On Saturday 5th December the Band returned to Fairford Leys (a district of Aylesbury) to provide music for carols. As the band set up under an arcade at the side of Hampden Square there seemed to be a distinct lack of people come to sing, but shortly before the start at 5 o’clock a crowd appeared from nowhere, many carrying umbrellas against the gentle rain. The band played We Need a Little Christmas, White Christmas, and Sleigh Ride and then accompanied the crowd in half a dozen carols.
Then on Sunday the 6th came the annual Mayor’s Carol Service in St Mary’s Church. For some reason the procession of the Mayor and dignitaries from the town centre was late, meaning the whole service was 20 minutes late starting. The band shared the accompaniment of carol singing with the organist, playing alternate verses and joining together in the last, so when the organist started playing one carol in the wrong key it caused considerable alarm. Some frantic signalling from conductor Robert Wicks alerted the organist to his mistake, and he performed an acrobatic improvisation before the next verse to modulate into the correct key!
The next Friday, 11th December, it was Wendover’s turn for carol singing. It was a cold but dry evening as the band set up on the Manor Waste in Wendover High Street. A good sized crowd soon arrived and spent the next hour singing 15 carols accompanied by the band. The event was organised by Wendover Parish Council, who must have been quite pleased with the good turnout.