IT’S got all the ingredients of a comedy classic . . . Carry on Banding.
An acclaimed brass band is desperately appealing for a new home.
It’s hardly surprising. The YBS band is brassed off with its dilapidated rehearsal space at Upper Mills, Slaithwaite.
Problems include:
Players being dive-bombed by bats nesting in the roof
A noisy heater that drowns out the music
Rain pouring in through a leaking roof
Temperatures so cold the players have to keep their coats on.
The 30-strong band has hit hard times since the Yorkshire Building Society withdrew sponsorship in 2005, but members are determined to carry on. The ensemble, formerly called The Hammond Sauce Works Band, has also suffered power cuts and lift breakdowns.
Despite adversity, the YBS band put in an impressive performance at the British Open Brass Band Championships in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, last week.
The YBS will travel to the Merano Music Festival in Italy soon and will compete in the National Brass Band Championship on October 20. The band also plans to make two CDs and will battle it out in the Brass In Concert contest in Gateshead in November.
Principal cornet player Alexandra Kerwin says: “We are aiming to grab the glory days again and with our new team we are working fiercely to achieve that.
“But we have a big problem. Our rehearsal room is very inadequate.
“We have been trying desperately to find a new bandroom that will inspire our players and, at the very least, be a safe and warm place to rehearse.
But most of the places we have visited are either too expensive or unable to accommodate us on our chosen evenings.
“We ideally need a facility where we could keep our equipment set up. In return, we could work out advertising space, paying rent, have naming rights or negotiate a way the band could give something back.”
If you can help the YBS Band call Alexandra on 07817 895014. The band practises on Mondays and Thursdays between 7.45pm and 9.45pm.
