In January 2015 Anthony (Tug), solo cornet player, stood in front of the band and announced; “I want to take the band to Harwich to surprise Dave”….and so a plan was born!
Fast forward to 7am on Saturday, 13 June 2015. A bleary eyed brass band packed themselves onto a coach at Froxfield to start the long journey to Harwich, Essex. The plan being to surprise David in his home town, in the band stand he used to play in, with his former band – to mark his incredible milestone of 70 years in brass banding.
David had already been whisked to Harwich for the weekend under the guise of attending a family party and watching Liane make a guest appearance with the local band. Not suspecting that his band were following behind.
After some tears and a quick change of clothes, David took over from Tug to lead the two bands in their concert. Unfortunately the rain forced the bands to play the second half of their concert inside the Park Pavilion building. But as it turns out this building also held many happy memories for David.
After the concert Phoenix Brass and Tendring players and supporters enjoyed a well-earned buffet (and raffle!) before starting the long journey home.
It’s safe to say, that all things considered, it really was a “Perfect Day”.
We would like to say a massive “Thank You” to everyone who made the day happen (to name a few; David’s family for helping arrange his visit and keeping the secret, especially Liane and Irene, Marilyn for her help sorting the mountain of music, Tendring Brass Band (formerly Harwich RBL Band), Pewsey Vale Coaches, and of course the players and supporters from Phoenix!