Brass Band England contacted Brighouse and Rastrick Band last week to enquire if we could raise a small group to play for a VIP group in Batley. Minimal information was given due to security and we were only informed of the location on the morning of the event.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were visiting the area as part of their 3-day trip around England, Scotland and Wales to pay tribute to key workers for their heroic efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.
In Batley they paid a surprise visit to 85-year-old Len Gardner who is a full-time carer for his wife Shirley who suffers with Alzheimer’s, Kate has been supporting him through regular phone calls during lockdown.
Yorkshire is synonymous with the best that there is in brass banding and there are none finer than Brighouse and Rastrick, so we were honoured to represent our musical community and culture at such an event. We all know too well the challenges that brass bands have faced over these recent times and how this is affecting us all.
The band greeted William and Kate with a rendition of Jingle Bells then continued to play whilst ‘marching’ down the road following the Royal couple towards Lens’s house for the surprise visit. There is no better sound than a brass band at Christmas and their Royals Highnesses requested an extra carol and stood and listened to the band after their short personal visit.
As a Charitable organisation the band has spent some time making preparations to return to a safe musical environment which enabled us to accept this invitation. William and Kate thanked the band for their participation and we look forward to more Royal engagements in the future.
It was a privilege for the band to be asked to play for the Royal couple, Len and Shirley. The band re-grouped later on in the evening for a socially distanced rehearsal where we recorded Christmas music thatwe will share to support our audiences and others, who have missed Brass Band music throughout this challenging year.