Betteshanger Colliery Band would like to thank Club Members, Families, in fact, everyone for all their support last night for the Club’s Annual Christmas Concert hosted by “Bettes Bar”, Betteshanger Sports & Social Club. It was fantastic to see so many members from different sections within the Club supporting the Band. In fact, it was a sell-out with people standing at the bar due to running out of chairs!
It was a pleasure to have dignitaries, Mrs. Judith Band (Vice President) and Mr. John Goold (President) in attendance and was a delight to perform to such an appreciative and engaging audience and to receive a standing ovation at the end was a great way to end our year.
On reflection, it was also a sad occasion for those of us who remember our very dear friend and 3rd Cornet player, Allen Adshead. This time last year would have been Allen’s last performance with the band as he sadly passed away at the beginning of the year. Allen helped so many people on the back row, even youngsters who went on to follow in his career path in the Royal Marines Band Service. It was lovely to see his daughter in the audience this evening and she is always very welcome.
In many ways, it has been a fantastic year for the band starting with winning the London & Southern Counties Area Qualifying Contest in Stevenage after a ten-year brake. The band then went on to open the Deal Memorial Bandstand season, followed by a successful concert with the Deal & Walmer Handelian Choral Society as part of the Deal Music & Arts Festival. The next concert was Broadstairs Bandstand, perched high up on Victoria Gardens overlooking Viking Band, a beautiful location when it’s calm and sunny. In September, the Band then went on to win the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain in Cheltenham, this was a fantastic achievement for Musical Director, Mike West and the band. Just a couple of weeks later the band were back on Deal Bandstand for the “finale” concert of the year where hardened Deal supporters were out in droves. Despite the forecast of gales, supporters were prepared for the cold weather donned with their hats, gloves and blankets to boot!
Prior to the recent Christmas Concert at St Nicholas Church, New Romney, the band performed at the Astor Theatre, part of Deal’s first ever Oktoberfest, this was followed by one of the most important engagements of the year, providing music for the Remembrance Service at Dover War Memoria, Dover Town Hall to honour the memory of service men and women who gave their lives in armed conflicts past and present.
The icing on the cake was securing a sponsorship deal from Leigh Mckinney’s “Eclipse Musical Instruments” This culminated in an update of banding attire to include the Eclipse logo and new black evening shirts provided by our sponsor,
We would like to thank our Musical Director, Mike West for all his hard work and dedication in trying to mold the band into one that will be a force to be reckoned with. He is an excellent band trainer and a real driving force and will not stop until gets what he wants out of the band. We now have a full band, in fact, oversubscribed in certain departments but will always entertain applications from quality musicians who would like to be part of an up and coming dedicated but sociable band.
That’s about wrapped up our 2024 banding year. We are now looking forward to the challenges 2025 will bring and would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support.
Betteshanger Colliery Welfare Band 