Stolen
Sovereign Euphonium

A silver -plated Besson Sovereign Euphonium 
(Serial Number 967-7171443) 
was stolen on 13th November in Pickering.  
This instrument is the property of Swinton Band.  
If you come across it please contact Dorothy Ratcliffe 
 immediately.

 Happy Birthday, Colin

Life Member and one of the original learners of Swinton Band, Colin is celebrating his 80th birthday this week!  The Band would like to wish him a very Happy Birthday and many more of them! 

Summer at Last!

Finally summer seems to have arrived and we enjoyed a glorious afternoon playing in Parliament Street, York, with a great band and an enthusiastic audience.  Several new items found their way into the programme including the trombone feature "The Bold Gendarmes"

Pint Night!

After a thoroughly successful jaunt up to the Blacksmith's Arms in Swinton to hand over a framed photo of the band, it was decided that in future Wednesday night is Pint Night! Some or all of the band now regularly adjourn there after practice for a quick drink before going our separate ways.  Feel free to join us!

Band Hoodies!

As we are having  some of the hottest weather this year, it seems appropriate that band members should invest in nice warm clothes!  And so we have acquired hoodies, with band logo and names on the front and instrument on the back.  They should be just what we want for Hardraw and carolling but such is the enthusiasm of some members of the band that they are wearing them in the current heatwave!

A Sunny Afternoon at Sewerby

Over the last few years at Sewerby, the weather, so-called "Global Warming", has meant that we have usually been playing indoors.  This year, despite the weather forecast which showed our own personalised raincloud directly over Bridlington, we were able to play to an audience comfortably ensconced in deckchairs.  

 

Learners Band playing out again

For the first time for about ten years the Learners band is strong enough to take on engagements as well as the main band!  Of course some of the main band turned out to give them some support as they provided entertainment at old Malton Garden fete, but it was a great delight to see (and hear) them as they played a full programme under the baton of Cliff Hicks.  Despite gloomy forecasts the weather held off - just as well as the band was too big to fit under the shelter provided!

If you missed them and would like to make good this omission, they will be playing next weekend in Malton Market Place and would be glad of a good audience!

Sad News

We are very sorry to have to announce the death of Tommy Dykes, a long-time player in the band.  Tommy was a tremendous character and well-loved by generations of band members.  

Born in 1940, Tommy played trombone and Bb bass and was an active member of the band from the age of 13 until early 1994.

Tommy started work on a farm at Swinton Grange at the age of 15, but after a spell at Ainsty’s where he met his wife Hazel, he became a postman until he retired. Tommy always had a cheery smile and a joke with young and old alike; on his round he made many a lonely person’s day.

In band, Tommy was great with the youngsters, recruiting them, helping them with their music and taking them to Band engagements, and was a great ambassador for Swinton Band. Tommy was always the life and soul of the party and will be greatly missed. 

At Tommy’s funeral, the band attended to play some of his favourite pieces.  It was a great occasion – thanks to all those who turned out!  It was good to see the return of some old friends from the past to help us – you’re always welcome!
 

We HAVE a new Musical Director!

We are delighted to announce that after taking us to Malton Brass and to the Area Contest, Nigel Sutherland cannot bear to be parted from us and has agreed to take on the arduous role of Musical Director!!  

We look forward to continuing the good times and hard work we have had over the last six months or so with Nigel as we prepare for the Whit Friday contests and a busy summer!

Whit-Friday at Saddleworth

This year for the first time ever we actually got organised and went to Saddleworth to participate in one of the best free shows on earth!  We had a great time and managed to do seven contests before it got too dark to continue!

We played "Castell Coch" on the stand and marched  to the theme music from "Wallace and Gromit" which proved very popular with the crowds.

We were very lucky to have plenty of willing helpers from other bands (many ex-Swinton members) who made it possible for us to do this - thank you all very much indeed! Next year- same again?

For more pictures of our trip click here

Concert at Thornton-le-Dale

Saturday saw Nigel's first outing with us as our M. D. as we were pleased to welcome Dan Hunt back as our guest soloist for a concert in Thornton-le-Dale Village Hall.  It was a great (if very warm!) evening with a highly appreciative audience.

As ever, Dan 's solos were the high point of the evening, ranging from the tear-jerker "Myfanwy" to the showy "La Belle Americaine", both delighting the audience and showing the band what could be achieved!  Thank you, Dan for a truly memorable evening.

Players awards
Trophies for attendance and contribution to the band were awarded at the Band Dinner

Congratulations to the worthy winners:

Senior Award –  Mike
Senior Attendance – Anna
Rollinson Award – Ellis
Junior Award – Josephine
Junior Attendance – Josephine
Learner Attendance – Niamdh
Best Learner– Thomas C.

