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NEWS Estimated 100k people attend RBP parade at ScarvaUpdated 09 February 2010 05:17:49 PM by Simon. Although the 12th is always a great day out, I've always preferred the Royal Black Perceptory parade in Scarva on the 13th July (or 14th this year). The crowds that attend are fantastic and there's always a great line-up of bands from all categories.This year was no different with an estimated 100,000 travelling to the Co. Down village. Some were even on the main street at 8am marking their territory to make sure they the best view of the parade! We met at Banbridge Orange Hall to walk the town with the rest of Banbridge District. The quality of bands that parade the town is always superb and this year was no exception with Blackskull from Glasgow and Ballycoan Melody flute taking part along with other bands such as the local Blackskull Orange & Blue and Banbridge Silver. There are always a few groggy members of the band when we start, but the long walk around the town means that the cob webs are well and truly blown out by the time you reach Scarva! The majority of the members who were missing on the 12th were back in the ranks of the band with 8 in the colour party, 3 drum majors, 16 drummers, 2 bass drummers and 37 flutes parading Banbridge. When we got to Scarva a few members met us there which increased the turnout to 20 drummers and 40 flutes which was the same number as last years parade. At the start of the parade there's always a lot of stopping and starting but once you get going the flow of the parade is always steady. Every year we are stopped in the main street of Scarva where we play a few tunes to the crowd. This year we were stopped earlier on in the parade outside the Tea Houses and entertained the crowd with Air Force Blue and Wee 6/8. Our final tune played on the spot was Kilaloo which got the crowd going with the customary cheer at the end of the tune. Once down the demesne, with the band tightening up and the over hanging trees it means that the sound of the band is louder than it is on the street. With the band going in rows of four a few of us were worried that the length of the band might have affected the timing. However I thought that the pace and balance of the band throughout the whole parade was spot on. Parading round Scarvagh House the band played "Royal Flush", even though we've been playing it for a year now, I think this tune has really improved for us this year with the timing much better than it was when we first started playing it. Other tunes that I thought went well included Davy Sprocket at the top of the main street and Rathfriland Town past the groups from Kilkeel and Newry who were assembled on the demesne. Even though showers were forecast for the afternoon, the weather held up with the sun shining for the whole of the return leg. The large crowds were assembled in their usual spots to watch the bands on their way out. On the return leg we were stopped at the Park Inn on the main street and played Royal Flush followed by the Sash. Overall it was a good two days for the band and once again I thoroughly enjoyed the two parades, with the countdown for next year already underway!
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