A FLOCKTON farmer came to a brass band’s rescue.
The UK-wide Camping and Caravanning Club has its own brass band which plays at six competitions nationwide each year.
It was due to play at Silkstone Hymn Tune and March Competition for brass bands at Silkstone near Barnsley.
But the field in which the players were due to pitch their caravans, motorhomes and tents was flooded, so Barnsley members Anne and Frank Rooke ended up driving around the area looking for a suitable field.
The band members were travelling from all over the country, including Northern Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, Somerset and Kent. The pressure to find somewhere was really on.
Anne said: “We knew Flockton farmer Robin Hay had a small campsite so literally knocked on his door to see if he could help.’’
Mr Hay did more than that.
He cleared out his barn so the band could practice in it and also towed the caravans on and off one of his fields.
With the ground so wet at the moment, vehicles driven on to fields start to sink and the grass is churned into mud.
Anne said: “It really was a case of the Dunkirk spirit.
“The band can only practice when we meet up and usually plays under a gazebo – so it was luxury to have a barn.’’
In the end, it all paid off as the band scooped a prize for its smartness and marching prowess.
