New Mills 6th June 2009

Awaking this morning to see the rain was still pouring down, the feeling of the members as they boarded the coach at first pick-up Eastwood and along the route to Chesterfield, was that we were going to be performing in the wet at the New Mills Carnival in the High Peak. On arrival and during changing, the downpour changed to a slight drizzle and by the time we prepared to take up our position ready for parade start this was hardly noticeable.
Even after all the rain and the fact that it was colder than a mid November day the crowds still lined the streets as the parade moved off following the now familiar route downhill towards the main road with the Musketeers bringing up the rear along with the ‘Billerettes’, who as usual kept mingling through the band ranks marching to the bands music, even when the parade stopped the Musketeers drummers kept the beat going to help them keep up with their dancing. All along the route pounds and pounds of ‘Swizzells’ sweets and lollies were thrown to the crowd, with many falling at the band members feet as they passed by, eventually the parade reached the recreation ground were the Carnival was to be continued. After all the overnight and Saturday mornings rain, the carnival still attracted the townsfolk onto the field although as the afternoon wore on they started to drift away in an attempt to find warmer regions.
Scheduled to make our appearance in the arena at the conclusion of the afternoons entertainment, fortunately for the band the organisers approached us to perform about an hour earlier before everyone had left and performing our new display and music we were not to bothered about the lack of a large audience, although two people that did sit there and take everything in and were suitably impressed throughout was our old friend Nelson and his buddy. Quickly changed afterwards into some warmer clothing the band were somewhat pleased to get away without the expected soaking but would have liked the weather to have been more summery, still an enjoyable day at New Mills once again.

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