During the cold late weeks of June, the band prepared for what was to be an extraordinary weekend in Germany, which saw the band perform to packed crowds and president Tim Casey hailed as “Fantastische” by the local papers.
After a stressful 5th July, which saw plane cancellations and lost passports, in the early hours of 6th July the band arrived at airports to check in for their flights. With the majority of the Aveley & Newham band leaving on a plane from Heathrow and a very select few travelling from Stansted, there was a sense of relief when we all arrived in Stüttgart Airport as scheduled.
After being taken to our first venue, where we were fed and watered, we were introduced to our hosts who were to look after us for the weekend. The rest of the afternoon involved sleep for most before travelling to the local sports centre to rehearse the Anthems for our joint concert with the local Musikverein.
The evening concert was hailed a roaring success as the band listened to a programme of British music performed by their hosts and then played a second half programme to a packed audience, receiving standing ovations all around the stands. The after show party was real evidence of the outstanding hospitality that we were to receive as we were treated to the local produce and showed how to have a good time.
Saturday was the highlight for some, as the band were shown around the beautiful streets of Eppingham and treated to a tour of the local brewery sampling a selection of Eppinghams finest.
Saturday evening’s concert was another success as the band performed to the town from the market square as part of the local festival. Band President Tim Casey gave a speech entirely in German. This was hailed in the local papers as ‘Fantastische, Fantastische, Fantastische’ and although most of the band were unsure what he was going on about, he certainly got the locals excited.
After the official opening of the festival, more local produce was sampled as the band wowed the locals with impressive dance moves to a selection of German and Not-So-German dance tracks. The party finished for some with an early morning flight back to london, while others stayed on to recover before flying on Sunday evening.
The Aveley & Newham band wish to thank all of our German hosts for a great weekend and for being fantastic hosts.