4th Uckfield Scout Band

June Update

2011-06-18T17:55:00.002+01:00

So, it's been a few weeks since we've updated and as always the band has been busy as usual.

After a very productive camp over the May Bank Holiday weekend we took part in our first competition of the 2011 season in Aldershot. The weather was not it's best for the whole day, rain, rain and more rain, we traveled up to our rehearsal site just outside the competition venue.

Thankfully the weather held off until we had finished our performance, and after a few hours wait there was a Drum Major only retreat due to the weather.

And the result's were, Downsman in 3rd place, 4th Uckfield in 2nd place + 1st in Colour Guard and Cadence in 1st place with all other captions.

Cadence Spectacular Results

Fiesta Day 18th June

Today we performed at our Scout groups annual fundraiser "Fiesta Day". And again the weather was not playing fair, but thankfully we performed when there was a break in the weather.

We performed our 2011 show "Happy Feet", which is the first time other members of the group have had a chance to see our show.

May Update

2011-05-26T23:31:00.002+01:00

Hello everyone.

Been a while since we've updated, but here goes.

The band have been really busy learning new music and drill for our 2011 competition season. This year we will be performing music from the hit film "Happy Feet".

This weekend see's us having a weekend camp, rehearsing our show ready for our preview on Monday 30th May and our first show of the season at the Cadence Spectacular in Aldershot on Sunday 12th June.

As we are a scout band we will be sticking to some basic principles, sleeping in tents for this weekends camp.

This will the be the first time we have stayed under canvas at a "band camp" and hopefully not the last.

We will try to update the website over the weekend with photo's and reports, but here's a link to our preview details.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125187864228528

If you not already part of our facebook group please click the link at the top of the page.

Free Music & Movement Workshops

2011-01-17T11:28:00.004Z

On Sunday 23rd January and Sunday 6th February we will be holding Free Music & Movement Workshops at the Scout Hut.

If you are interested in coming along and taking part please contact us:
bookings@4thuckfield.co.uk

Bag Packing 18th/19th December

2010-12-19T22:36:00.000Z

Bag packing at Tesco's Uckfield raised £268.81. Despite the weather conditions this weekend we had a very good turnout of members and supporters.

Thank you to everyone that helped and donated.

New Facebook Page

2010-10-31T19:37:00.001Z

Our new Facebook group is now up and running.

Please feel free to join by clicking the link.

4th Uckfield Scout Band (Official)

2010 National Finals

2010-10-08T10:12:00.003+01:00

So, that's another competition season over.

Last weekend the band traveled up to Lutterworth for our finals camp. The band left Uckfield just after 8am, and arrived at our rehearsal site at 12:30pm. After lunch we rehearsed our 2010 Show "The Sound of Music".

After rehearsal had finished we moved on to the campsite we were staying at for the night, to prepare for finals on the Sunday.

With everyone waking up at 7am to the sound of heavy rain everybody knew this was going to be a long, wet day. After having breakfast we stood in the campsite car park played a musical run through of our show at 7:30am! Wonder what the other campsite users were thinking.

We loaded the equipment truck and coach and started the journey to Crewe for finals with the rain still falling.

We arrived in Crewe to find that Finals was delayed due to the weather, the football stadium we were using wouldn't allow us to use the pitch due to "Health & Safety" reasons. After an hour word reached us that they would be moving the arena to the other side of the pitch and the competition would start 90mins late.

As our arena entry time approached we moved to the side of the arena ready to enter the field for competition.

Now was the time, everything we had rehearsed for, everything we had worked hard for was about to happen. Then those 5 magic words could be heard around the stadium.

"You may commence your performance"

After our performance we changed out of our wet uniforms, loaded all the soaking wet equipment before we had an hour to have something to eat and board the coach.

Due to finals being delayed 90mins, we couldn't go on for our Awards presentation. We had to leave by 3:30pm to allow our coach driver to get us back to Uckfield before his driving hours ran out.

As we traveled back we were being informed of the results by our Bandmaster Sharon Beesley. 5TH PLACE with a score of 67.00. Our highest score all year.

Season Update

2010-09-21T11:04:00.002+01:00

We have recently taken part in two competitions, Ouse Valley Sounds in Biggleswade and Midland Impact in Coventry.

We scored 60.44 at Ouse Valley Sounds earning us 4th place and scored 65.17 at Midland Impact earning us 3rd place.

Our final BYBA League placing for the 2010 season is 7th place.

A great result from both competitions for all the members and staff, and we are now working hard for National Finals being held on Sunday 3rd October at The Alexandra Stadium, Crewe.

Show Results 2010

League Table 2010

Uckfield Bonfire & Carnival Society Fete

2010-07-09T19:31:00.002+01:00

The Band opened this years fete held at Luxfords Field Uckfield by marching into the fete playing a traditional Bonfire tune, Sussex By The Sea.

After the fete was opened by the Deputy Mayor Duncan Bennett we performed our 2010 show "The Sound of Music"

Picture by Ron Hill
hillphotographic@aol.com

Grant Application

2010-04-24T11:31:00.004+01:00

We have received news that we have been awarded a grant to buy a brand new Laptop and MP3 players ahead of our 2010 BYBA Competition Season.

