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Whit Friday: An introduction!

To: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Whit Friday: An introduction!
From: Tim Morgan <tim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 4 Jun 1996 16:01:36 GMT
Priority: low
Reply-to: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Whit Friday Marches are a group of brass band contests that take place in 
the Pennines (an area of England) every Whit Friday, which this year fell on the 
31st May.  About 20 villages within the local boroughs of Saddleworth and 
Tameside each host a contest, and in most places, it is an enjoyable day out for 
the family, with bouncing castles, ice creams, fairs and of course, the bands.  
The contests start at about 4.30pm and go on till about 11.30 pm, and the big 
contests (at Uppermill, Greenfield and Dobcross) will see about 50 or 60 bands 
passing through them.  Basically, a band signs in at a contest, and waits if 
there are a few bands to go on before them.  When it is their turn, they march 
for a short distance and are marked on deportment.  When they get to the end of 
the march, the band stands up in a semicircle and plays a contest march - such 
as Knight Templar, Ravenswood or The President, to an adjudicator who cannot 
see the band.  Then, as soon as they have played it, they get back on the bus 
and go off to the next village to play in the next contest.  Each village has 
it's own results obviously, but their are also prizes for the best local bands, 
and at some contests, prizes for the best section in the band.  Also, if a band 
plays six contests or more in the Tameside area, they will be eligible for the 
overall Tameside contest, where an aggregate of the best six results is taken.  
There is also a similar contest in Saddleworth.  As the bands are rushing about, 
and the contests don't finish till late, it's hard to find out results on the 
day, which is why everyone is asking on the list now!!  If next year, anyone 
from outside the UK comes along, I would recommend Dobcross or Greenfield as the 
best villages to visit...Uppermill is a big contest too, but for some reason 
it's always full of the local juvenile delinquents, who take the day as an 
excuse to get absolutely slaughtered...and then hurl abuse at the bands :(

Hope this helps!
-- 
Tim Morgan, Bass Trombone, Woolley Pritchard Sovereign Brass.


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