Gallery. Friday
Photos from Day 3 of the 2009 Nationals.
The Solos and Ensembles were complete, and now the full Bands were in competition. B Grade began early in the Municipal, and C grade was to start mid afternoon. But the highlight for the citizens of Napier was the parade of bands. They began in leafy Station Street, turned and did much of their march down Hastings Street, before a right turn into Tennyson and halt.The Saluting Dais is a very formal place. No-one mis-interpreted it as a place to casually wave and call out 'Buenas Dias', which just proves that drum-majors can spell so much better than me. Maybe they tell each other dark stories of the day 'that guy from Barcelona...' I take consolation from the fact that I had it spelled 'dias' for a week on this page and no-one corrected me. Well, not that particular mistake. The word incidentally comes from university use, and means 'high table', where the good and the great sit, or possibly stand.
I was up early to get a picture of light on the front of the Municipal. However, by then, one paranoid drum-major had already nearly completed his final check of the route. From his pacing out from street marks, I assumed he was checking that inconsiderate road planners had not changed the lines.
 Dawn light on Municipal Theatre. |
 Drum-major on route check |
 Sunshine, flowers, and... um.. oh yes, the upcoming march |
 Hamilton brass forming up behind the band about to step off. |
 The pleasant Assembly Point. |
 Levin being inspected before step off |
 Drum major poised. |
 Military judge. |
 Predators awaiting their prey.... |
 The turn into Hastings St. |
 Band upon band ... |
 ... upon band |
 View from the Saluting Dais. |
 Lineni Malungahu of Auckland City Brass and Charlie Fa'aui on tenor horn |
 Television was there |
 Papakura Brass, C Grade contest |
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©2008
Anton Erasmuson.