This equipment will enable us to have a dedicated computer for the band and will allow the staff, instructors and members use of it for band purposes.

This year all of our judges comment's from competitions will be given to us in digital format making the need for the laptop a priority.

The grant will allow us to focus all of this years budget on transport, equipment repair and new purchases.

Rave For Luke Night

2010-04-13T15:09:00.002+01:00

On Monday 12th April, a fundraising night was held at the Cock & Bull in Uckfield in memory of Luke Bland.

Luke Bland was a member of the 4th Uckfield Scout Band for many years as a drummer. He was tragically taken from us last year and this is the first of several fundraising events planned to raise money to purchase musical instruments for local schools and organisations.

A total of £290.45 was raised from this event and it will be donated to the 4th Uckfield Scout Band to help purchase new instruments, equipment and to help towards repair costs.

Event organiser Becky Samuels said “I would like to thank all the local businesses that made donations. Luke Bland was loved by everyone that knew him and he would be so proud of how much this event raised”.

Donation

2010-04-03T11:53:00.003+01:00

Last night the Band performed at The Cinques Port Club in Uckfield. We performed four parts from our 2010 Production in front of the club members and had pictures taken for the local paper.

We were also there to receive a cheque for £500 from The Cinques Ports Club as we were their charity of the year.

The money will go towards providing equipment for our newly formed Colourguard section.

We would like to thank all the members of The Cinques Ports Club for their kind donation and we would also like to thank Phil West for helping us transport our equipment for our performance.

www.cinqueportsclub.co.uk/

Music Camp

2010-03-28T17:32:00.005+01:00

The Band had it's first music camp of the year this weekend.

We stayed at Parkwood Scout Camp near Poynings and at the end of the weekend we ensembled 3 parts of our 2010 competition show.

Pictures from camp are now on our Facebook page. Please use the link below to join.

New Website Live

2010-01-25T10:44:00.006Z

So here it is, our new website.

www.4thuckfield.co.uk

Please keep checking back as new content will be added as well as our news section being updated.

Until then you please feel free to join one of our facebook group.

Band Workshop Night

2009-12-01T18:00:00.006Z

Monday 30th November saw members of the band run a workshop for the Manitoba Beavers and Kipling Cubs, units of the 4th Uckfield Scout Group.

Members from both units were given the chance to ask questions about the instruments and to try playing them. But most of them just enjoyed making as much noise as possible with our percussion instruments.

Lewes Bonfire Celebrations

2009-11-07T09:23:00.002Z

Remember, remember the fifth of November. The gunpowder Treason and Plot.

On 5th November, the Band took part in the Bonfire celebrations in Lewes with the Waterloo Bonfire Society.

With the first procession moving off at 6:20pm and the last procession not finishing until 9:45pm it was a very long night for the Band, but one that all the members enjoy every year.

We have taken part with Waterloo Bonfire Society for many years since the Band was reformed in 1986 and look forward to continuing taking part in years to come.

http://www.waterloobonfire.co.uk/

http://www.lewesbonfirecouncil.org.uk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sussex_Bonfire_Societies

Newick Bonfire

2009-11-03T17:46:00.002Z

Saturday 31st October saw the Band taking part in the bonfire celebrations at Newick. This is the second year the Band has been asked to perform in the celebrations, and it is a long night especially for the younger members.

The first procession of the night was the childrens procession which moved off at 6:15pm making it's way to the village green, where we had a short break before the formation of the main procession which moved off at 7:30pm.

The main procession looped around the village, making it's way to the village green, where we dropped out for our second break of the night as the procession continued around the village for a second time arriving back at the village green for the bonfire and firework display.

At 9:30pm we formed up for our last parade of the night, from the village green to the village hall and back to the bonfire.

http://www.newickbonfire.com/

2009 Finals Results

2009-10-06T09:34:00.002+01:00

So that's another year of competitions over and it's time to start work on next years production.

Our final placing was 4th in the Division 3 league and 5th at the BYBA National Finals.

A full breakdown of the scores can be found here:

http://www.byba.org.uk/data/contests2009/cr20091004.htm

Finals Weekend

2009-10-03T22:48:00.002+01:00

So it's that time of year again, FINALS!!. We made it up here eventually after getting stuck on the M40 for nearly 2 hours. Had some rehearsal time before it was time for some food prepared by our magic food ladies and their new apprentice. Dinner was sausage, mash and mixed veg, strangely most of the boys didn't eat their veg.

Desert was a special mix of limited edition Angel Delight, (strawberry and butterscotch mixed together) served with fruit salad.

So we're now trying to get everyone off to bed so they have an early night before Finals tomorrow.

We will update the blog after the awards presentation tomorrow.

Midland Impact Results

2009-09-20T19:15:00.002+01:00

So, it's 19:20 and we're traveling down the M40 on our way back home after another weekend away for a competition.

We took part in our final competition of the season at the Midland Impact competition held just outside Coventry.

