August 2nd, 2021  Despite torrential rain initially, the clouds lifted and the Blessing the Boats service went ahead this afternoon as planned. This popular event is usually held in May but was postponed this year due to the virus. It is always very well attended and today was no exception.  All organisations with connections to the sea were represented and the band was there to accompany the hymns. The most moving aspect of the service is when the lifeboat silently slips out of the harbour to lay the wreaths out at sea, following which the band softly plays Amazing Grace. As part of the service the daughter of one of the lifeboat men, Eden, read a poem she had written about the RNLI and the Lyme Bay Moonrakers sang several sea shanties. After the service, as the crowd dispersed, we rounded off the afternoon playing “Beyond the Sea” and “The Wellerman”: both pieces seemed appropriate for the occasion.
As we were leaving, Annette Denning, mother of champion collector Josh, produced a lovely cake  she had made for Kathy, our solo cornet player, to celebrate her birthday today. Our next performance is when we return to Marine Parade on Tuesday, 10th August at 8.00 pm for one of our seafront concerts.
(Thanks to Anna for the photos and Gilly for the words)
July 28th, 2021
 What a lovely evening we had last night and what a super audience. It was great to see so many familiar faces, both locals  and holiday makers, who turn up every summer to support us.
We were pleased to have John, our percussionist, yesterday evening. His work commitments don’t always fit in with band engagements but it makes such a difference when he’s with us and he was on top form last night.
We will be playing again on Sunday, 1st August when we take part in the Blessing the Boats ceremony at the Lifeboat Station, which commences at 2.00 pm, and our next Tuesday evening concert on Marine Parade is at 8.00 pm on Tuesday, 10th August.
July 25th, 2021  At last we made it to the Marine Parade for our first public performance after a very long, enforced break. We could not have wished for a better afternoon and we were thrilled with the warm welcome we received. We began our performance with a rousing march and then played several pieces prior to the RNLI Songs of Praise Service, led by Rev. Chris Martin, during which we provided the accompaniment to the hymns.
Following the service we played several more pieces, finishing off our programme of music with a new piece made popular during lockdown: The Wellerman. 
We must thank Dian, who joined us as a guest player on cornet and was most welcome; our regular collectors Josh, Jonathan and Christian who joined the RNLI collectors, and Alan Vian for his constant help and support. 
We are now looking forward to being back on Marine Parade this Tuesday evening at 8.00 pm when we will do it all over again.
Words: Gilly. Photos: Catherine. Thanks, both!
July 11th, 2021 We have made the difficult decision to reduce our programme of concerts on Marine Parade this year from that announced in a previous post. Our rehearsal/preparation time has been severely restricted due to the virus and in addition we have several key players who are unavailable at the present time for health and personal reasons.
Under these circumstances we have decided to confine our efforts to providing support for the RNLI and the Carnival Committee and therefore our performances this summer will be on the following dates:
Sunday, 25th July – RNLI Songs of Praise – 2.30 pm on Marine Parade
Tuesday, 27th July – Lifeboat Week – 8.00 pm on Marine Parade
Sunday, 1st August – RNLI Blessing the Boats – 2.00 pm at the Lifeboat Station
Tuesday, 10th August – Carnival Week – 8.00 pm on Marine Parade
We are sorry to disappoint our loyal band of friends and supporters but we look forward to seeing everyone on the above dates.
June 9th, 2021
Are you a rusty player who may be thinking about starting to play again?
Have you recently moved into the area for work/family reasons and are looking for a small, friendly brass band?
Perhaps you’ve just retired and now have more time on your hands?
Have you emerged from lockdown and would be interested in joining a local group?
If so, why not come and join us?
- We welcome players of all ages and abilities.
- We have a variety of instruments available and offer support and encouragement to new members
- We practise every Tuesday evening at The Woodmead Halls in Lyme Regis from 7.45 pm until 9.30 pm
Why not come along to one of our practices for an informal chat or just to sit and listen? We’d love to see you and you are guaranteed a warm welcome.
Alternatively you can telephone Gilly Warr on 01297 442719 or email gkwarr46@gmail.com for further information. Go on – give us a try – you won’t regret it!
June 2nd, 2021
Blowing our own trumpets, so to speak, we are delighted to congratulate two of our trainees who have recently achieved excellent exam results. Josh, who plays cornet, has just passed his Grade 4 with distinction and Jonathan, on trombone, has passed his Grade 1 with merit. Both boys achieved these excellent results by hard work and practice, ably assisted and encouraged by their tutors, fellow band members Ellis Holt and Adrian Pearson.
Two other band members, brothers Enzo and Orlando, are also studying for music exams. Enzo, who plays cornet, is working towards his Grade 3 and Orlando is working towards his Grade 5 on French horn.
