Aylesbury Concert Band Rehearsal – Proms in the Park

 

        Aylesbury holds an Annual Concert with a Fireworks Display to celebrate the August Bank Holiday Parklife weekend. This Year’s event is also due to be streamed via Facebook, which considering the weather was possibly a stroke of genius, as it meant the event will still reach a wide audience who might have otherwise been put off attending due to rain.
         As it happened, despite the rehearsal taking place in light drizzle, by the time the concert began, this had all but stopped. My camera gear is not too well protected, and if as looked likely it might rain, I decided to get in as many shots of the Aylesbury Concert Band during rehearsal in order to carry a gallery of images of the players even though they were in ‘mufti’. I knew my time was somewhat restricted for processing my images, so this initial gallery is entirely of the rehearsal.
         I hope that these images will be an appetiser for the concert proper which will follow in a couple of days. I will say that the Music for this event was really enjoyable, and for me the Star event of the evening was the astonishing talent of the fifteen year old Shona Beacham playing Monti's Tsardas. Get to the Aylesbury Concert Band’s Facebook page to hear and see it. The piece would stretch any player — this is really exceptional from one so young!
         My gallery for the concert proper will follow in a couple of days.

The Flying Proms at Shuttleworth

I have never before visited Shuttleworth for this event, and it was an opportunity to enjoy the company of my elder daughter, Catherine, to pay a visit to the Birds of Prey conservation area, and listen to some excellent music, with the added bonus of taking some photographs! I have divided the shots taken into three galleries,
One,
Two,
 and Three

Unfortunately, due to other commitments, not the least being to pay yet another visit to Tringford reservoir, I arrived with barely a quarter of an hour to spend with the birds of prey, which really meant only see ing the range of owls; I was well late for any of the demonstrations. I did feel it was somewhat sad to see the owls tethered to hops all in a long line, and hear their plaintive calls, but I was amazed at the variety and size of those I saw there.

I had worried that having left Tringford as it started to rain, and because it had not let up during the rest of the time at home preparing ‘Brands Hatch coffee’ and other sustenance, I was envisaging a somewhat damp evening listening to the music, but I need not have fretted, as soon after leaving, the rain stopped, and as I neared my destination, the roads were completely dry. I took a couple of quick shots of the college itself; limited by the presence of a fire engine, which added nothing to the scene!

I parked the car and wandered down to where the last of the microlites were arriving and being secured, disgorging their occupants dressed in evening dress, and soon found myself in conversation with a man with a camera; it turned out he was a family friend of the singer for the evening, one Abigail ‘Abi’ Iveson. I also met another gentleman also toting a camera, and although we parted with ‘See you later’ I little expected to meet up again in such a large crowd. I spent quite a time trying to capture the aircraft as they took off, flew a circuit or two before landing and taking the next passengers for a flight.

Whilst waiting to meet up with Catherine who was making her own way from Cambridge, I tried desperately to capture something of the swallows ducking and diving low overhead, above the cars in the car park. I was very wrong about not meeting the two gentlemen again, for we all ended up in front of the stage in darkness, each trying to capture the ambiance offered by the lighting and the singer! I was even able to meet up with Abi’s parents and show them a couple of images on the camera back.

At the end of the show, I managed to capture some of the fireworks, despite not having a tripod. Altogether, a thoroughly enjoyable evening.