We we're against 7 other Bands in our division, where we finished 5th overall, we won Best Turnout and moved up 1 place into 4th in the Division 3 League. Our overall score for today was 62.39 out of a possible 100.

http://www.byba.org.uk/data/contests2009/results2009.htm

Our Last competition on the year is at the BYBA National Championships which will be held at Butts Park Stadium in Coventry on the 4th October.

Ouse Valley Sounds Results

2009-09-13T11:47:00.002+01:00

Saturday saw us in competition at the Ouse Valley Sounds in Bedford.

We we're against 3 other units in our division. The day started at 07:15 at the scout hut where we had to load the truck with all our instruments and scenery, before boarding the coach for the the trip up to Bedford.

First of we went to our rehearsal site near the Bedford Athletics Stadium where we spent about an hour working on sections of the show before we had one complete run through before our short trip to the stadium.

Once at the stadium we got changed into our show uniform (superman suits) straight away before we made our way around the stadium ready to enter the field for competition.

After the performance we had a few hours to wait for the awards presentation where we were able to watch the Dagenham Crusaders Alumni.

During the awards presentation we were awarded Best Turnout and Best Field Visual.

We are now looking forward to our next competition on Sunday 20th September at the Midlands Impact competition near Coventry.

Founding Fathers Presentation

2009-09-08T20:01:00.004+01:00

On Sunday the Band was presented with a cheque for £500 from the Founding Fathers of the Uckfield Rugby Club.

The Founding Fathers have helped the Band out many times over the years by allowing us to rehearse our competitive displays on their Hempstead Fields site, and this is the second time they have donated to the band

We would like to thank the Founding Fathers for their continued support.

http://www.uckfieldrugbyclub.co.uk/section.asp?SectionID=8

Uckfield Carnival

2009-09-06T18:23:00.002+01:00

Saturday saw us take part in the Uckfield Carnival. The day started with a children's procession in the afternoon through the town which finished at Holy Cross School playing field.

Then it was time for the Torchlight Procession in the evening. Visiting societies from across Sussex formed up in Grange Road for the start of the 2009 Sussex Bonfire & Carnival Season.

Starting at 7:30pm the air over Uckfield was soon covered by thick black smoke from the torches as the procession made it's way around town before the Grand Torchlight Procession back through the town finishing at 9:30pm.

Once again the band was proud to support the Uckfield Carnival, something we have been doing since the band's formation in 1986.

More Pictures From August Camp

2009-09-01T21:40:00.006+01:00

Pictures from August Camp

2009-08-31T20:51:00.006+01:00

More to follow.

Band Camp Day 2 & 3

2009-08-31T15:34:00.003+01:00

So the internet connection didn't appear last night for us to update the blog, so here's a run down on what has happened.

Day 2

Sunday morning everyone was awake for breakfast at 7:30am, our magic food ladies worked their wands over a fry-up.

After breakfast it was straight into warm-ups and stretches ready for a full run through at 9:30am. After the first run through of the day we them moved onto a music section where we worked on dynamics for the whole show before working on 2 parts of the show for any visual issues.

Once again the magic food ladies had a ploughman's lunch ready for us at 1pm. During lunch we watch the recording of the full run through we had done at the start of the day. Everyone was able to look at their individual errors and were able to comment on their feelings about the show.

After lunch we were back onto the field for stretches, then onto another full run through before working on the other parts of the show before our final run through of the day at 5:50pm.

Dinner was sweet and sour chicken with rice followed by cheesecake, during dinner we played the video of the first full run through of the weekend and the final run through of the day. All the members commented on how much the show had improved.

After dinner everyone had some free time before lights out at 11pm (ish).

Day 3

After our continental breakfast it was on to warm-ups and drill before section warm ups ready for the first full run through of the day. We worked on a few sections of the show where members were having problems with their drill.

As the parents started to arrive they were shown the video of the first run through on Saturday before they watched the final performance of the show.

So now it's the end of camp, everyone is tired and heading for home, some much needed sleep, and some time to think back and remember all the hard work and effort that has gone into our show.

Band Camp Day 1

2009-08-29T21:02:00.002+01:00

So it's the end of the first day and everyones looking tired, we've had dinner and they are all settling down for a team building activity. We've worked on all the parts of the show and done 2 complete run throughs.

The run throughs were videoed so the members could look at the progress they are making and could comment on ways they can improve their individual performance. They all know what they have to work on and they are all in a positive mood. Lets see how long that lasts with little sleep over the weekend.

The internet connection around the campsite is very hit and miss, we will continue to update this blog if we can.

Programme Selling

2009-08-25T19:58:00.003+01:00

Last night saw us selling programmes for the Uckfield Bonfire & Carnival Society, who will be marking the start of the 2009 Sussex Bonfire & Carnival Season on the 5th September.

We split into two groups and managed to sell 150 programmes.

We help sell programmes each year as well as taking part in both the afternoon and evening parades through the town.

Money raised through the selling of programmes, collections and fundraising by UBCS is donated each year to local groups and charities.

www.uckfieldcarnival.co.uk

Welcome

2009-08-10T17:04:00.001+01:00

Welcome to our new blog.

We will be updating this with news, info and stories from our rehearsal, performances and camps.