Too much time on the bus led to a surplus of entries but we had the time to wade through them. Our winner requires a bit of explaining but ask the kids and they will probably, maybe tell you…perhaps.
“Why is it always raining (reigning) at Dreamworld? Because it is in Queen’s land!”
Big day.
Not much time.
Lazy blog.
“A picture tells a thousand words” – enjoy this picture essay, I think it pretty much sums up the day…
Definitely the best concert of the tour, the band was amazing. The videos below don’t do it justice but give an idea of the enthusiasm and energy the kids brought to the show. Comments from staff in the surrounding cafes, rides and shops were glowing, rating our band as one of the most entertaining school groups they have had through.
Videos didn’t load, sorry…
Of course we didn’t let the kids have all the fun…
…but we were more than happy to let them take on the rides (I happily took the photos and held the bags!)
Plenty to do other than rides with the tiger show, lego exhibition and so much more…
All home safe and sound back in Grafton looking forward to a quick community workshop, performance and then the long trip home.
As always the kids were a credit to their parents, school and teachers and I truly can’t thank Ms Reeves, Fiona, Richard, Maddie, Emma, Peter and Steve (our coach driver) enough for the enormous workload they have put in today to keep the show on the straight and narrow.
(And just to prove that the she did really do it here is the evidence…)
We had visitor to dinner tonight, Mr Adam Wills (Director at the Clarence Valley Con who has helped with planning some of the venues for our trip) and he was most curious to hear the enthusiasm with which the students competed for the coveted DJOTD award.
For those who may question the accuracy of the judging system it is important to note that we use the traditional measure of efficacy when discussing Dad jokes – the ‘groan-o-metre’. The louder the groans the better the joke.
Tonight there was only one joke that earned the kind of groan that would make it worthy to win the DJOTD and that was…
“Want to go water skiing? Well water you waiting for?!’
Probably the only other noteworthy addition to our day was the discovery of our newest friend, Kermit our friendly bathroom monitor…
…Kermit prefers the company in the female teachers’ bathroom but has been exploring the men’s bathroom as well.
Probably worth checking your bags when the kids get home!
The skills we have as members of a concert band are something we take for granted. We share a skill set, a language and a culture that is unique even among the broader musical community. To outsiders it can sometimes seem strange or amazing that we can do the things we ourselves take for granted.
Today we were lucky enough to have a glimpse into another community of people who also share a very unique skill set. To those not familiar with the competitive waterskiing community the sight of two skiers taking off from a standing start and reaching a speed of around 180kmh on an 80km race up the river and back may seem superhuman. To those who do this on a regular basis it is as natural as we would find driving 450km to perform 3 concerts with a band who had, up until that morning, never rehearsed together as a complete ensemble.
I told the kids tonight, don’t ever take for granted the amazing skill you have developed in your school bands. The world is full of amazing people doing amazing things and we are lucky enough to be part of one of those amazing groups.
If you are interested in seeing one of the top boats in action see the short video below, it really doesn’t do justice to the speed and power of these machines and the amazing skill and strength required to ski behind them.
Although the morning was a little windy and cold we still found a good spot on the river bank and had two opportunities to entertain the crowd whilst the boats were upriver out of sight on the first leg of their 80km race. Ms Reeves and Maddie managed to find a warm spot to await their return and Pete, Richard and Steve the bus (sorry, COACH) driver had a chance to check out the boats up close.
We had plenty of time before our next performance so we took a stroll through Grafton, along the river and through the Main Street. Shops were shut on a Sunday (as all civilised towns should) and the exercise did us good.
Our concert at the Whiddon aged care centre in Grafton was probably the most appreciated of all our performances so far this week. The residents particularly enjoyed ‘Hey Jude’ and ‘I Still Call Australia Home’ which we only performed for the first time today and Lindsay finally got to show us her Irish Dancing.
I was especially proud of the mature and genuine interaction between students and residents after our performance. We were lucky not to have a few stowaways on the but they enjoyed our company so much.
With no more travel ahead we had a free afternoon so we headed back to the hockey centre to play a little bit of impromptu cricket and then a game of ‘ultimate frisbee’ before enjoying a quick BBQ and ice cream for dessert. 
I mentioned to the other adults tonight that I really felt a shift of gears musically today. The past two days have really been ‘driving in’ the repertoire but today there was a definite lift in the familiarity and musicality of the group. We have moved beyond playing just the notes and are finding so many new and exciting ways to add to the music. It’s so easy to take it for granted now but the immersive experience of tour is allowing the students to learn and improve so quickly. The leadership of our senior players is a huge part of this success as is the resilience of our younger band members.
We hope to get some video from our dreamworld performance tomorrow and if we do will be sure to upload it tomorrow night.
We are looking forward to a very early start tomorrow and a huge day of travel, performance and adventure.
Well I’m not sure if some students phoned home during the day but there has been an improvement in the quantity, if not the quality of the Dad jokes today. A special mention goes to the hologram in the banana presentation for several very poor attempts at the genre.
Again the winner got special bonus points for creativity and including one of the day’s venues in the Joke…
I had fun at the big banana today, it was very apPEELing!!!
Honourable mentions go to…
I don’t often tell Dad jokes. But when I do he usually laughs.
and
What’s the difference between a pilot and a teacher? A teacher teaches kids and a pilot flies planes.
and
Two fish were in a tank, one turned to the other and said “how do you drive this thing?”
