Welcome to the 70^th year of Swinton Band! 

As usual the January newsletter is a bit late – notwithstanding all my New Year resolutions!

I hope you all had a good festive season and are now fully recovered from any hangovers, “lurgies” and over-indulgence.

Carolling – Well done everybody!

This years carolling was very successful, with no jobs lost to bad weather.  I don’t know where everyone went to in December, but nowhere seemed to be very crowded! Nonetheless we expect that the total sum raised will be a whopping £3,412.32. 

This means that despite all the expenditure of the last year, we can start 2006 on a very healthy financial basis, and can take a breather from extra fund-raising!

Thanks to all those who gave up their evening and weekends to get cold, wet and miserable in a good cause! The turnout on outside jobs was tremendous – well done!  Thanks also go to all the parents, grandparents and others who gave up their free time to rattle collecting tins and brave fierce dogs!

Welcome Back...

...to Phil Carter who will as arranged be taking the band to Darlington for the Area Contest.  He will be conducting at practices from Wednesday 18^th January.  

Please make every effort to get to practices  - “Entertainments” is not an easy piece not an easy piece and we need all the practice we can get!  

And do be prepared for extra practices – we don’t have dates yet but there will almost certainly be some!

Uniforms!

Now is the time to ensure that all is well on the uniform front.  Getting your jacket dry-cleaned is a good idea!  If it doesn’t fit, talk to Dorothy – it may be possible to swap them around.

Check that you have black trousers and shoes that are clean and smart, and that fit – discovering that your trousers won’t do up on the morning of a contest is not good!

Make sure that you have a jacket case in good condition and that it is clearly labelled with your full name and that of the band – it’s horribly easy to mislay things at contests.

Do you have a band jumper?  If not there are two options if you don’t want to freeze!  You can buy a plain black V-neck jumper, or you can order a band jumper through Dorothy.  She will need an order of about ten to send off, so they may not be immediately available.

Great News!

We have a bandmaster!  After several “soundings-out” of interested parties, we are very glad to welcome Patrick MacBeth as our new bandmaster.  

Patrick teaches music at Ampleforth College specialising in keyboard instruments, though he used to play cornet for Strathbane Concert Brass in Northern Ireland, before coming to study at Huddersfield University.

We look forward to getting to know him as we prepare our summer programme.

Birthdays!   
Ha ha – There is no escape from standing on your chair!  Happy (belated ) Birthday to:



1st January - Andrew and Chris
7th January - Matthew M
                                            
If I have missed you out, I'm really sorry and I hope you all enjoy(ed) your Birthdays.

Area Contest

This will be on Sunday 19^th March so please ensure you are available.  The coach will be leaving on Sunday morning, probably about 9.00 a.m.

If you have family members or friends who would like a seat on the coach, please talk to Dorothy ASAP!  There are a few places, but only a few available.

Holiday List

The list has gone up on the noticeboard!  Please fill in dates when you will be away as soon as you know them so that Dorothy has time to arrange cover.  Don’t leave it till the last minute!  PLEASE!!

            Committee Meeting

Please can Committee members be aware that the Committee meeting is on THURSDAY 19^th January and not on Tuesday!

  Band Dinner

This will be at The Lodge Hotel in Malton on 8^th April, so keep the evening free.  Steve will be handing out booking forms shortly.  As ever it promises to be a great evening with good food and a great disco, so dig out the party frocks and get hunting out the silliest tie!

TIP OF THE MONTH... 

Clean out and check your instrument, so you can get it back in tune and in full working order in plenty of time for Darlington. (you will not be the first to find bizarre objects (coins, cigarette butts, old socks, etc) in your instrument after carolling!)  

Valve oil is available from Dorothy at a very reasonable price.

There are also some pull-throughs available – if you need one talk to Catherine.  

Any requests for felts, springs etc or any maintenance problems – Steve is your man!   

Money Matters!

If you have a full Smartie tube please let Anna have it back – she may be able to give you a new one, though sadly Rowntrees are stopping putting Smarties in tubes - BOO!

The Fifty-plus Club is always keen to welcome new members – if you or a friend or family member want to be involved talk to Brian! The more members there are, the higher the profit for Band!

Are you a tax-payer?  If so, the Government will generously give the tax any gift of yours would earn direct to the Band.  This even applies to Smartie tubes. So if you haven’t filled in a Gift Aid form, get one from Dorothy, now!

And a final call for Calendars - I can still print some more, so if you’d like one, let me know ASAP!