After narrowly missing out on qualification last year, Friary bounced back at last Sunday’s London & Southern Counties Regional Championships to take second place and with it a return to the Royal Albert Hall for the National Finals in October. The Band’s solid performance of Prof. Philip Wilby’s The Red Priest received arguably the best audience reception at the Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage, but was pipped to the top spot by Zone One Brass. “Naturally it’s a slightly bitter sweet feeling not to have regained our regional title,” acknowledged Band Chairman David Wicks, “but we’ll be back at the Albert Hall in October which is the main thing after last year’s blip.” “And many congratulations to Chris Pannell who won the Best Tenor Horn award,” he added.