A perfect end to the 2008/2009 season
September 1, 2009 by Rob Westwood-Payne
Filed under Members, News
The barge which took the band and songsters along the Birmingham-Worcester canal
On Saturday 22 August 2009, the Band and Songsters enjoyed a three-hour trip along the Birmingham-Worcester canal on the latest of their bi-monthly social events.
The trip was undertaken by Sherborne Wharf Heritage Narrow Boats and went from the International Convention Centre in Birmingham city centre to Bournville and back. The trip included a fish and chip lunch at the turn-around point.
The trip gave the members of the Band and Songsters and their family and friends the opportunity of looking at sites such as Birmingham Mailbox, the University of Birmingham and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital from a different angle. It also enabled us to relax and enjoy each others’ company after a busy 2008/2009 season. Some of us even managed a sing-song of some Salvation Army classics!
The Band and Songsters are now coming to the end of their summer break from rehearsals and will soon be into the swing of their 2009/2010 season. Check this website on a regular basis for more details.
You can see photos from the trip here.
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Rob Westwood-Payne grew up in The Salvation Army at Norwich Citadel. He left Norwich to study at the University of Warwick and became fully involved in the music centre there culminating in his conducting Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue to a full house in Symphony Hall in Birmingham. He also transferred to The Salvation Army at Coventry City, where he became Songster Leader at the age of 21. He was made Songster Leader at Cradley Heath in April 1998 shortly before marrying Gail in the following October. He is a former leader of the West Midlands Divisional Youth Chorus and is currently Programme Director at the West Midlands Divisional Summer School for The Salvation Army. He is an Associate Solicitor in the Licensing Team of a national practice based in the south west.