Band Dinner

For the first time for a long time this year's Band Dinner actually took place in Swinton, at the Sports Club, and was a great success.  After an excellent meal, trophies were presented  to various deserving band members by our Chairman, Jane.  This was followed by a surprise announcement from Nigel, that he would like to accept the post of M.D. which was greeted with delight by everyone!  After the usual keenly fought "Tie " competition, won this year by ex- baritone player Ed, the evening was given over to dancing and general merriment!  Thank you, Steve and Dorothy for organising a great evening!

Area Contest at Darlington

This year we returned to the Fourth Section with Four Cities Symphony and a somewhat diminished band!  Nigel Sutherland had agreed to take us and put in a vast amount of intensive work over the weeks before with whatever players he could get together, and we greatly enjoyed working on the piece.

The day started as a lovely sunny one and an hour or so in Darlington before playing seemed quite a pleasant prospect!  However a draw at number 12 meant that we had about four hours of non-drinking ahead of us and then it started to rain...

Never mind , 2008 will go down in band mythology as the year of the hats! Primark cannot have known what hit them as the elegant purple numbers vanished before their eyes!

Eventually it got to be our turn and we put in a good performance considering our severely reduced numbers. While the best we could make was eighth out of 13, we felt reasonably happy with our showing , while Colin Hardy's remarks have given us material to work on!

Many thanks to Nigel for all the immensely hard work he has put in, we look forward to seeing him again before too long!

In the bleak midwinter...

... Swinton Band made moan but still could be found outside shops, on dark streets and in and out of pubs trying to persuade kind-hearted or inebriated folk to part with their hard-earned cash to keep us going.  Plenty of players turned out and it would seem that our income nearly rivalled last year's records.  Thanks to all who turned out, both players and collectors, and to all those kind folk who took pity on us!

Malton Brass

Nigel very kindly agreed, in the absence of a permanent bandmaster to take us to Malton this year, and together we put in a good deal of hard work in preparation.

Despite a depleted band, we put on a good show on the day and enjoyed our time on stage as well as our time in assorted bars and pubs afterwards.

A very positive set of adjudicator's remarks from Roy Roe confirmed our feeling that we had played well, but nonetheless we had to be content with seventh place.

Special thanks go to Andy and Georgina for helping out, and congratulations to Mary and Ellis for whom this was their first contest.  Congratulations to Josephine who was a superb soloist in Suil a Ruin and to Sarah who played splendidly.  Most of all, though, many thanks to Nigel for making it possible - we hope you enjoyed it too!

Remembrance Day

Winter is arriving and with it our last job before carolling!  The annual remembrance parade went off very well on a day that really didn't know whether it was going to do blazing sunshine or steady rain - we got both in quick succession! Sarah did a smashing job of Last Post and Reveille and "Scarlet and Green" got its first outing to the delight of the Band President!
Many thanks to the members of York Railway Institute Band who joined us for the occasion- it was great to have them with us!

Hardraw Scar Contest

Sunday saw Swinton Band contesting at Hardraw for the first time.  John Woodward of Kirkbymoorside Band kindly volunteered to take us for this and put in a lot of work with us, including a "dry-run" of the programme last week at Kirkbymoorside as part of their Brass Weekend.

The weather stayed dry for us and it was a fantastic day out, much enhanced by acquiring some silverware!  

Lizzie's march "The Excelsior" got its first contest airing and seemed to go down well with all.  Congratulations to the two soloists Sarah and Maggie , both of whom were singled out for praise by the adjudicator! Many thanks. too, to all those who helped out, Ben, Kevin, Susan and Lizzie and most of all to John who has made the whole enterprise such fun!  (see below!)

Goodbye and Good Luck

Congratulations to Andrew, Chris and Ed, who all got excellent A level results and are, in consequence, off to university.  We will miss them, but wish them all the best.  We expect to see them during the vacations, helping out and catching up on all the band gossip they've missed during the term

Gaps in the band!

As a result of people going off to University and increasing work commitments we really need some more cornet players, especially on the front row.  We are looking for two or three strong players to support and encourage our young cornet section.  We are very happy to welcome university students studying in the area even if you can't play during the vacations - after all, that is when our resident students return! So if you feel Swinton might be the band for you, contact Dorothy or come to a Monday or Wednesday evening practice.

There are also a few places available for new learners of any age from 8 to 80.  If you've always fancied having a go at a brass instrument, now is your chance.  Contact Dorothy or come and meet us at the Bandroom on Saturday evenings!