As I’m heading North West up to John O’Groats, my plan is to try and play with at least one brass band in every county I pass through.

So far so good. Obviously it takes a lot of planning both on my part and on the very accommodating bands who host me to provide me with a tuba

Here is the list so far:

• Penzance Band (Cornwall) Thursday 27th Feb
  • A community band who play with a novel seating arrangement in which all band members face inwards in a big circle. I played BBb Bass. We played a number of traditional Cornish melodies in a specially commissioned piece for the band – playfully named Eer ‘Tis

• Plymouth Silver Band – 1st section (Devon) Thursday 13th March
  • A functioning EEb base or a long-unplayed BBb was offered to me. So I played EEb. It was The band’s first rehearsal after the areas in Torquay and so there were a few more players missing than usual. We played through Peter Graham’s Windows of the World and a tricky arrangement of Wicked.

Tiverton Town Band non-contesting (Devon) – Monday 17th March

A friendly town band that rehearsed in the local rugby club. A good venue apart from the background hum of the drinks machine. We were rehearsing for an upcoming concert, so played through a range of music – most of it quite familiar. I played on a recently refurbished Eb Bass that the band very kindly fetched out of a loft for me.