Lord Mayor’s Show Wrapped! – Imy L
With an early 6am start, members of the RHS band met at the music school, ready for a long day of marching in London. To say everyone was tired would be an understatement- but surprisingly we all managed to make the bus in time. The journey flew by, with most of the band members napping other then being awakened by the jolly voice of Mr Martineau after he discovered a microphone on the bus.
Once we had arrived and grabbed the instruments (and in most cases scrambled to put on parts of divis kit) it was time for a long wait. We marched from the bus to an underground car park to wait in our respective spot with all the other bands. We were there for about an hour, entertaining ourselves with the tea and cakes provided and chatting to members of other bands and schools. We saw a range of different uniforms -some feeling grateful for the simplicity of our own – and got the privilege of watching how other bands prepare before the show.
After the hour of waiting, everyone was feeling ready to get out there. We formed up and queued behind the other bands, gradually being slotted into various parts of the parade. The floats were incredible – with a range of representatives of all aspects of the parade and bursts of colour. Marching in it was an exhilarating feeling and, with 250,000 people watching, we made sure to give a good performance – even managing a split-second feature on BBC1!
Finally hitting lunch and having marched just over half of the route, it is safe to say shoulders and feet were beginning to hurt. Nevertheless, after being given superior baggy meals from the parade team (even with full sized kitkats) and cookie dough snack freebies, we felt ready to go again and finish the parade strong.
Having heard the band songs a few times by now, everyone was feeling exhausted as we drew to the end of the 3-mile march. Once we finally hit the finish, none of us had ever been so grateful for the length of RHS divisions in comparison. The bus journey back was quiet as we approached school just before six o’clock, ready to march and play all again tomorrow for remembrance divisions. Overall the day was, although tiring, a special and unique experience that none of us will ever forget.
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