Down, Down, Swing, Swing, Up, Down, Up

“Not much doin’ on your blog, Dave”, he quipped as he left the building after rehearsal. ”I keep looking’ but there’s nothin’ new!”

“No”, I said. “Not much doin’ to write about really”.

“Just waffle on like you usually do…”

How could I resist such an invitation? Not quite “nothin’ doin’” really, just not a lot that directly involves me. With several of our young folk involved, our activities have centered largely around the repertoire for the impending National Youth Band’s Otago/Southland tour, and I’ve been ineligible for selection for 33 years! All the same, I’m sure none of my fellow non-tourists mind going through the motions in support of our band’s worthy representatives, namely:

Thomas Eves (Principal Cornet)
Roseanna Dale (Principal Horn)
Byron Newton (Principal Eupho)
Sam Pinder (Principal BBb Bass)
Raynor Martin (Cornet)
Leighton Roberts (Cornet)
Ross Yorkstone (Cornet)
Cameron Lee (Percussion)

The youth band’s Woolston contingent is quite considerable given that our own Graham Hickman is the appointed MD, and our Principal Euphonium player, Davey Boyes, is the guest soloist. Davey is also providing tutoring for the players as is Kevin Hickman, Phil Johnston, David Bremner and Murray Hickman.

Graham has put together a challenging programme that includes Shostakovich’s “Scherzo”, Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” and Philip Sparke’s “Year of the Dragon”.

The band has a four-stop tour itinerary:

• Wednesday 17th February
  Westpac Mayfair Theatre, 100 King Edward Street, Dunedin.
• Thursday 18th February
  Lake Wanaka Centre, 83 Ardmore Street, Wanaka
• Friday 19th February
  Queenstown Memorial Hall, Main Street, Queenstown
• Saturday 20th February
  Centre Stage, 33 Don Street, Invercargill

All concerts are scheduled to run from 7pm to 9.30pm.
Tickets: $18(waged) and $15(unwaged)

It’s not been exclusively youth band repertoire at Dampier Street though. We’ve also been looking at one or two other numbers for the Provincial Contest, and a little marching routine for the Ellerslie Flower Show. Our choreographed “St Louis Blues” routine (“Down, Down, Swing, Swing, Up, Down, Up”) has raised many an onlooker’s smirk, but our on-the-spot slow march, hop, hop, hop, “Pink Panther” has to be seen to be believed!

Epic Waffle: From Toes to Tomatoes

I’m feeling immensely pleased with myself today because I’ve just completed the local rag’s cryptic crossword for the second consecutive day. Admittedly I had to consult my 82 year old mother, but the collaboration both solved the puzzle and put me in touch with the old girl, which has to be a good thing. Such is life here in Sleepy Hollow, the summerless city. Honestly, I hate to drone on about the weather, but it has been extraordinarily awful. I don’t think we’ve had twelve hours continuous sunshine all summer. Certainly not enough to redden my tomatoes – or Richard Hogarth’s either for that matter. He told me so at rehearsal last Monday night – it’s the sort of thing we talk about these days. My sweet peas have been good in parts, but for some reason there’s an irritating gap in the middle of the row where they didn’t strike. All the same, I have plenty blooms to keep our house smelling sweet and looking bonnie. I take the odd posy over to my mum because she likes them too and I think my dad would be pleased that I do this. I have a wee corner where I’m growing herbs and another where I have a few leeks, beetroot, lettuces, tomatoes (as discussed) and a pepper (capsicum) plant. There are no black currants on the bushes behind the garage yet, but there are enough raspberries for our cornflakes and some spare for dessert at night. I’m still wondering if there is ever going to be an end to this terrible shroud of cloud.

The weekend before last, I went to Dunedin to bring a load of my daughter’s stuff home now she’s finished her studies at Otago University. I travelled down on the Friday with my mate Steve who has a big van. He too had been summoned to ship his daughter’s belongings home. We stopped in Timaru for lunch at the Pukeko Cafe and then spent the rest of the afternoon playing golf at the antipodean St Andrews. I’ve been having quite a tussle with Steve on various golf courses these last few months since introducing him to the game. Being a bit of a hippy, he was initially uncomfortable with what he perceived as the ostentatious swankiness of the game, but he maintained his green credentials by using a tatty old bag of extremely rusty, op-shop clubs. Something of a motor-skilled natural, his rise has been meteoritic and I can no longer keep abreast of his score, let alone beat it. The one time I did come close was when he succumbed to capitalist temptation and bought himself a brand new, bright and shiny set of sticks. Guilt-ridden and unfamiliar with his new, first-world weapons, his game deteriorated significantly and I was able to finish eight strokes up on that occasion. He won the St Andrews game though, but not by his usual ten-stroke margin.

We drove on to Oamaru where we checked in to our digs (a B&B run by an old mate of Steve’s) before spending a pleasant evening drinking beer in Oamaru’s heritage precinct and eating at “The Last Post” on Oamaru’s main street. A colorful character, Roger, the proprietor of Federation House, not only served a fabulous fry-up for breakfast, but he entertained us with impromptu poetry recitals and one-man theatre pieces, complete with costumes and props. Once I got the movie camera out there was no stopping him.

Roger of Federation House

We managed to get more into the van than we had thought, and I didn’t have to fit Steve in as he was driving his daughter’s car back to Christchurch. So I enjoyed my own company on the trip home and after a diversion to avoid a film crew utilizing State Highway One near Waikouaiti, I stopped at Palmerston for a McGregor’s mutton pie and put the horrors of the Dunedin student flat scene behind me.

