Thursday Friday goodbye to Blenheim and Spring Bank

On Thursday afternoon at 2pm I said goodbye to the delightful year Six at Blenheim as they played their last concert, joining in with Sophie's choir. It's the last week of the school year, and every little band in my steelpan Leeds world all sound good now. They sound musical; they work as teams; they play to their strengths; they have played to audiences who don't sit there squirming, but who may clap along and ask for more.

Don't have a pic of Blenheim classes so here's one of their pans.

"Parental choice" means that the year sixes of Hyde Park, Little London and Woohouse are being scattered around the different high schools in a long corridor from central to north Leeds starting with City of Leeds School, to Carr Manor, Lawnswood and Ralph Thoresby.  Sadly only two of these schools have pans [I'm working on it!], and only one has a dedicated steelpan room. So this great universal instrument that has let whole classes blossom is now closed to all but a handful.

At 2.30 I am 3 miles away sitting in the audience at Moor Allerton watching Al's lovely Year Sixes do their thing and take a bow.  Sounded ace. No pic of Moor Allerton so here's one of Al with his own band at the New Roscoe. By 3.15 I have criss-crossed Leeds again to pick up Lola from Kirkstall Valley School. And then back to panicking about how many players I'll have for the YMCA on Saturday [a late gig request dangerously inside the school holidays], and collecting  up the pans for who doesn't own their own.

Friday saying goodbye to Spring Bank, and reminding my little gang of boys who became Middle Steel that we will meet again [at West Park], and then, after ten years at City of Leeds School it's time to say goodbye again.