That Was The Week That Was . . .

[Roger Thorne]

Is it just my band, or do players in general become more accident prone the week before the Area Contest?

Over the years I've had to contend with a Bass Player falling off his horse and breaking his wrist the night before the contest.

A Bass Trombone player writing off his car by rolling it a couple of times and crashing through a hedge - three days before the contest.

A Cornet player having to walk on stage supported by crutches due to a fractured ankle and to cap it all at our last rehearsal our 2nd Trombone player took a nasly tumble outside the bandroom. Fortunately it was only his pride that was hurt.

These are on top of the usual bout of cold sores, mouth ulcers and colds that seem to attack my players in the run up to the contest.

There's still a couple of weeks to go and I'm now dreading the phone call which starts . . . . "I've got some good news and bad news"!

Is it just my band or do you have any stories you can share.


;)

[Ruthless]

Not at area time but....A certain Euph player in my old band in Sheffield fell off the stage at the finals. Think he used the Euph to break his fall - whoops

[euphfanhan]

Not sure about the areas, but we didn't make the last contest we entered. 3 players had flu, one player was in a car crash which wrote off his car and his bass (now euphonium sized) and another bass player had his instrument stolen! All in the week before the contest. I don't think it was meant to be!

[Baritonedeaf]

We lost a Trombone player two years ago to a Unihock puck to the mouth on the Friday afternoon before the contest, the same year a cornet player took a hockey stick to the mouth and lost a bit of lip earlier during the week!

Nightmare.

Touch wood for this year :-)

[jingleram]

We lost a Trombone player two years ago to a Unihock puck to the mouth on the Friday afternoon before the contest, the same year a cornet player took a hockey stick to the mouth and lost a bit of lip earlier during the week!

Nightmare.

Touch wood for this year :-)
Ie wooden hockey stick to mouth! Lol. That sounds unluicky! Have had a stick to the mouth before and am left with the scar to prove it!

[Di]

17 years ago today ;) (oops, yesterday, we've gone past midnight) little miss sunshine put in her appearance (late of course!). It was touch or go whether I'd make the area, but I did, with her just 10 days old.

2 years later we were on the way to a contest (not the area this time though) and we managed to slide off the road in heavy fog and ice into a ditch! There was the two of us, with me heavily pregnant, standing by the road 7am in the morning, trying to flag down the next passing vehicle to get us to a phone (this was before mobiles :rolleyes: ) to call out the tow truck to get us out. Managed to get out without a single scratch on the car, and make it to the pre-contest rehearsal, although we were half an hour late. :rolleyes:

[Nanny Ogg]

Not accident prone but forgetful. I once played with a band who forgot to put one of the basses on the band coach (areas too). The local Sally-Anne we're dears and let them borrow a sexy 4 valve imperial.

[englishgill]

took a nice hockey ball to the thumb on my right hand on the Saturday, black and very painful hand with stiff fingers on Sunday for the contest - glad we had so many nice chromatic runs to play that year - also glad they make super strength ibuprofen tablets these days!!!

Luckily am playing in the Areas on Saturday this year so will have a week to recover from any hockey damage this time. I do however know I will get skinned alive if I do damage myself, but as captain of my hockey team this year I can hardly not play!! Have bought myself lovely padded gloves to play in so at least my right hand will be ok (and I'll keep my head out of it!) perhaps I won't stand on the post at penalty corners next week!

[daveredhead]

took a nice hockey ball to the thumb on my right hand on the Saturday, black and very painful hand with stiff fingers on Sunday for the contest - glad we had so many nice chromatic runs to play that year - also glad they make super strength ibuprofen tablets these days!!!

Luckily am playing in the Areas on Saturday this year so will have a week to recover from any hockey damage this time. I do however know I will get skinned alive if I do damage myself, but as captain of my hockey team this year I can hardly not play!! Have bought myself lovely padded gloves to play in so at least my right hand will be ok (and I'll keep my head out of it!) perhaps I won't stand on the post at penalty corners next week!

I hope you bringing padded gloves to summer school, could help deaden the noise emmitting from the horns,also may stop you hogging the bar, good luck in the areas to all tMPrs taking part

[postie]

We had a trombone player who went to hospital for a consultation regarding a dodgy spot on his nose and he came out with plasters / sticky tape right across his nose and face - he did not know they were going to carry out a procedure to remove the spot for analysis!!! This was a couple of years ago. Fortunately we had 3 trombones available to play out of the four.