No alarm clocks required in Port Macquarie. If the the bird calls don’t wake you right on sunrise then the fishermen returning to the boat ramp will! For those of us motivated enough to venture out early the sunrise over the Hastings was well worth it.
Huge thanks to Richard, Fiona and Peter for organising breakfast and we were off to Town Green, on the cafe/shopping strip in Central Port Macquarie. Our first outdoor gig for the trip, it once again asked our students to stretch themselves and adjust to the acoustic (and meteorological) challenges of an outdoor venue. Having a bus for a wind break solved the worst of the problems but resilience, focus and skill took care of the rest. We met several ex-hills residents who recognised the uniform and received praise from many cafe patrons and passers by noting both the behaviour and musical proficiency of our students,
We lost track of how many rivers and bridges were on the route north to Coffs Harbour. We passed some truly breathtaking scenery as the gum and eucalyptus gradually gave way to the palm and banana tree (apparently they are not actually trees – but more on that later.)
We were not the only wind band heading north, though. The radar on the Bureau Of Meteorology website showed a fairly sizeable storm right behind us and we had another outdoor gig lined up at the Big Banana after lunch. It certainly looked touch and go there for a moment but fate intervened and the worst of it went around us. In the end we performed our best 45min set yet and had yet more positive feedback from the patrons and staff of the park.
By this stage the sun, humidity and two tough gigs had worked up a fair sweat so the kids had a few minutes to cool down in the water park before our banana tour. Some students managed to get a little cooler than others though…
A quick change of clothes and we raced across for our ‘World Of Bananas’ tour. Did you know that bananas are the worlds fourth largest source of food behind only rice, wheat and corn and were supposedly introduced to Europe by Alexander The Great after his conquests Of Asia and India? A banana plant is actually a herb, not a tree and each plant will only produce one bunch of bananas before dying and it’s place is taken in the plantation by the strongest of its suckers. The suckers are almost always grown on the uphill side of the plant and so a banana plant will slowly move its way uphill about 25cm each season!
We also had a try at lifting a full bunch of bananas, walked through the big banana itself (seemed bigger when I was a kid) and found out what type of shoes are made entirely of banana skins – ask the kids, they will tell you!
After the obligatory tour of the gift shop we hit the road once more and are now safe and sound in the Grafton Hockey Centre. With hamburgers and choc bavarian for dinner, a couple of decks of cards and freshly brewed hot chocolate it was not difficult to relax and we finished off the night with some social time for kids and adults alike.
Again we have been very proud of our students. I have enjoyed conducting the band but have also enjoyed their company. Their song selection on the bus has been exceptional (apart from one short stint just before Coffs – but we don’t talk about that) but their choices of behaviour and attitude have been even more impressive.
Teenagers get a bad wrap at times but I can honestly tell you that this group of teenagers have earned nothing but praise from everyone they have met this past two days, myself included.
They have deserved every bit of it. Well done kids and bring on the next three days!!
After exhausting the internet for its supply of puns last year the only reasonable replacement for the much beloved ‘pun of the day’ was ‘Dad Joke Of The Day’. Today’s efforts were somewhat lacklustre and probably the only disappointment of an otherwise outstanding day.
Delivered on scraps of paper (and pieces of ripped up pizza box) there was no faulting the delivery. We just hope a few of the actual dads out there reading this can mentor their progeny with some suitable repertoire for tomorrow night.
Ultimately the winner was judged most worthy particularly because of its very obviously original composition. So here it is, our very first ‘Dad Joke Of The Day’…
Why do people never get lost at Grahamstown Public School?
Because it’s GPS!
(Aaaawww, Daaaaad!)
A little backwards but I would like to start today’s blog by telling you all about tonight’s conclusion. Sitting on the jetty overlooking the Hastings river we had a few moments to gather our thoughts and reflect on the day behind us. No one talked about our early start, there was no discussion around the hours of bus travel and not a single mention of loading and unloading three times in one day.
There was laughter, excitement and enthusiasm. Singing, celebration and a feeling of positivity that was hard to miss. These kids were happy and so very proud of themselves.
I was proud of them.
I told them that they were not like other students. They were unique. Most musical groups would put weeks and months into preparing the repertoire for a tour like this. Yet the first time this group played together was in the warm up 15 minutes before their first concert! Sure we had a few hairy moments today but to put together 3x 45 minute concerts, playing different music at each, with zero rehearsal time – that is impressive. This is only possible because of the hard work that has gone into learning a solid technique and ensemble skills. Well done to all 26 musicians and a huge credit to their teachers and conductors who have brought them to this point in their musical journey.
Logistically today was also fairly impressive, 3 concerts and 450kms under our belt, visiting schools that would not normally expect to see a full concert band like ours. Grahamstown PS was the liveliest audience and they loved the cameo from our marching drum line. Bulahdelah Central School had a nice coastal vibe to the place and the smallest of the schools today, Manning Gardens (Taree) was a real eye opener with some kids who probably had never seen a concert band play before grooving along to our tunes.
We enjoyed a well earned swim at the caravan park to cool off, scared away the fish with our singing and carb-loaded on pizza and ice cream before retiring to the cabins for a well earned break.
Parents should all be very proud of your kids. They have grown as musicians (and roadies) at every gig today and have been a pleasure to work with. A special mention to how well our guests from CHHS have settled in (and how well they have been welcomed) and a huge thank you to Richard and Fiona, our two parent helpers who have been an amazing support.
450km’s down – looking forward to plenty more ahead!
Thanks for joining me!
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
Muirfield HS Band Tour - 2018 