Kettle Bridge Concertinas

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One of the major events of the year is our annual participation in the Kent Music Festival. In 2014, as usual, the festival took place at Invicta School over the last weekend in November and included a wide range of music. Our class was for Accordion and Concertina Ensemble (Average age over 18 years) — I think we just about made the age limit!

Kettle Bridge devote much time and energy is selecting and then practicing our two pieces. This year, we chose

• Concert Overture by Francis Clifford, arranged by Claire Wren
• Bristol Harbourside by Claire Wren

In the lead up to the competition, there were many hours of rehearsal including a session with our great friend Claire Wren, who was obviously a tremendous help when you consider the music that we had selected!

The appointed day finally dawned and the band congregated at Clifford's house for some last-minute practice. Then it was down to Invicta School for the 10:00 slot. We were first on and were followed by Kingston House Accordion Group and our old adversaries the Thurrock Accordion Band. Unfortunately, Sandy was unable to take part following her accident but she was still there to support us.

There was a brilliant surprise in store for Kettle Bridge when Claire Wren turned up to hear our performance. No pressure, then. She was obviously an inspiration because we played really well and hopefully did her music justice. There was then a tense wait while the other groups played and we had to wait for the results.

When the judgement finally came, there was joy for Kettle Bridge as we learnt that we had won the competition, scoring 87 marks and earning a distinction.

We stayed on to listen to the non-competitive section of the Accordion and Concertina Ensemble class, especially as it featured Adam and Oliver Waters together with our own Liz Millward, and very well they played too. Then it was time to go for our customary meal at the North Pole pub to celebrate our victory.

Here's to next year!