Work has been slow for me lately. If I were a factory I’d probably be laying people off. Fortunately, I can’t make myself redundant and I can always seem to find something to do, even if it’s not billable. I’ve ordered a major software upgrade recently, so installing that will no doubt crash my system, render all of my peripherals obsolete and generally keep me amused for a week or so. Drum Major Graeme Bremner and his wife Eleanor are lavender farmers now and I’ve been designing packaging for their various products. Another client recently asked me to provide four illustrations depicting “Four-lane highways with cars, vans and container trucks, nearby airports, hills, buildings (domestic and industrial), cyclists, sheep, cows, trees, overpasses and underpasses, a river… and an airplane”. I showed this ill-conceived brief to Glenda who drew a knowing sigh. “I can see why people draw bowls of fruit”, she said.

I’ve been enjoying cycling to band these evenings. I have a cohort too,  – only his lights are flashier than mine, and I’m a bit miffed about this. It’s so quiet coming home in the dark. With the Easterly on my tail I can hear nothing but my tyres swishing along the asphalt and my chain rolling on its sprockets.

I’m a bachelor this week as Glenda is away on a work project. As usual, she’s left a list of instructions:

• Water plants and hanging baskets daily
• Walk Angus every morning
• Alter kitchen joinery to accommodate new fridge
• Attend to laundry
• Stop looking at old gramophones, gig-bags, and clockwork train sets on TradeMe
• Prepare beautiful meal on the 14th February (Valentine’s Day) for my return from photo shoot
• Dismantle our bed (new one arriving Saturday)
• Spend quality time with Angus

Actually, I’m enjoying my own plain cooking. Tonight I had baked beans and a potato. Perfect. Just a shame the European PGA in Dubai has finished as I was enjoying staying up late to watch un-nagged. I was so excited to see Miguel Jiménez win as I’m something of a fan. –What a character. There’s something in his demeanor that I relate to.

I scanned, optimized and archived an album of family photos for a friend who happens to be a podiatrist. In what is perhaps the world’s weirdest ever contra-deal, she fixed my feet for me. I’ve been putting up with an ingrown toe-nail for months now and I can’t tell you the relief it is to have had it treated. I’d no idea it could be fixed. It’s still bandaged, but my god it feels better!

Trade Me Mace

“Pgwmac” a.k.a. Wendy of Christchurch, recently offered a “hand-crafted mace” (… “as used by the Drum Major of the Woolston Brass Band – No longer needed”!) for sale by auction on TradeMe – start price $300). Unfortunately for Wendy, the auction only attracted 63 views and no bids.

We have a feeling that the mace might have once been the property of Stephen Leader, a very successful past Drum Major of both our band and the National Band of New Zealand.

Perhaps there are readers out there who can shed more light, or make an offer to Wendy!

Bon Voyage Davey G

Rabbie’s “Auld acquaintance” most surely “forgot”, our first rehearsal of the new decade was a genial affair that commenced amid hugs and kisses, handshakes, laughter and back-slaps. Six weeks break is obviously more than most of us can stand! Suntans were sported along with the odd new beard, and, dare I say, weight fluctuation was apparent in some quarters! The first careful chords from the red hymn book weren’t all that bad – considering, so we moved on to work our way through a wad of material newly distributed round the stands:

“Partitia” Philip Sparke (Major work for the CPBBA Festival of Brass, Aurora Centre Centre 27th March)
“Queensbury” and “The Pink Panther” (For Ellerslie Flower Show Marching Display, 13th March)
“Brillante” (Fantasy on ‘Rule Britannia’) Peter Graham
“Devil’s Duel” Peter Meechan
“Enter the Galaxies” Paul Lovatt-Cooper
“Caravan” Duke Ellington. arr: Mike Tomaro

We skipped the usual half-time break in favour of an early finish as a mate of ours was “shouting” out the back. During rehearsal former Woolston conductor David Gallaher had been spotted in the vicinity of the kitchen door unloading certain goods from his hatchback. A Woolston legend in his own rite, Dave is leaving town to take up a teaching position as Director of Performance Music at Palmerston North’s Freyberg High School. He needn’t have, but Dave’s magnanimity compelled him to put on a few beers and savories as a parting gesture. (How well he knows the food preferences of the average bander!)

Dave dishes up the savouries (Photos: Roseanna Dale)

Dave was our Music Director from 1996 – 2006, a golden decade during which much was achieved, not only on the concert platform but also in the recording studio. The band’s landmark CD recordings Millennium, ANZAC and Sacred endure as permanent testament to Dave’s tenacity and artistry. Under his baton the band gained a creditable 12th placing at the 2000 British Open Championship, and his distinguished career was crowned with a hat-trick of New Zealand Championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Band Chaiman Gary Pinker spoke briefly to the assemblage. He conveyed the good wishes of all and thanked Dave for thinking of the band on the eve of his departure. Gary also acknowledged Dave’s unforgettable contribution over the years. Dave replied with a few words of his own, conceding that while the move North offers career opportunities, it will be tinged with sadness.

“There have been some great times in Christchurch and we will take many fond memories with us. We will miss the people, and the great folk at Dampier Street of course, but a change was needed. I’m really excited about Freyberg’s unique, Australian-based music programme. They’re the only school running a programme like this.”

Since stepping down as MD, Dave has maintained close contact with Dampier Street and beyond. His contribution to banding in general has been considerable and his relocating will be regarded locally as very much a case of “their gain, our loss”!

Will he become a Hurricane’s man? Doubtful. All these years in Christchurch and we never quite got the Highlander out of him.