| Star of the North FB Friday 29th April Lurgan Taking advantage of a free weekend from marching, (due to us enforcing our NO RETURN SUPPORT to those Bands who fail to support us) I took the opportunity to travel to Lurgan to watch the Annual Parade & Competition organised by Star of the North FB. This was to be a big night for the Band as they were unveiling their new uniform for the first time. Congratulations to them on this for it is not an easy task by no means. The uniform looks well and the colours all complement each other. It wouldnt be a style which I would choose but the Band wear it well and it certainly suits them. It was a wonderful night weather wise. You could'nt ask for any better and this certainly played a part in getting the crowds out onto the streets of Lurgan. There was a fantastic turn out of spectators for this Parade, probably the largest I have seen in a long time. It was fantastic to see that the Band has achieved, once again to get marching the full length of Lurgan town centre. It has been some time since this was possible. Good on them for this and I hope the other Bands in Lurgan are allowed the same freedom when it is their turn to host their Parades. The Parade started in good time and was led of by the KVFB, who were heading on to another destination when they were finished in Lurgan. A good turnout for them tonight with 23 & 13 on the march. Some large gaps between the Bands at the start but this soon ended when the parade got into full flight. In total 29 Bands participated including the hosts, making this an excellent family night out. There were some good performances by the usual Bands but I couldnt say that any stood out from the line up. I dont know what the competition results were like, but If it were I doing the judging, and I would like to think that after 26 years experience of marching bands that I would know something about them by now, I would have judged it as follows: Colour Party _ Downshire Guiding Star FB. These guys never seem to faulter. They put in impressive performances week in and week out. They are one of the best colour parties in the business at present. Bass Drummer - Orange & Blue FB Lambeg. Over the last couple of seasons , these guys have shown others how it should be done. They have a flair for bass drumming and they are a joy to watch. Drum Corps - I can't say that any of the Drum Corps stood out from the rest But I would have given it to Clogher Protestant Boys FB. Some of their Drumming is quite original and they are always on the go. Special mention though to Pride of the Valley FB drum corps. I listened intently to these guys and they are progressing very well indeed. Their drumming is very tight indeed. Lead Tip - South Down DUP. This guy has a lot of talent and can certainly show you how it can be done. There was nobody to come close to him. Style & Appearance - A very difficult one to judge, given the nature of this Parade. Meeting bands throughout the route leaves it difficult to look and march well. The 3 contenders would have been KVFB, Clogher PBFB and Drumderg. I think that Drumderg would have got my vote. They seem just to have that bit of an edge over the others. Small B & T - Armagh True Blues FB. No hesitation in this whatsoever. With 16 & 9 on Parade this kept them in this category but they could have easily held of any of the big guns. They were in excellent form. The fluting power was amazing. Blood & Thunder - Not so easy this one. There would have been 4 Bands in the running. Knockmore (28 & 14) Drumderg ( 31 & 15) Kilcluney (23 & 13) and Clogher (27 & 11). For me size meant nothing when it come to this category. As I said before Armagh could have held any of the above , but there can only be 1 winner and on this occasion I would have to give it to Clogher. Their performance was definately more superior on the night. Best Overall - Tonight this would again have to go to Clogher Proteatant Boys FB. Tonight they, had that edge over everybody else and it all came together for them. Again, let me repeat that this is just my opinion on how I would have judged the Parade. Congratulations to Dollingstown on a very good Parade and hopefully We will be back participating in this one very soon. |
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