****NEWSFLASH: UCB emerge victorious (almost!)****
UCB comes second in the Open B Grade Concert Band division. One step higher than 2005 and on our way to the top!!! Is it just me, or do we kick ass?! :)
******
I have just had a great weekend at the National Band Championships in Ivanhoe, Victoria, and this was mostly due to the people I met in the last week. At the risk of sounding schmaltzy, I'd just like to say that I have never in my life met such a warm, friendly group of people that I've instantly bonded with than the people I met last Wed morning whilst boarding the Overland. I formed an instant friendship with most of the people there (very rare for me) and I am truly grateful for their instant acceptance of me (a relative new-y to the band).
*****
I have been very fortunate to spend time with some wonderful people over the last week...particularly, but not limited to, Nads, Edgy, Unkey Brent, Big Al, Nat, Storrie, Grandpa Tinks and Anna Banana. For some of you, I wouldn't necessarily have chosen to stay with you in the hostel had I not come up on the train earlier but I am SO GLAD that I did. I would not have made the decision to stay with UCB had it not been for you. Thank you for making it so easy. I was quite nervous coming into this trip not knowing anyone aside from Nic and a couple of people I'd met before. I was quite apprehensive about everything but you welcomed me with open arms. Thanks so much. Miss you guys already!******
Lotsa love, Nix (sniff....sniff....tears welling up.... MUST..... STOP..... CHEESINESS ....)
MOVING ON!
******
"What happens in Melbourne stays in Melbourne"
For those of you in the know, the above statement still applies so don't worry. No unexpected revelations here. However, I'd like to share some....um...how should I put this....um...innocent, completely harmless memories?? with everyone.
******
We didn't seem to have a lot of luck making it to the events we wanted to see this year. The first was the quartet division (congratulations to UCB's quartet for their 4th place) which I bloody missed because their performance was pushed ahead and I was too late buying a friggin' boys school shirt! I can't believe UCB had an Adelaide cheer squad and Nat and I missed the target of our support. So I figure, they can't be blamed for not coming first - I think it was their lack of me, their lucky charm. He he he... :)
******
Then of course, we missed Kew Band which was the only Brass Band I had been ordered to see by my family. We caught the march but that was about it. Dammit. Then poor Donsy had no support for Marion Brass as the Adelaide contingent missed their performance and watched it through a door - damn organisers pushed the event ahead of schedule!
******
And to finish off our run of bad luck, we chose to go for beer, right about the time that Geelong Concert Band (the band that beat us in B Grade Concert Band) was on stage. Not well timed.
But all in all, we had a fantastic weekend, bonding (some more than others...he he...) and most of the time, cacking ourselves! No matter where you were, there was always a smiling face, or an arm around a shoulder, or an imprompu rank and file marching group (complete with mediocre drum major....I think Edgy'll have to take a pay cut...he he).
******
"We visited Melbourne...but it was closed"
This weekend I have come to the conclusion that Adelaide is a great place to live. Melbourne appeared to be closed this weekend. In Adelaide, there's a pub open on every corner, usually at any time. In Melbourne, I think the hospitals close if business is slow...
We walked for miles looking for places to eat, even on Saturday night (although that was sometimes due to Unkey Brent's less than superb navigational skills - although Nads' eternal optimism of "it's just around the next corner" helped!). Sunday night's 'Wokka noodles/semi-edible playdough' experience as a last resort are likely to remain in Anna's nightmares forever! :)
******
Our encounter with a less-than-tourist-orientated tram driver within 20 minutes of arriving in Melbourne was a particular highlight of Melbourne's national warm embrace. Fortunately we carry our own debate team of one with us!
"I'll just flop everywhere"
Ah, I'd just like to say "Nic, you're a f**king legend!" What memories! You had the toughest gig imaginable, you gave it your all and you will go down in history! Thankyou to Wendy and Arlene for being such good sports. Maurice, I'll find a way to get you back!!!
And Nic, just keep practicing the art! There's plenty of people who will donate themselves as mannequins, clearly!