I know another player in our band who broke her leg a week before the areas whilst skiing a few years ago.

[Big Twigge]

You'll be pleased to know Roger that I'm full of cold and have quite a nasty cough! Lets see how many more diseases I can get from the children in school this week!

[JessopSmythe]

A Bass Trombone player writing off his car by rolling it a couple of times and crashing through a hedge - three days before the contest.


;)

To be fair, Rog, that wasn't Lukes fault! He wasn't on the road he thought he was and that corner should have gone right, not left.

Abergavenny went on stage one light 3 years ago. Jessop Jnr arrived on the day. As the band went on stage, I was in the maternity ward with Mrs Smythe. Would have been ok except we were playing Coventry Variations which starts with a trio - Bass Trom, Flugel and Solo Horn:eek:

And I once managed to break my nose in between the afternoon peformance and the evening performance at a Shropshire Youth event in Bridgnorth. It's a wierd feeling, going for a to C and feeling you nose move towards the mouthpiece!

[ian perks]

a few years ago i had a cold and my right ear got blocked up and so i had to have it sorted out as it was full of wax 2 days before the contest the doc said i was not to play my baritone for a week but i said im the judge of that and my band comes first as its contest time.

[Hell's_Trombone]

Last area ur rep player got stuck in Switzerland because of the snow which made our performance quite interesting! Couple years ago before Pontins my brother opened a door into his mouth which burst his lip so he couldn't play......really funny though!

[Will the Sec]

a few years ago i had a cold and my right ear got blocked up and so i had to have it sorted out as it was full of wax 2 days before the contest the doc said i was not to play my baritone for a week but i said im the judge of that and my band comes first as its contest time.

Only one year at a time, though, Ian?

I can see the epitaph.



I Might

Have Died

BUT

We Won!

[Owen S]

:D

Nice one Will.

[WoodenFlugel]

Well, I read through this thread last week thinking I'm lucky that I haven't been sick or had an accident before the area in twenty-odd years of playing....

Then yesterday - whammo! (or should that be bleeuugh?) I get a horrible stomach bug :( . I managed to limp through last night's rehearsal (even though I'm now off work with it) but it was dammed hard work. I'm now sat after eating a single slice of toast, with my stomach doing more acrobatics than the Chinese State Circus. Gawd knows what it'll be like tomorrow, when there's a bit of "contest bile" present. :redface:

[timbloke]

Ian, try my remedy of a pre-contest hot curry, some whisky (preferably a firey scotch) and an early night. The curry kills off anything bad, the whisky assists with killing anything off, plus enough of it will knock you out, and the early night gives your body the small possibility of a bit of recovery!

Best of luck for tomorrow.

[WoodenFlugel]

Lol. Thanks for the advice "Dr" Tim ;)

While I'd normally be more than up for a curry, the thought of eating anything with any sort of taste puts my gut into convulsions. I'm currently specialising in "plain". Bread and baked spuds are about the limit of what I can keep down. So I reckon the curry wouldn't be down there long enough to do any good!

Scotch is a nice idea, but I have an 8:30am rehearsal tomorrow, so the thought of that, the Wayfarer, plus dodgy guts and a hangover really doesn't appeal.

I guess I'll take your advice of an early night, get up tomorrow and see how it goes. The one good thing is that while I feel like a bag of poo tied up at the middle, it doesn't seem to affect the way I'm playing (or it didn't last night anyway), in fact it seems to help - I guess concentrating on playing takes my mind off the various things happening down south. :redface:

[daveredhead]

Well, I read through this thread last week thinking I'm lucky that I haven't been sick or had an accident before the area in twenty-odd years of playing....

Then yesterday - whammo! (or should that be bleeuugh?) I get a horrible stomach bug :( . I managed to limp through last night's rehearsal (even though I'm now off work with it) but it was dammed hard work. I'm now sat after eating a single slice of toast, with my stomach doing more acrobatics than the Chinese State Circus. Gawd knows what it'll be like tomorrow, when there's a bit of "contest bile" present. :redface:

sorry to hear of troubles but hope you better soon and well enough to play tomorrow, cos you have quite a bit to do, good luck at Burton but not enough to beat us , may be we will manage to say hello, at the burger bar or one of tha adjacent pubs, get well by tomorrow

[Will the Sec]

There was the time I broke my nose in four places 8 days before the areas....

