Posted by Stella Gooch
Photos by Stella Gooch and Rob Topliss
Click here to see more photos of the 2011 Heacham Carnival
Carnival Queen, Amy Noakes accompanied by her 4 Lavender Princesses; Daisy Back, Milli O’Quigley, Emily Smith and Chloe Rumens
In my experience, the sun always shines on Heacham Carnival. The weeks and days leading up to this big annual event were frequently rained on to the degree you could even say it was cats and dogs. However it was true to form and out came the sun on the day as required. This year, however, it was somewhat cooler than we have become used to but, as it turned out, it was perfect marching weather for the Heacham Carnival Parade.
This year’s parade (7 August 2011) had a good number of entries with the majority forming floats. The parade was full of colour and lots of thought and creativity had obviously gone into the floats and costumes. The walkers were also nicely turned out to add colour to the parade. Well done to everyone who took part.
It was perhaps a shame that 2011 was the year the organisers shortened the length of the route so that the parade began in College Drive instead of Marram Way as the participants would have found the conditions much more comfortable than in past years. However, I took the opportunity to position myself alongside Brays Pit to view the oncoming parade and found the Heacham duck population thriving on the banks of the pond. I cannot remember them being so prolific but perhaps my memory is getting foggy with old age!
There were countless collectors out rattling their buckets amongst the parade persuading the spectactors to dig deep and help swell the fundraising effort on behalf of Heacham In Bloom and the final donations were a cracking £400 which bodes well for the 2012 Heacham In Bloom campaign.
The Lavender Queen, Amy Noakes accompanied by her 4 Lavender Princesses; Daisy Back, Milli O’Quigley, Emily Smith and Chloe Rumens led the Heacham Carnival Parade with The Ambassadors of Borrowash Marching Band providing excellent marching music to spur the parade along. Untypically, the Ambassadors proved to offer more than just a striking up of their tunes as they marched in perfect formation reminiscent of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. It seemed as though this style was a surprise to the parade participants as those following the band were forced to periodically stop and observe the band marching through their routines mid-parade. More of this fantastic display was dished up for the visitors to this year’s Heacham Carnival Parade once the parade reached the sports field. I, along with hordes of others, watched in amazement as the band strutted their stuff showing enormous imagination, discipline and skill. They were nothing less than excellent and the band should be rightly proud of themselves.
Winner: Heacham Youth Club's dragon
Winner: Hunstanton & District Rotary Club
Having looked at some of the band’s promotional material they boast that they perform an arena show choreographed to music which is guaranteed to entertain the public, visually as well as audibly. Well they certainly lived up to their marketing in my view and their colourful uniforms complemented the intricate marching movements and display patterns that are formed. They are very much a group of competent musicians who perform a wide and varied selection of music on brass, woodwind and percussion instruments and they ensured the arena show was a truly spectacular event leaving me wanting to see more. (Scroll further down to learn more about the band.)
Overall Winners: Heacham Judo Club in Harry Potter theme
On the field the usual judging took place and the winners were declared as:
- Best Overall Entry and Legion Trophy winners – Heacham Judo Club – Harry Potter
- Best Youth Group – Heacham Youth Club – Dragon
- Best Family – Cawthorne – Circus
- Best Other Entry – Hunstanton & District Round Table – Ghostbusters and Starsky & Hutch
I must say that Heacham Judo Club was a truly merited overall winner. Their float was true to their theme, came through as a real team effort and had obviously had a lot of hard work put into it. Well done to the Judo Club. I was also impressed with the quality of the Ghostbusters entry and the beat up old Starsky & Hutch car brought back fond memories of my childhood cop heroes.
Winner: Cawthorne family are clowning around
As usual, the car boot sale kicked off the day at the unearthly hour of 7am with the fairground rides, bouncy castle and fete stalls gradually opening up by lunch time. There were also competitions and races to wear the children out further before they had to depart for home.
A Short History of The Ambassadors of Borrowash Marching Band
The Ambassadors formed in September 1979 when the original 11 founder members established the structure of the new organisation, including a constitution. Months of fundraising work followed thereafter to raise funds for instruments and eventually uniforms. As funds grew and the formation of the band took shape, new performing members were attracted. As second hand instruments were purchased out of the funds that had been raised, members were taught to play an instrument, a drum or to dance.
The Ambassadors joined the CBSL (Carnival Band Secretaries League) in 1981 and the performing members were equipped with uniforms and the first public performance was held on 10th July 1982 in a contest at Allestree where the band came last. This trend continued for the rest of the season as they gained confidence and experience.
Whilst entertaining the public at various fetes, galas and shows the band continued to improve in contests until on 25th June 1983 they achieved their first competition win. The contest at Duffield saw the Ambassadors secure first place with 77 out of 100 points beating the Rangers of Derby and the Derby Regalia who tied for second place with 76 points. The band had grown and gained in experience over the years and continue to compete in major competions. In particular, the set out on a quest to win one of the Major CBSL Championships. The three Championships in the CBSL are the League Championship and two open contests, the Midland Counties Championship and the South East Midland Counties Championship.
Their 1987 season began well, winning contests at Ilkeston, Long Eaton, Beeston, Ashbourne and Horsley Woodhouse. The next contest at Chesterfield saw the Ambassadors beat the Derby Serenaders for the first time. This was no mean feat as the Serenaders had dominated the premier spot of the CBSL for the previous two decades. With runners up positions at Derby and Lowestoft, and a further win at another contest at Long Eaton, the band achieved their ambition by winning the 1987 League Championship.
To date the Ambassadors of Borrowash Marching Band have won 18 Championships and been runners up 18 times. During the past five years the band have been League Champions in 1997, 1998 and 2000. Other achievements in this period include the biggest point’s difference between first and second place, a 20 points difference, winning 10 contests in a row and being undefeated in 1998.
Although an impressive record this is, the band still strives to achieve more and improves year upon year. Long may they continue to wow the public with their kind of bandmanship!
Ambassadors Marching Band parade through Heacham
