From
19th December to Monday 23rd December 2002 The City of Coventry Corps of Drums
took part in the Christmas Celebrations in Menton, Monte Carlo on the south
coast of France.
Here
is a summary of the trip by Alan Palmer:
Although we were late in arriving, due to the breakdown on the ferry of our
hired "hallmark" coach, we carried out two days of playing in various
parts of the town, and were received by the town mayor at a civic reception.
Playing
outside the "casino" on the second day brought the traffic to a halt,
and everywhere we appeared brought large crowds of people, many of which wanted
to talk to us and offer their compliments.
Going back to the coach breakdown in "Calais Docks", a driver had
to stay on board the ferry deck until it could be taken off at Dover, which
resulted in Les Glover drawing the short straw, and having to make "five"
crossings between Calais and Dover, until Malcolm had succeeded in acquiring
a replacement coach to continue our journey.
Many thanks must go to Malcolm and Lesley Bates, for their help in solving the
problem with "Hallmarks" which was invaluable, and to Les Glover,
for his patience and humour, in compliance of P&O ferry regulations.
At
one stage during his crossings, he could have finished up with a mop and bucket,
as they thought he had become one of the crew.
We had to unload everything off the coach on the ferry before we left again
for Calais, which gave us 25 to 30 minutes.
Thanks to the older members of the corps, and the staff, we unloaded everything,
clearing the ferry in 10 minutes. Considering it took us 2 1/2 hours to load
it, it turned out to be another triumph over adversity.
The trip was very successful, nevertheless, and credit must go to everyone concerned
for making it a most enjoyable trip.
Alan Palmer
Commanding Officer
