The band with perhaps the longest name on the entry list at the Whit Friday contest circuit this year certainly enjoyed their experience.

The Caravan & Motorhome Club Concert Band (CAMC) decided to undertake the special tour spurred on by their Chairperson, Ian Clowes — perhaps better known in the banding world as the man behind the lens providing 4BR with great Goldy Solutions contest images.

All brass

Ian has always had a secret passion for playing percussion though, and as this year was also the 30th anniversary of the band it was decided to forgo their usual inclusion of woodwind and head 'all brass' to the contests in Saddleworth.

Several of their usual woodwind players had sourced brass instruments and been learning to play them for months specially for the trip.

World premiere

For one day only they became an 'exclusive' brass band and armed with a brilliant arrangement of 'Caravan' (what else?) by MD Chris Cobon as their road march, and led by their fantastic youngsters as banner carriers, complete with bubble guns, they headed to the contests.

After a quick rehearsal at the Burr's Country Park CAMC site — that included playing for the steam train enthusiasts on the adjacent East Lancs Railway they first appeared at Scouthead giving the world premiere performance of Chris Cobon's march 'Resilience' which proved really popular.

The then used their talents in picking just the right caravan routes to fit in six villages before calling it a night at Diggle.

We were really delighted at how the day went — and that we were able to perform at classic Whit Friday locations such as Delph and DobcrossIan Clowes

Enjoyed

Ian said: "We were really delighted at how the day went — and that we were able to perform at classic Whit Friday locations such as Delph and Dobcross. The overall results were mixed but we didn't mind.

The reception we got was wonderful and everyone — young and old enjoyed themselves."

Not only was this the first Whit Friday for the band, but they now head to Edinburgh in August back in concert band mode to play at two 'fringe events' at the famous festival.