It’s amazing that one minute you are thinking that you haven’t written anything on your blog recently because you have had no inspiration, the next receiving a text from my brother today with a link to a video that he has posted on YouTube. Watching it triggered all sorts of memories, some good some not so. This video is of him playing his solo in 1987 on Best of Brass, which for those that don’t know was a very popular brass band competition on BBC 1, on a Sunday night, straight after Songs of Praise.
I remember so clearly going up to see him record this programme. I was 15 at the time and my mum and dad borrowed this VW orange camper van, the one with the opening front screen. Nowadays this would be a sort after vehicle, but to me then it was a hell machine on wheels. The only reason that they borrowed it was to save money. My dad was what you would call a ‘tight ass’, bearing in mind that he was a farmer, a huge land owner, he felt the best way to travel to see his famous son debut on TV was to cram us in a tiny camper van and travel up to Sheffield from Devon. So we travelled all day to get to Sheffield and when I say it took all day I mean all day. My dad drove the camper van like he drove a tractor, slow. So after travelling all day you would think that we could have stayed in a nice B&B, oh no, why do you think we were in a camper, we were going to sleep in it. But I hear you say, well that’s ok, camping, well instead of finding a nice little campsite to park up in, that costs money. We camped on the hard shoulder of the motorway. Cost nothing, well except your sanity.
It’s time to get settled, after a tea cooked on camping ring, bearing in mind by now we are all very tired after the long journey and I forgot to mention that the van broke down several times on the way up so dad spent most of his time with his head in the engine, my mum’s temper was getting thinner and thinner, she had already cried umpteen times and the mood wasn’t getting any better. Now there isn’t a lot of room in a VW, especially because mother was seriously overweight, my bed was a triangle pulled out from the ceiling, with no room to turn. So trying to get to sleep with the sounds of cars and lorries rushing passed the side, that shook the whole van and the sobs from mother underneath, me thinking that I wasn’t going to wake up because I was convinced we were all going to die from a lorry going into us, and trying to get comfortable, needless to say I struggled to get to sleep. Mother was so angry that every time I moved my foot or breathed too deeply I was screamed at to ‘stay still’. So not a lot of sleep was had by all.
Anyway after no sleep, no wash we did get to see him play in the concert the next day. It was very exciting for me, because this brother I had always looked up too. We all played instruments in this family, we all had to live and breathe brass bands, but he had something special. I have watched him play from village halls to the Albert Hall and I just wanted to say that (even though I am sure he won’t read this) I am proud of his dedication to practising, still now every day, and I am proud of him.