France - Digne Les Baines

by Sergeant Rachael Newman

Friday 5th August was the start of a very interesting 5 days for the band with their trip to the South of France. The band met on Friday evening for a last run through of our arena performance and massed band pieces that we were due to play in just a few days time. We all endured the very long trip to France totalling 18 hours across land and sea, driving through amazing sceneries including the Alps! We finally reached our destination at Digne Les Baines where we were to be staying for the next 4 days and arrived in time to see the opening ceremony of the weeks celebrations, with a display of fireworks. Saturday was due to be the bands toughest day. The weather was very humid and we started the day with a march through town to introduce ourselves…it was a very loud introduction! The band stopped for lunch before the afternoon rehearsal to run through the evening's performance with many other bands who had also travelled from far away. As Romford got together at the venue in the evening for their chance to shine, the show was called off due to part of the building collapsing! Fire Trucks arrived and the building was evacuated with a 'suspected earthquake' which turned out to be a problem with the building's foundations! This was a relief for the bands and the spectators who were moved into town where Romford performed their arena display with a few adjustments due the changes in arena size! Romford performed without any fuss and pulled off a fantastic display. Time to Say Goodbye and Conquest of Paradise were played by all bands and the night finished with Happy Birthday for 'Char-len Orn'.

After a very eventful day on Monday the band were up early to perform once again through town. Unfortunately the heavens opened and the parade was cancelled so the band took some time to chill out and relax before the evening carnival. Some members of Romford decided to provide some pre-evening carnival entertainment and got together marching up and down the high street singing 'Oh when the Saints'. Drum Major Jack Jones got the crowd going and the French Community cheered us on. The bands and floats got together for the carnival in the evening through the town. We then let our hair down and went to the funfair before going to bed, ready for a far more relaxed day on Monday.

On Monday, we performed again through town to popular military marches including a massed band with our new friends from Helsingor, Denmark including New Colonial and Blazeaway, then stopped for Lunch and Punch. In the afternoon we went off to 'The Lake' which turned out to be a very big man-made pool in the middle of no-where!  The sun stayed out for us and we had a very fun afternoon there before having to head back for the Night Carnival which would be our last performance. We marched twice around town, once in pitch black with only glow sticks to help us see our music! The band still sounded brilliant as usual and  it was a great end to a fun 4 days in France.

The band were up early on Tuesday to have their classic french breakfast consisting of bread rolls with tea and powdered milk. Very filling!!! We loaded up the coach and set off for the 18 hour drive home! The South of France Trip was eventful and busy but was enjoyed by all!!