Day 3 - Brass bands, Boomwhackers, Bruges, Beer... and Chocolate

Still riding on the high of our amazing reception in Ostend, we were up bright and early for a departure to Nieuwpoort.  Who needs an alarm clock when you have dozens of highly vocal seagulls?  

Our stage was beach side, and even whilst we were setting up, we had a distinct feeling that we were likely to attract a crowd. And indeed we did.  It transpired that a third section band from Stoke on Trent was in the audience.  No pressure then.....

The weather was "changeable" for want of a better word.  There were distinct gusts of wind which could have proved problematic for our feature players who had music stands at the front of the performance area.

So here is a top tip for any other musical groups in a similar predicament. We used "Non Instrument Playing Junior Humans."  Simply clamp them to the base of the music stand, and they provide superb stability.  

If the initial set up is performed with care, they are able to auto install when needed in future.  

We attracted our own little dance troupe, and once again our sizeable audience remained for the whole performance.  It was a close run thing, but if anything, it was even better than Ostend.

From there, it was on to Bruges where the group temporarily split, depending on whether the chocolate tour or beer tour was the individual preference.  Whatever the choice, everyone seems to have had a great time, and we reconvened for a canal cruise.  Unfortunately at this point the heavens opened, but our spirits were in no way dampened.

The younger members of the group had well and truly bonded by now and there was absolutely no way to curb their enthusiasm.  And that was fine by everyone else.


We then moved on to the restaurant where we had booked our evening meal.  We had pre booked our meal choices, however as anyone who has ever arranged the works’ Christmas do will know, very few people remember what they have chosen.

But once we had got over that minor point, we all tucked into some amazing food, with the waiting staff providing great entertainment for the children’s table.