Great to be out and see bands perform live again
ON Thursday, October 14, I attended my first theatre visit for more than 18 months to hear the Band of the Prince of Wales at Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon.
My wife, Jane and I were very relieved to get there as I rather foolishly took the moors road from Ebbw Vale, avoiding Crickhowell, through Llangynidr on the B4558.
It is a lovely run along there, but it is very narrow in places and it seemed that all the traffic using it considered that they were the only ones brave enough to use it and as a result they were mostly driving too fast.
After a couple of near misses I decided that I would be using major roads to return to Ebbw Vale!
The theatre proved to be a very safe environment so it was a very relaxed hour listening to some very good playing by the band under conductor WO1 David J Hatton.
The band has been on a recruitment drive and a part of this was to give a couple of free concerts at Brecon for the local community.
Among the Prince of Wales Band players were six young players, not in uniform, aged between 17 and 22 who were experiencing being with the band for a few days in the possibility of having a music career in the army.
The programme was certainly enjoyed by an appreciative audience and the highlight of the concert for me was Tom Davoren’s Legacy – a piece written to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the NHS.
This piece of music was certainly a hit and during the performance the large screen behind the band displayed a photo of Aneurin Bevan along with two quotes which are as true today as the day in 1952 when he uttered them: “No society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of lack of means,” and “Illness is neither an indulgence for which people have to pay, nor an offence for which they should be penalised, but a misfortune, the cost of which should be shared by the community.”
This concert was not only entertaining and well played but also carried a strong message. Well done to the Prince of Wales Band as we thoroughly enjoyed it.
It was our first visit to Theatr Brycheiniog and we both thought that it was a very good venue in a lovely setting.