It was a bit of a mixed bag for our Scottish representatives at the Spring Festival in Blackpool recently. Five Scottish bands travelled down to the Lancashire seaside town all with genuine hopes of doing well but it was not to be.
In the Senior Cup contest Unison Kinneil will be pleased that they again ended up the highest placed Scottish band after a decent attempt at the testpiece, Elgar Variations, saw them finish tenth and just ahead of their fierce local rivals Bo'ness & Carriden. Both bands continuing the form which saw them get good results at the Scottish Championships in March. Just behind the bands from Bo'ness, in twelfth place, came Dalmellington who also did well enough to maintain their status at this contest. That was not to be for Kingdom Brass however. Except for that win in the 2006 Senior Trophy, Kingdom do not seem to travel well to this contest at all and their bad luck continued this year. Seventeenth place will see the hugely disappointed Fife band relegated back to the Senior Trophy for next year.
In this years Senior Trophy, Scotland had one representative, Newtongrange Silver. The bands performance of Epic Symphony failed to find favour with the judges and they were placed seventeenth, a result which will see them fall through the relegation trapdoor and have to re-apply for admission next year.
The results of the Spring Festival Contests 2008
| Venue: | Pavillion Theatre, Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| Date: | 10th May 2008 |
| Adjudicator(s): | Derek Broadbent, Chris Wormald |
| Set Testpiece: | Elgar Variations - Martin Ellerby |
Band | Conductor | Draw | ||
| 1. | East Yorkshire Motor Services | Frans Violet | 12 |
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| 2. | Bactiguard Wire Brass | Paul Andrews | 8 |
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| 3. | Jaguar (Coventry) | David Lea | 7 |
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| 4. | Pemberton Old Wigan JJB | Mark Peacock | 3 |
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| 5. | Skelmanthorpe | John Roberts | 2 |
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| 6. | Ratby Co-operative | Brett Baker | 6 |
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| 7. | Fishburn | Ray Farr | 14 |
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| 8. | Cwmaman Institute Silver | David Evans | 8 |
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| 9. | Bournemouth Concert | Jonathan Camps | 9 |
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| 10. | Unison Kinneil | Colin McKenzie | 15 |
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| 11. | Bo'ness and Carriden | Mike Marzella | 13 |
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| 12. | Dalmellington | Archie Hutchison | 19 |
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| 13. | Aldbourne | Melvin White | 17 |
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| 14. | Stocksbridge | David Nesbitt | 1 |
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| 15. | Ashton under Lyne | Carl Whiteoak | 16 |
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| 16. | Knottingley Silver | Robin Morgan | 4 |
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| 17. | Kingdom Brass | Craig Anderson | 5 |
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| 18. | Lindley | Neil Jowett | 10 |
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| 19. | Besses o' th' Barn | John North | 11 |
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Best Soloist: David Johnson (Euphonium)- Jaguar (Coventry)
| Venue: | Spanish Hall, Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| Date: | 10th May 2008 |
| Adjudicator(s): | Geoffrey Whitham, Peter Roberts |
| Set Testpiece: | Epic Symphony - Percy Fletcher |
Band | Conductor | Draw | ||
| 1. | Powerfuel Hatfield Colliery | Graham O'Connor | 16 |
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| 2. | SWT Woodfalls | Dr. Nicholas Childs | 12 |
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| 3. | Marsden Silver Prize (Ossett Brewery) | Glyn Williams | 5 |
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| 4. | United Co-op Crewe | Jef Sparkes | 10 |
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| 5. | Camborne Town | Frank Renton | 18 |
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| 6. | Laganvale | Ernest Ruddock | 8 |
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| 7. | Wrexham Brass | Wayne Ruston | 6 |
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| 8. | Northop | Thomas Wyss | 11 |
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| 9. | Blackburn and Darwen | Nick Sheppard | 17 |
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| 10. | United Norwest Co-op Milnrow | John Ward | 4 |
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| 11. | Beaumaris | Gwyn Evans | 15 |
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| 12. | Chester Le Street Riverside | Ian Robinson | 14 |
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| 13. | Newbridge Celynen | Paul Holland | 2 |
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| 14. | Mossley | Duncan Byers | 1 |
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| 15. | Yorkshire Co-operative | Kevin Gibbs | 3 |
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| 16. | Friary Guildford | Chris King | 7 |
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| 17. | Newtongrange | Paul Drury | 9 |
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| 18. | Old Silkstone | Alan Exley | 13 |
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Best Soloist: Mark Pye (Soprano) - SWT Woodfalls