Betteshanger Colliery Band awards ceremony for 2011
The awards ceremony hosted by Steve Griffiths, was dual purpose and served as both a social get together and an awards ceremony. .
Thanks to Karen (Madam Chairman) for putting together the presentation.
None of the recipients were aware of their awards, some of which were serious and some light-hearted.
The first award of 2011 was the award for the ‘Baldest Band Member’.
This was a very tough category and Steve remarked that there was a lot of competition. There were a number of nominations with the ‘Betteshanger Buzz Cut’. The nominations were Steve Griffiths, Phil Linkin, John Ainley and the eventual winner Eb Bass player Chris Cutting.
The next category was for the ‘Most Questioning Approach to the Director of Music Award’.
This award was won by Bb Bass player Phil Linkin and is an in joke as Phil is well known for not listening, saying ‘pardon’ and often starting from the wrong bar despite the rest of the band having understood Dave Cuttings instructions!
In the course of a rehearsal this dedicated questioner normally says 30 ‘pardons’, 15 ‘what bars?’ and the odd ‘…..’oh, I thought you said….’ Thrown in for good measure.
Next up was the ‘Most Cavalier Attitude Towards Band Uniform Award’
This award was another with some nominations and there were images of Nigel Bogue, Dave Alexander, Chris Cutting and Steve Griffiths wearing Sombrero’s and Ponchos in readiness for a Christmas comedy piece, another of Steve Griffiths sporting an Elvis wig during a concert on Deal Bandstand and the winner Principal Cornet Nigel Bogue wearing full uniform with full face paint at a village fayre! He really did do the second half wearing it!
Serious Awards.
Each year the band gives an award to the person who is considered by the committee and the Musical Director to have made a significant and particularly worthy contribution to the band.
This award is The Jack Storey Memorial Cup.
Jack Storey was a coal miner and bandsman and his cup was first awarded in 1967 and has been awarded every year since.
It is an important part of the bands history and to receive it means that the winners name will forever be associated with the history of the band.
Of course, over the year there have been a number of people who would have been worthy recipients of the cup.
However, overall, it was felt that there was one person in particular who has been ready, willing and able to carry out tasks, always smiling, always positive, and this person’s name came up time and again.
The winner of the Jack Storey Cup was Contest Secretary and Eb Bass player Chris Cutting.
Leavers. Cornet players Tiffany Adams and Amy Kempshall were presented with engraved pens and thanked for their dedication and excellent attitude over the last few years.
Both joined the band as children and have grown up with the band. During this time they have both become excellent musicians and have been loyal and valued band members.
There are very few activities that can be shared by people ranging in age from 8 to 80 but Brass Banding is one of them and Steve complimented them on their time with the band believes that this has prepared them for the wider world especially in their ability to work as part of a close knit team with others of all ages.
Tiff has been accepted to join the British Army and has passed her audition for entry to the Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall and Amy will shortly be going to University to study Animal Behaviour.
Ivor. Ivor Thomas Eb Bass has been playing in Brass Bands for 80 years.
Steve said that, to put that in context, Ivor was playing in brass bands before the ballpoint pen had been invented. Instant coffee was still science fiction, and a young Austrian called Adolf Hitler was still trying to get into art school!!!
Ivor is the longest serving member of Betteshanger Band and this is a record which is unlikely ever to be beaten.
And of course Ivor represents the last of the men who both actually dug at the coal face and played in the band in the evenings. As such he marks the end of an era.
Although Ivor has retired from active playing he remains very much associated with the band and that is how we would like it to be.
He will always be welcome and his award was not to conclude his time with the band but to celebrate, mark and thank him for what amounts to an incredible achievement.
The band thought long and hard about what we could get him to mark the occasion and thought of the obvious vases and bowls but nothing seemed appropriate.
We wanted something unmistakably connected with the colliery and we eventually settled on a figure of a miner made from coal.
This was mounted onto a piece of mahogany with a brass plaque which was engraved ‘Ivor Thomas. For Services To Betteshanger Colliery Band. 1938-2011.’
In addition to the award from Betteshanger Sally Coleman, from scaba, presented Ivor with a scaba 80 year certificate in recognition of his service to the Brass Band movement. scaba has, over the years, awarded many long service certificates but this is by far the most outstanding.