Welcome to Friary Diary issue 98 - a monthly round up of news about the Friary Brass Band.
BAND ON THE RUN:
Well admittedly, it wasn’t the whole band, but as mentioned in the last issue, Friary’s Kelly Harrison and Sam Noden completed the London Marathon, raising funds for the military charity SSAFA: huge congratulations to them.
Running side by side the whole way, the couple crossed the finishing line in 4 hours 49 minutes. Kelly commented: “Hands down, it was the hardest thing I have ever done but wow, what an experience – incredible crowds along the entire route and so many musicians to keep us entertained.” “The London Marathon was quite possibly the hardest but most rewarding day of my life,” admitted Sam. “A big thank you to everyone who braved the weather to support all of us running this mighty challenge,” he added.
You can still add to the funds raised by Kelly and Sam for SSAFA, by making a pledge on their London Marathon fundraising page
BRITISH OPEN SPRING FESTIVAL - THE GRAND SHIELD:
Rehearsals have been in full swing over the past weeks for this major contest which takes place this Saturday at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens. A field of 20 leading bands will be vying for the coveted top two places which will take them to the British Open. As is the custom, last year’s Open test piece is the set work, Edward Gregson’s The World Rejoicing - Symphonic Variations on a Lutheran Chorale. “It’s certainly a challenging work,” acknowledged Band Chairman David Wicks, “but we are very pleased with the way rehearsals have gone and will be giving it our very best shot on Saturday,” he concluded. The adjudicators for the various contests making up the Spring Festival will be revealed on the day, but will be pairings taken from Dr Brett Baker, Dr Robert Childs, John Doyle, David Hirst, Andrew Porter and Mark Wilkinson.
A NEW LOOK FOR OUR BLAZERS AND POLO SHIRTS:
A smart new design has been devised for our blazer badges and polo shirt logos. It’s more subtle than the previous version and follows on from the redesign of the Band’s ties. The new style will be worn at Blackpool and we hope it will bring the Band good luck for the contest too! Many thanks to Richard Straker for all the hard work involved with this project.
RANKING NEWS:
There has been no further update since 8th April so Friary remains 24th in the world. For full ranking details, please go to https://www.4barsrest.com/rankings/
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