It’s a widely held tenet of British folklore that whenever a day is designated a bank holiday, any spell of warm, dry weather will come to an end on that day to be replaced by clouds and rain. The Spring Bank Holiday Monday on 29th May this year proved the rule, as the day dawned cloudy and cool, with showers forecast. Sure enough, as members of the Band arrived at the Stone, Bishopstone and Hartwell fête it began to rain gently.
The Band was due to play two sessions, starting after the official opening, by which time the rain had stopped. In the first session we played Thunderbirds (from the 60s TV series), Lady Gaga Dance Mix, two movements from Theatre Music by Philip Sparke, music from the film The Incredibles, a selection from the musical Chicago, and music by The Beatles.
Then we had a long wait while a dog show took place. Inevitably this overran, so the event following (a sort of free-for-all sing song of Abba songs) started 20 minutes late. By the time the Band was wanted to play again there was just time to play Broadway Show-stoppers Overture before it was time for everyone to pack up and go home. Oh well!
Despite the threatening weather, the fête seemed well attended and the dog show was a success, and the organisers were very appreciative of the Band’s playing.