| Billsticker | Date: Tuesday, 2012-06-12, 10:19 PM | Message # 1 |
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| Pride of Birches band recruits new member in Norway!
An impromptu open-air performance by members of Pride of the Birches Accordion band during their visit to Norway. INPT22-961.
Published on Sunday 10 June 2012 15:00
THE PRIDE of the Birches Accordion Band proudly announces their latest member - a pretty Norwegian called Vendell Hausken.
Vendell, a stewardess whose ship the MV Gudenvagen plies the deepest, longest fjord in all of Norway, proudly marched out with the band during their tour of the Scandinavian country last week, having become a firm fan of the ‘squeeze box’.
Respected bandsman John Richardson, who hails from Carrickfergus and organised the trip for the augmented Birches band, explained that Vendell heard the distinctive tones of the accordion during a visit by another Ulster band - Bailies Mills - two years ago. She then spoke to friends of hers who had been over for the County Armagh Twelfth in 2010, and had walked in front of ‘The Pride’.
So Vendell (31) taught herself how to play the accordion, and was enrolled as a member of the Birches Band who sent her out a uniform so that she could fall in line during their week-long visit. “And she will be with us during the Twelfth in Keady this year,” said John. “She’s really looking forward to it - and so are we.”
The main purpose for the trip was for the Birches ensemble to take part in Norway’s Constitution Day parades in the city of Bergen. They also toured the country, playing on boats, trains, trams, cable cars, a restaurant and a hotel, culminating in a moving ceremony at Fjeld Mountain near Bergen.
Said John, “It promoted a really positive image of Northern Ireland, and the word ‘pride’ summed up the band members perfectly, as they were great ambassadors for the province and conducted themselves with pride and decorum.”
The Mayor of Carrickfergus Councillor Jim McClurg and his wife Lynn, also a councillor, and the party attended an official dinner with civic dignitaries and members of the armed forces.
The trip had been planned for two years and band secretary Judith Carson commented, “We had the honour of performing in the most amazing places to enormous crowds. The highlight was playing the Norwegian National Anthem at the end of a torchlight procession to a crowd estimated at 40,000. We have never experienced such a response or appreciation for our music.”
Conductor Ruth Hanna said, “It was tough going at times, with three major parades in one day. For me the most poignant moments were when we performed at a war memorial to Russian prisoners of war at a WW11 gun emplacement.”
The star of the show was Matthew Hanna (6), who conducted the band and was much in demand from tourists who wanted to be photographed beside the smartly turned-out young man.
And bandmaster William Murphy said one the most surreal moments for him was the sight of 30 Japanese tourists doing the conga round the ship to the tune of Killaloe!
The band was augmented by drummers from Corcrain Flute Band and by accordionists from The Valley Accordion Band in Comber.[i][color=purple]
Message edited by Billsticker - Tuesday, 2012-06-12, 10:20 PM |
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| RSAUB | Date: Wednesday, 2012-06-13, 5:41 AM | Message # 2 |
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| Fantastic news article, this Norway trip, appears to be some trip, that's a few bands from here that have done it in recent years.
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| Culzie | Date: Wednesday, 2012-06-20, 3:38 PM | Message # 3 |
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| Yes, great news indeed. Thats what we need more of. I'm always 'chuffed' to see people elswhere being shown a positive side to our people and parades. They have done our wee country proud. 
Ulster Protestants consider themselves to be a separate nation. This nation they call Ulster
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