As Bournemouth is one of the holiday hotspots of the UK, the Band find many opportunities every year to minister to a large number of people who may rarely hear the message of the Gospel. Whether it is from the Bandstand in Pinewalk on a Friday evening, or in Bournemouth Lower Gardens on a Sunday morning, our annual summer concert in the Christchurch Priory, or one of our outdoor "Songs of Praise" events we are very aware that we can never know who is listening and who really needs to hear our message just at that moment.

The busy summer season kicks off in June with a trip to New Milton on Sunday 12th to take part in the Town's celebration of the Queen's 90th Birthday. Our Band Facebook page contains details of all the events that the Band will participate in over the next couple of months. This is, of course, in addition to the "normal" activities that you can find on the Corps page. A busy time.

The main event for us during May was Band Sunday on May 22nd.  This was, as always, expertly led by our Bandmaster with the evening meeting consisting of a number of pieces of classical music that you might expect to hear on Classic FM!  The morning service included two separate "testimony" periods where - as has become the tradition within the Band - volunteers (including almost the full Bass section) spoke briefly on the topic of the meeting, which this time was Triumph and Tragedy.

On the final weekend of the month our Bandmaster and John Starkes represented the Band at the Govan Corps in Glasgow by participating in their Band Weekend (those of you who use Facebook will almost certainly have seen some photos of that event!).  This was one of two occasions during the month when we were pleased to have YP Band Leader Kevin Whittingham in charge of the Band.  His first Sunday in charge included an excellent march to Boscombe Town Centre where we held a short openair service at lunchtime.  Again on the Band Facebook page you can find more information including a video taken of that march.