August 19, 2014. Western Head. Our Band.

Our band is not really a very good band but we like it anyway. Tonight we attended their open air band concert, held in Brooklyn right on the Mersey River. That is why they call it The Mersey Band. The setting tonight was perfect. The sky was clear and the air was a warm 75. While the gulls soared we listened to the band with pleasure and thanked God that we were living in Liverpool. Ken and I were both brought up listening and playing in good Salvation Army bands so we are critical and irritated by poor playing but we have noticed the improvement in our band. This past year has not been kind to the brass section. The lead trumpet player died. One trombone player can not play due to poor vision. A bass player moved away. But 11 new young people have joined the band. The woodwind department has greatly improved over the past few years. And bless his heart but the bandmaster is choosing music more suited to the abilities of the players. The concert itself was enjoyable. The music was interesting and had good variety. And it lasted one hour. My brother Dave suggested tonight that now that he has retired as a trombone player, he might be able to help the band next year. We will see.