Brass band coronation concert will serenade cats and kings

By EMMA MERCHANT emerchant@wokingham.today

A MUSIC group’s June concert will combine twin themes.

Saint Sebastian Wokingham Band says its programme will be both fun and celebratory, containing music to serenade both felines and monarchs.

Called Cats And Coronations, the concert features, among others, The Tiger Of San Pedro.

Amy Wells, from the group says: “It’s a jazz piece, not something that brass bands often like to tackle, but Saint Sebastians does a great job of playing it.

“We’re all really, really excited to be performing a midyear concert, after not having done so for a while.”

Cat-themed music has been on the group’s minds since they took a programme of work to Wychavon Festival Of Brass.

“We’ve been rehearsing the pieces for six months now, but the cats theme really took off at the Wychavon festival last year,” Amy said.

“It’s an entertainment competition, which is different from area contests.”

At area festivals brass bands are compared and assessed against their individual performances of the same piece.

“But with performance competitions, there’s lots of different music, and you can choose your own programme,” explained Amy.

“We went with cats.

“We loved the programme, and have been looking for an opportunity to play it in concert.”

The audience at the Cats and Coronations concert will be able to enjoy a range of music that begins with royal pieces.

“The first half includes Horizons, Pilgrim’s Progress, Albion Treasures, Bacchanale, Vivat Regina, Trombone King, and The Coronation March,” Amy said.

The second half of the concert includes performances of Memory, and Old Gumbie Cat, both from the musical, Cats.

“We’ll also play The Circle Of Life, from The Lion King, and our jazz piece, Tiger Of San Pedro,” she continued.

Each of the numbers will be given a short explanation by the band’s musical director, John Watts.

“John always introduces the pieces, and for this concert he has a story lined up to entertain, that will link the music to a most wanted Wokingham cat,” Amy added.

The band of around 25 performers includes players whose ages range from 17 to 90.

“We’re quite a young band as they go,” said Amy.

“We take players of all ages, and all levels from grade two or three upwards.

“If they can read music, anyone can join in and learn the ropes.

“We currently have an 11year-old, who is taking part in rehearsals.

“We love to encourage people to play, whether they are starting out, or returning to brass.

“And we’re quite social.

“Most concerts end up with us all enjoying time together in the pub, or over a curry.

“It’s fairly traditional behaviour for brass bands.”

In the coming months, Saint Sebastian Wokingham Band has a stream of engagements, including The Whit Friday Band Contests in early June, which sees hundreds of bands congregate to play in Saddleworth and the surrounding villages, in the North of England.

They will also play light hearted summer music in Wokingham’s Peach Place for Armed Forces Day on Saturday, June 24, at borough school fairs throughout the Summer, and at an entertainment contest in Witney, Oxfordshire, in October.

“We’ll also be reviving our December performance of The Snowman, where we play to accompany a screening of the film,” said Amy.

“It will be at Wokingham Baptist Church as in previous years, but with this time with two performances on the same day.”

Those interested in seeing it should mark December 16 in their diaries, but to hear the band’s Cats And Coronations concert next month, audiences can book their places now.

“It’s suitable for all the family,” said Amy.

“It may be slightly on the late side, but my three-year-old will be there.

“She loves coming to our concerts.” n For tickets and information, call: 07544 774528 or visit www.ticketsource.co.uk/ stsebswokingham

The event takes place at Wokingham Baptist Church, on Saturday, June 10.

Doors open at 7.30pm, with tickets available for £10, or £5 for under 18s. Under fives get in free.

The event is supported by Share Wokingham.

‘We feel like thieves’: Shoppers’ anger over new security system

ANGRY shoppers have hit out over a new security system at the Sainsbury’s store in Winnersh which they claim makes them “feel like thieves”, writes James

Hastings

A number have vowed to boycott the store in King’s Street Lane after being forced to scan their receipts at a barrier in the self-service area.

Failure to do so means they have to ask staff to let them through but they claim only after their purchases are checked.

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One Charvil resident who contacted Wokingham Today has refused to return to Sainsbury’s warning the barrier is a health and safety risk.

“When I paid for my shopping I was given the option of not taking a receipt so I didn’t but that meant I was trapped like a prisoner,” he said.

“There was a crowd at the barrier and the staff were not very helpful, telling me it was a new system and we had to get used to it. I don’t like being in crowded conditions and it made me panic. The barriers are a health and safety risk.

“What would happen if there was an emergency and people couldn’t get through these barriers?

“I have shopped at Sainsbury’s for many years but I haven’t returned since this incident last month and I don’t intend to. Perhaps the supermarket is experiencing problems with shoplifting but these new barriers are an excessive response.”

Another resident from Winnersh said her receipt did not scan and her bag was searched before she was allowed to leave: “It reminded me of airport security but all I had was some cheese and a bottle of wine as I was planning a picnic with friends.

“I took my receipt and put it in my purse then I remembered about the barrier but my receipt wouldn’t scan because I’d scrunched it up and the scanner wouldn’t allow me through. A staff member tried it and it still wouldn’t work. She looked in my bag as if I’d nicked something. I was embarrassed as the self-scan area was packed with people.”

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said she could not state why the barriers had been installed “for security reasons”.

She added: “This is just one of a range of security measures and used in a small number of our stores at our self-service checkout areas. We have dedicated colleague support for customers who need assistance.

“We have updated the technology and there is not an option to refuse a receipt.”

She added Sainsbury’s had received few complaints from shoppers at the Winnersh branch.

Origins of Wokingham United Charities to be explored

THE

The Wokingham Society will welcome Dennis Eyriey, a trustee of Wokingham United Charities, for the event which will be held in Wokingham

Town Hall in Market Place.

The Charity’s origins date back to 1451, when John Westende gifted eight cottages in Le Peche-street – now known as Peach Street – for poor and needy people in Wokingham.

Over time other charities have been incorporated and Mr n For more, call Peter Must on: 0118 978 1671, or email: chairman@wokinghamsociety.org.uk

Eyriey will explain that history and also what Wokingham United Charities does now.

The event starts at 7.45pm on Wednesday, June 21, and entry is free.