Went to an amazing concert last night at the local amphitheatre put on by The Band of Her Majesty?s royal Marines. Brilliant performance, fantastic music ranging from opera to Star Wars.
Strange thing was though that the band were all in desert fatigues rather than the normal dress uniforms that you would have expected at such a show.
Apparently, the reason is that they are all out here officially on guard duty to back up the resident battalion. Apparently, the forces are so stretched now in Afghanistan and Basra that they simply don?t have enough troops to guard the bases and other facilities.
Answer ? ship out the Marines band
Sad that on the 25th anniversary of the amazing campaign in The Falklands that it has come to this. I can?t help but think that the young men and women that played for us last night expected and deserved better.
BTW is was twenty-five years ago yesterday (May 4th) that HMS Sheffield was struck by the Exocet missile.
Ah yes ~ The Exocet missile sold to our enemies by our French allies rolleyes:
The Marines Band always give good value though ~ I saw them "live" once at the Royal Tournament (Earls Court)
There is something about a military (small m) band. I like Brass bands as well but and I suppose this comes of being ex -services, I am not allowed to go near them because SWMBO says I start to march the minute I hear them. She is probably right ... we were once strolling though the parks at Bournemouth and as we neared the bandstand the Band of the Royal Engineers were giving Souza some welly .... anyway as they broke into "Blaze Away" so did I ~ stride lengthened, shoulders back, arms swinging, regulation 120 paces to the minute. She swears she expected me to bellow "EYES RIGHT" and snap up a salute as we passed the players ~ she also claims I called her "An 'Orrible little man" but I deny that..... I may have been a Drill Instructor at one point but I cannot believe I would have said that twenty years later. Still cannot hear the RAF March Past without a tingling in the spine and a tear in the eye.
The talent of these young solders was absolutely amazing.
They are all (apparently) skilled with at least two instruments allowing them (there were only about thirty of them last night as the other sixty were on guard duty at the base) to perform as a concert band, big (dance) band, string orchestra, etc.
As somebody that has no musical talent whatsoever I find that quite remarkable.
I didn?t ever do military service so the marching thing doesn?t affect me luckily!
Anyway, if you really enjoy their music you should check-out the web site at
www.royalmarinesbands.co.uk
