If my use of translation engines is correct, that should approximate “very good” in Flemish, which is how I would describe Charnwood Concert Bands’ recent tour of Belgium. Our Antwerp gig was a bit lightly attended although it served well as a warm up. St Walburga’s in Brugge provided a better audience and a reverb time that could be counted in seconds (as well as a few resident bats to join the larger human audience). Finally, it was a great end to the tour to perform in the large Wapenplein bandstand in Ostend – as a city square with many cafes spilling out onto the cobbles and with decent weather we got a good sized and enthusiastic audience for free.

It was also good to have a lot more time with fellow band members than at rehearsals and a chance to get to know many of them much better. Having been a successful tour, there is every chance the band will resume its habit of taking a trip every other year and I’m very inclined to sign up should that happen.

I was also pleased that my arm held up well to all the playing and that my equipment packing (helped with the purchase of a cheap cool box from Lidl for waterproof storage of all the small bits) worked well in easing the transportation of my gear.