[meandmycornet]

Well our solo trombone player has had tennis elbow for ages and ages... but she's been lots better recently! We had a stand in for a while, but she's ok for Sunday!

also.... not the area... but Bugle contest last year I had to be carried on and off the stage by a lovely welsh gentlemen as I had my leg in a cast from my accident at the whits the week before! Nothing can stop me! :tongue:

[BrotherBone]

Last year had blocked ear from wax buildup all week, was loading it with audax but no joy, it was only as we walked on stage it "popped" as it were and i could hear, walking off it promptly went again!! Guess the big guy upstairs was in a good mood that day, the band won through to the finals! =)

[Flugelgeoff]

Unbelievable! just reading this thread when my phone goes. " hi geoff it's Tracy, I've broken my tooth!! I will be seeing the dentist on Monday and hope I can get it sorted". This on the back of a tense wait to see if our flugel player was going to have her baby in time to perform at the areas next week. Just heard scarlett Grace has joined our waiting list and thinking positive thoughts when that happened. What next. See you all at Stevenage with or without Eb bass!:dunno :lol:

[WoodenFlugel]

sorry to hear of troubles but hope you better soon and well enough to play tomorrow, cos you have quite a bit to do

Thanks for the best wishes Dave, and to everyone who spoke during the day yesterday too. Well, I got through it OK - I think I played alright, but it was hard work and I needed a second after we'd played to gather myself again. But I got through it which was the main thing. Still not 100% though - going to the doc's tomorrow...:(

good luck at Burton but not enough to beat us

You just pipped us!! Well done matey!

may be we will manage to say hello, at the burger bar or one of tha adjacent pubs, get well by tomorrow

Sadly didn't see you around yesterday, or for that matter too many other tMPer's. Maybe due to the venue? Trust me, with my stomach the burger van was the last place I would've been, although I did manage a post match pint in the Old Cottage.

[postie]

I received a phone call on Saturday afternoon from one of our bass players informing me that both his and his wife's car had broken down!!! So I quickly managed to organise a lift from one of the other players who lives their way. We thought at least it happened Sat and not like 6am / 7am on Sunday morning!

[bagpuss]

OK, well where shall I start I have been fortunate (?) enough over the years to play in bands with some serious pranksters. For example a certain cornet player for a certain band many years ago thought it would be fun for the band to go for a jog around the running at track at a competition in Colwyn Bay Leisure Centre. Not just that but he thought it would be even more funny to see if one of the Eb bass players would bounce when pushed over accidentally on purpose. The Eb bass player didn't bounce and in fact broke his right arm in the fall - all before the band went on stage!

The week before the areas with the same nameless band several years ago I was playing for the County Brass Band in a 24hour sponsored blow. We were playing at a local shopping centre and were all taking it in turns to have breaks. When it became my turn I put the trombone on its stand and went to walk away at just the same time as a big footed horn player in front of me turned around from her chair knocked over my trombone and then proceeded to stand on it. It ended up with an almost right angle in the slide and with the bell bent in half. Still played it the week after in the areas though after a very hasty trip to the repairers!!!

Or how about doing a rehearsal on first trombone the night before the national finals in London (firestorm) and putting the trombone away all fine and with no problem. Getting the trombone out the next day however was different as when I put it together the slide had somehow managed to get a bend in it overnight and I had to borrow a trombone from a trade stand to go on stage with.

All good fun though.


Puss

[Chief L. Basso De Blower]

Not quite an illness or accident....but many (many) years ago, the solo Euphonium player from a band in the East of England decided to clean his instrument the night before a contest. Should be OK...

...but his 4th valve wouldn't come out, it got stuck halfway. So he decided that a little 'light tapping' to the bottom of the valve would free it up! This was achieved with a hammer and screwdriver......and drove the screwdriver through the middle of the valve.

The phone call to the MD went on the lines of "Do we have a spare Euph in the bandroom?".....you can guess what the reply was!

Good luck in the contest tomorrow (L&SC Region)!!


Ady

[flossy]

Don't fear, it's not just your band! We've had a far share of incidents too. The most recent was a week before the areas this year. The second man down (me!) had an accident at work and dislocated her fingers. Not amusing...

I have no theories as to why these things happen before contests, but I assume that it must be something to do with bandsmen and women getting excited at the prospect of getting drunk after performing.

At least, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!