Dawn Service at Henley

Yesterday morning I attended the Anzac Day dawn service at Henley Beach. I have been going to these services for about 15 years; playing in the Henley and Grange Concert Band. It is gratifying to observe that a growing number of people are attending; a time to remember and honour the sacrifices of our servicemen and women.

The Macarena

The Lockleys Carols Night at Mellor Park is always a bit different to other carols nights that we play at. The compere, Richard Berry, always includes some crowd participation; it is a real fun family night.

It is hard to believe though that less than an hour after taking this photo we were playing in the rain.

Carols at Sturt Cottage

I always know when Christmas is near when we start our carols season. This is a regular gig for the Henley and Grange Concert Band, the band I play in. Tonight we were joined by a choir from Grange Primary School.

The hills are alive

Remember the Sound of Music and the glorious scenes of the Alps. We were surely reminded of this today at a concert of The Henley and Grange Concert Band.

Guest artists this afternoon were Adelaide Alphorns' Martina and Wendy. These local ladies went all the way to Switzerland to learn to play these wonderful instruments. We were all enthralled by their delightful performance.

ABC Wednesdays - S for Sorry Day

National Sorry Day has been held in Australia since 1998; a day of remembrance each year to commemorate the history of forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and its effects.

From the late 1800's until 1969 as many as 100,000 indigenous children were taken from their families in the name of assimilation. These children became known as the Stolen Generation.

Indigenous children were placed into government-run institutions, taken into church-run institutions and adopted or fostered by white families.

Yesterday a free community Sorry Day event was held in Victoria Square. This is a photo of one of the acts on stage; the lead singer Jarrad attended Warriappendi High School where I work in a computer support role. Students and staff from the school were there to support him.

The ABC Wednesday meme was created by Denise Nesbitt. To find out more about ABC Wednesdays and see other participants' contributions click here

Anzac Day - community band

This is the Henley & Grange Concert Band playing at the Henley Beach Anzac Day dawn service. Normally I would have been one of the saxophone players but due to a problem with my hand I was not able to play; the first time for about 10 years.

West Lakes Carols

Over the last few weeks I have played at several community carols nights. This was taken a couple of Sundays ago at West Lakes, a western suburb of Adelaide. Even though it was a breezy and cold night most of the carollers stayed to the end.

I have just found out the my blog has been listed as a Blog of Note; just the encouragement I need to keep going. It is quite time consuming to post every day, and I have been really busy in the last few weeks so I took a few days break.

Narnu Farm

My home for the weekend was Narnu Farm. Each year our community band has a 'band camp'. We visit a rural area and have a workshop and combined concert with a local band.

Narnu Farm is a camp site mainly used by school groups, but equally suited to a group like ours.

This is the main communal room, a place to eat and socialise. Off to the left is a well equipped kitchen and an activity room; table tennis and a large screen projector. To the right is the accommodation; dormitory rooms with double bunk beds.

Strathalbyn Bands Festival

Strathalbyn is a country town in the Adelaide Hills, about 60 km from Adelaide and each year they host a bands' festival. The event runs over two Sundays, attracting about 10 bands each day. Last Sunday I performed as a member of the Henley and Grange Concert Band.

Pictured is the City of Holdfast Bay Concert Band, another of our Adelaide community bands.

The Forgotten War

Today marked the end of the Korean War 55 years ago; an armistice was signed on 27th July 1953. Australian armed forces were part of a United Nations force . This memorial is located to the rear of the South Australian War Memorial on North Terrace.

This morning the community band I play in was involved in a memorial service at the Henley Town Hall.

ABC Wednesdays - X for Xylophone

This is Mr X playing a xylophone. I play saxophone in the Henley and Grange Concert Band, a community band, and a few weeks ago we purchased this new xylophone. Not really Mr X; Ben is one of our percussionists and he happily posed for the photo for me.

To find out more about ABC Wednesdays and see links to other participants' sites go to mrs nesbitts place

Combined Bands' Concert

Today the band I play in, the Henley and Grange Concert Band, performed in a concert at Murray Bridge. It was a combined concert with Murray Bridge Community Concert Band which was celebrating its 15th birthday. Murray Bridge is about 80 kilometres east of Adelaide.

Each band performed a selection of music and then as a finale we combined to perform five numbers together; in all over 60 musicians on stage.

Henley Soldiers' Memorial

Tomorrow morning in front of this hall will be the setting for an Anzac Day dawn service. Each year on the 25th April, hundreds of people gather here to remember the men and women who served in our armed forces.

This date was chosen because it was on this day in 1914 that the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) troops landed at Gallipoli in Turkey. This was the first time that our nation had been involved in major military action.

I have been attending for 10 years, as the band I play in provides the music for the service.

Community band concert

Click on the images to enlarge

Today I played in a concert at Woodville Town Hall. As the temperature soared to 40c, we played to an appreciative audience who ignored the heat and came to hear us; such dedication!

I play saxophone in the Henley & Grange Concert Band. Today we did a combined concert with the Woodville Concert Band. Each band performed a bracket of about 5 numbers and then we played 5 pieces together.

It was rather uncomfortable in the hall that is not airconditioned, but in true community spirit both bands had a good roll up. When we set the date no one even thought about the chance of it being so hot!

I thank Steve P for taking photos for me in rather difficult conditions - the light level was low.

Jazz Club

Last night we had an enjoyable night out listening to some great music at a local hotel; the Southern Jazz Club features different bands there each Thursday night. My wife and I went along to especially hear a friend playing. It was special night for her as it was the first time she has played her double bass for many years. She plays bass guitar in the concert band I belong to.

Carols at Sturt Cottage

At this time of the year there are many Christmas events. I play in the Henley and Grange Concert Band (a community band) and we play at several carols nights. Tonight was our first; in the grounds of Sturt Cottage at Grange, a western seaside suburb of Adelaide.