a great deal of pleasure.

This year we have done our usual round of bandstand jobs from Deal to Herne Bay and if the audiences were anything to judge by brass bands are as popular with the crowds as ever. I recall looking out towards the audience at Deal and being very surprised at the turnout as indeed I was at Herne Bay where this excellent venue was so packed that there was standing room only.

Ivor Thomas (Eb Bass) spent his 80th birthday on the bandstand and was presented with a cake by our Musical Director David Burridge and Band Secretary Karen Griffiths. Prior to the event Ivor’s daughter Sue, who organised the cake, had a conversation with me where the cake filling was discussed. This most serious of matters was on the verge of stalemate, Sue insisting on a sponge filling and me enthusiastically promoting the real benefits of fruit fillings. The matter was brought to a successful conclusion when the cake was made half and half and a conflict avoided.
Karen and I then discussed the matter of candles. I suggested a huge candle but Karen was not having any of it. She insisted on 80 individual candles but this left the tricky issue of getting the cake and all of its lit candles to the bandstand intact from the nearby beach hut where they were to be lit.
It was then that I hit upon what can only be described at the ‘genius’ idea of using those candles, which do not blow out and relight themselves. The candles were duly lit and Karen walked to the bandstand with the cake. By the time she reached the bandstand the cake was like a scene from the ‘Towering Inferno’ and the paper frill on its edge was well ablaze. For a spectacular photo look at the ‘news’ page on this site.

We have done plenty of charity jobs too ranging from the annual Burma Star remembrance service hymns and Remembrance Sunday to the full concert we recently gave at the Martha Trust care home. I have said this many times before but these jobs give both the audiences and the band the greatest pleasure of all and are so worthwhile that it is hard to put into words the effect they have. At the end of the Martha Trust concert the Director made a speech of thanks, which summed up beautifully just how much it meant to the staff and patients that the band had given up their time to perform and we have been asked to return next year.

The band was also asked to play hymns at the funeral of a lady in Dover who had been a lifelong fan of brass music and a small ensemble was organised and, led by Alan Sessions who is normally to be seen on trombone, were able to get some time off work and fulfil her wish of having a brass band play at her funeral.

One of the lows of the year was the death of our Chairman Frank Squires. Frank had been with the band as both player and Chairman for many years and died peacefully in his sleep following a family birthday party. Frank is much missed and was a cheerful soul and was always ready with a funny story. The whole band took the day off work to play at Frank’s funeral, which was held at St. Leonard’s Church in Deal where as well as the hymns we played Mozart’s ‘Ave Verum’, arranged by the late Chris Cole, himself a former Betteshanger bandsman, and one of Frank’s favourite pieces ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’.

Toward the end of the year Sarah Summersall (percussion) and Calvin Frith (Bass Trombone) joined the band having moved down from Yorkshire to study music at Canterbury. They are both welcome additions to the band and we hope that they will be happy here.

This year our main Christmas concert was held at Dover Town Hall and not at the usual Deal Quarterdeck venue. The Quarterdeck was totally unsuitable for the band to perform in and was an unpleasant room for the audience to be entertained in. Dover Town Hall is a spectacular venue and is far more pleasant for band and audience alike. The audience turnout was pretty good but we all hope that with the change of venue this will grow into one of the areas biggest Christmas attractions in years to come and would especially like to welcome some new fans from the Dover area all of whom said they would be back next year with their families and friends.

The night was made special by the presentation of awards to Fred Thomson (Euphonium) for 50 years and Ivor Thomas (Eb Bass) for 65 years of service to the Brass Band Movement, which were made by Sally Coleman of S.C.A.B.A.

The Dover Town Hall concert was also the setting for an historic event for the band. This was Betteshanger Learner Bands first public performance outside the band room and was a great moment.
Prior to the main band playing the youngsters performed some Christmas pieces led by their conductor Roger Baggs and if the smiles were anything to go by thoroughly enjoyed themselves. As they performed their final piece the members of the senior band came on stage and stood behind them and both bands played together for a while. Wonderful stuff.

It is remarkable to think that these youngsters had never held an instrument 12 months ago and yet were able to entertain their families and the rest of the audience. It has taken a lot of effort to get this band off the ground but for those who have put the effort into in its creation it was an exciting night and so worthwhile. I believe that the learner band will go from strength to strength and will be an excellent source of future players for the main band.

We are all looking forward to our trip to the Mineworkers Brass Band Championship at Skegness in January. Poor Mick Sole who was due to play 1st Euphonium and who has been practicing hard has unfortunately gone sick! He has managed to get Bell’s palsy, which causes a temporary paralysis of the facial muscles on one side of the face. Obviously Mick, otherwise known as the ‘Jam Butty Kid or Fletch’, has had to put up with some cheeky ribbing but we all hope that he will recover soon and be back to his old self. Well, maybe not exactly the same…………..similar.

Steve Griffiths