 |
|||
|
|
|||
|
NEWS Successful 12th July Celebrations in BanbridgeUpdated 09 February 2010 05:18:53 PM by Simon. With the hectic month of parading in June over, it was that time of year again for the 12th and 13th demonstrations in Banbridge and Scarva.Before that though the band had travelled to Moneymore on Friday 10th July to support Gortagilly. This was a great night for parading with crowds lining route and main street in particular to give the band a great reception. An excellent turnout of 15 drummers and 31 flutes made the journey and it was one that everyone in the band enjoyed. It was a longer route than I had anticipated taking us through a few local estates but by the time we reached the main street there was a large crowd there spectating. Stopping for 3 tunes we played Air Force Blue, Marching On and The Sash which went down well with the locals. On the morning of the 12th (or 13th July to be precise!) the band met early on in Rathfriland to do the first of three feeder parades before making it to Banbridge for the main procession. As usual we paraded on our own before Rathfriland District before leaving to parade at Glasker Orange Hall and then Loughbrickland to meet the rest of the District before we boarded the bus to go to Banbridge. After waiting for a while in the assembly field it was time to move off. A full tunrout of 9 in the colour party, 2 drum majors, 14 drummers, 2 bass drummers and 34 flutes were on parade making it the biggest turnout we've had at a 12th procession in quite a few years. As usual we had members of the band taking part in the parade with local bands and lodges. The weather had stayed bright and sunny and this helped draw a good crowd to the parade with the main street of Banbridge packed and at one stage at the top of the town, it was maybe 5 or 6 people deep which gave you a great buzz when parading. The parade was chosen as one of three "Flagship" parades in Northern Ireland and in the week leading up to the 12th there were a number of events organised such as a table quiz, BBQ, concerts, treasure hunt and display of the Banbridge District banners at the Orange Hall running from Monday - Thursday. The turnout for each of these events was fantastic and at the BBQ the organisers had to go out twice to get extra food in as they hadn't anticipated as many people would turn up! The town itself was also well decorated, with bunting, flags and banners (sponsored by local lodges and bands) on every lamp post for the majority of the route and the parade itself was well organised so credit must go to the organisers who put in months of work to ensure the day passed of smoothly. Coming down the main street I thought the band was excellent. Just before "The Cut" we were stopped for a few minutes and played Air Force, Wee 6/8 and Rathfriland Town. Our young drum major Ryan was also in great form, clearing the bunting which was running across the main street. He also easily cleared the Arch on the far side of The Cut and got a great round of applause from the spectators who were watching. Unfortunately the weather changed on the way out of the field for the return journey and the number of spectators had dropped however it would have taken more than that to dampen the spirits with the band playing well. As usual we travelled back to Glasker to parade with the lodge and finish with a BBQ with the members of the lodge, hoping that the weather would dry up for the next day at Scarva.
|
|||
© 2009 Pride of the Hill F.B  |
|||