Well, that concludes my run down of the trip to the 2007 Australian National Band Championships for now. Feel free to note any memories you'd like to share. In fact, COMMENT, BITCHES!!!! Pictures to come!!!!
And remember, victory in the 2009 Australian National Band Championships is.......
just around the corner!
******
EDIT: ROAD TRIP INTO HELL
My trip home was a total comedy of errors, I swear. I think I have to be the unluckiest person on earth. I didn't have to catch a bus until 8:30 in the morning but I decided I'd go with Big Al, Unkey Brent and Nat at 6:20 so I knew how to get there. After seeing them off before 7am, I went to check in at Firefly but the woman at the counter told me check in wasn't until 8am for Adelaide. So I went and got a coffee (which was like watered down dirt with milk) and sat on the ground for an hour. Unfortunately, what I hadn't been told is that the other check in desk WAS checking in Adelaide so by the time I realised, I was one of the last there. So I got a friggin aisle seat. First of many problems.
******
I was put at the back of the bus next to a girl who smelled like curry powder and garam masala gone bad. It was the kind of smell that makes me dry retch - I swear this smell had legs! From the first 5 minutes I was already bus sick from sitting over the engine and the smell made it worse and I wasn't even gonna be able to sleep it off. Luckily, for about 45 minutes the seats behind me were free so I could lie down until Ballarat but the smell must have been in this girl's hair hanging over the seat as it was more pungent than ever.
******
By the time I moved back to the allocated seat, my back was killing me, I had major cramp, I was exhausted and missing our little group. And above all, I was SHIT BORED! I couldn't read cos of motion sickness, couldn't sleep cos I had nowhere to put my head and couldn't even think straight because curry lady was talking in Hindi at 100 decibels an hour for about half the trip. At least she could have talked in English so I could have eavesdropped. How inconsiderate.
******
Then, finally, the driver decided to put on a video. Hilary Duff would have been an improvement over my day. And it was almost as bad: Dakota Fanning.....ugh...child actors! It was some terrible 'straight to dvd' release called Dreamer about horses (not my type of movie). But at least it was something to do. Or was it?
******
Oh no! Of course, my bad luck prevailed and 30 minutes in, the tvs decided they didn't want to work anymore and the driver couldn't fix them so we had to endure the rest of the trip without a video. I bet if we had had one though, it would have been Lizzie Maguire. ;)
******
So I tried to nap, shifting in my seat constantly. Then my WORST NIGHTMARE occurred. Curry lady fell asleep next to me and her head fell on my shoulder! I only thought that happened in movies. Kill me now! So I pushed her off but 5 seconds later, it was back again. In the end, I sorta nudged her to lean the opposite way and finally she did. But she was one of those annoying people who kept ALL her stuff down by her feet and so had no room to put her feet and started encroaching on my space. So I had the space of a 5 cent coin to put my feet.
******
Could this trip get any worse? Oh yes it can!
We headed for Tintinara to our second meal stop. There was about 5 minutes to go but the guy in front of me decided to put his seat back without warning me and I had my legs crossed. He jammed my knees in until I finally said 'ouch' and he stopped. I have a perfect bruise in the shape of my coke bottle now. We started to slow down in Tintinara but the driver stopped suddenly and suddenly I got whacked in the head with some guy's bag that he hadn't secured properly in the overhead luggage. So now I had a headache too. Then we stopped at the roadhouse and I got up to get out of this hellhole. But one of the guys was rude and pushed in front of me, stepping on my foot on the way out. Sneaker-tread shaped bruise there too.
******
I couldn't wait to get out for some fresh air. But no, as luck prevailed, as I got out, the smell hit me like a ton of bricks. 8 road trains filled with cows had decided to stop at the same time as us. The smell was putrid. I went into the toilets to escape it!
******
The rest of the trip was excrutiating - my phone had run out of charge so I couldn't even text anybody, the curry lady's pungent stench seemed to be multiplying with time. And just when I thought we were on the home stretch, we were stuck in an hr long traffic jam because of the roadworks between Hahndorf and Stirling and so arrived in Adelaide 30 minutes later than expected.
******
I've never been so glad to see my mum in my life. Next time, I'm bringing my bike!
Over and out.