We must not overlook our other trainee – Jonathan’s dad, Chris, who is working hard learning to play the euphonium from scratch, which is no mean feat, and we are hoping that he will be playing with the main band soon, where he will be most welcome.
We offer our congratulations to all our trainees: we feel extremely fortunate to have them as members of Lyme Regis Town Band.
May 21st, 2021 We are very pleased to announce that the band is back in performance mode again and looking forward to getting back together after a long period of enforced silence!
We have done our best to keep in touch during the various lockdowns via Zoom meetings and quizzes, meeting up socially outside and we had two attempts at producing a piece of music which we all played at home. The results were skillfully knitted together by our MD, David, and the results were shared on our Facebook page and our website (see below). Funnily enough we chose Barnard Castle – before Dominic Cummings made it famous – and we followed up with Amarillo, one of our seafront concert favourites.
All good fun but from Tuesday evening we will be able to meet together face to face at our practice room at Woodmead Halls and we are eager to make up for lost time. At this time of year we are usually putting the finishing touches to a full programme of music for our summer engagements, which we would normally have begun practising immediately after Christmas.
However, we are keen to undertake a shortened series of engagements this summer, supporting RNLI and Carnival events and providing entertainment for visitors and our loyal band of local supporters on the seafront on Tuesday evenings and Sunday afternoons.
So wish us well, put these likely dates in your diary and watch this space. In the meantime we will work hard to make up for lost time and we will look forward to seeing everyone, back where we belong, on Marine Parade in July and August!
July:
Sunday 25th (including Lifeboat Week Songs of Praise)
Tuesday 27th (Lifeboat Week)
August:
Sunday 1st – Blessing of the Boats for RNLI (NOTE COBB NOT MARINE PARADE)
Tuesday 3rd
Tuesday 10th (Carnival Week)
Sunday 15th
Tuesday 17th
Sunday 22nd
Tuesday 31st
December 23rd, 2020
 Lyme Regis Town Band valliantly turned out this morning to play a few carols in Broad Street. We intended to play at the base of the Christmas Tree but due to the weather we ended up in the alleyway leading to the Masonic Hall. The front half of the band was out in the drizzle, with the back half in the alleyway, sheltered from the rain but barely able to stand up in the howling gale blowing in off the sea!
However we played for half an hour
 and were well supported by a group of enthusiastic friends and family. Sadly it will now be a while before we can all get together again but we will do so as soon as we possibly can and we are keeping our fingers crossed that we will be back on the seafront next summer.
In the meantime we send everyone our best wishes for a peaceful Christmas and a happy and healthy new year. Gilly
December 21st, 2020
 This afternoon we were delighted to take part in an outdoor Drive-in Carol Service organised by Alan Vian on behalf of local churches. It was extremely well organised and social distancing was observed at all times.
It was held in the car park at Woodmead Halls in Lyme Regis, by kind permission of Lyme Regis Town Council. About fifty cars were parked, well spaced out and all facing the same way, with their occupants sitting inside with the windows open. Revd Chris Martin from the St Michael’s Parish Church and Chris Woodman, the Pastor from Lyme Regis Baptist Church, were on a flatbed truck facing the “congregation” and they led the service supported by Alan and the Mayor, Councillor Brian Larcombe, who read the lesson.
The band played five carols and brought the service to a close with “We wish you a Merry Christmas”. There was a lovely atmosphere at this unusual event – when invited to do so the congregation communicated by flashing their lights and beeping their horns!
Two of our trainees played with us, brothers Enzo and Orlando, and we also welcomed a guest player, Rosanne Jardine, who joined us on flugel – a most welcome addition to the band. We are hoping to persuade her to join us on future occasions when she is available.
It was a lovely afternoon and we were delighted to take part. It’s hard to believe that it’s been over twelve months since we last played at an event. 
Before we put our instruments away again, for however long it takes to defeat this virus, a few of us will be playing carols one more time on Wednesday, 23rd December at 11.00 am. We will be located outside, at the base of the large Christmas tree at the bottom of the main street in Lyme Regis and once again we will be observing social distancing with covers over the bells of our instruments. This time we are supporting the Lyme Regis Rotary Club who will be collecting in town for a local charity. Alan will also be on hand, once again, to ensure that crowds don’t gather!
Thanks to Enzo and Orlando’s Dad, Justin, for taking these photos. Gilly
P.S.
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Despite torrential rain initially, the clouds lifted and the Blessing the Boats service went ahead this afternoon as planned. This popular event is usually held in May but was postponed this year due to the virus. It is always very well attended and today was no exception. 
she had made for Kathy, our solo cornet player, to celebrate her birthday today.
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