| Ravara | News

Neil Ussher has returned to Ravara replacing Aaron McCarten as Leading Drummer, Neil left the band to take up the role of leading drummer with Upper Crossgare in 2006 having been with Ravara for the previous 13 years. Neil hopes to continue with the successful tradition of drumming Ravara has become renowned for.

The day before the main event there’s a junior solo contest and Scott Barr was representing Ravara in the under 14 and under 16 piping contests – it proved to a very successful outing for him with first places in both events, well done Scott!

As a contest venue Portrush is great if the weather’s kind but if it’s not then everyone braces them selves for a hard day. The forecast was for a mixed day and as it turned out it stayed dry for the most part but was a bit on the nippy side with a strong wind swirling around Ramore Head. We were in good spirits after our results at the Worlds so we wanted to finish the season off with a strong performance – it was medley so a change in approach from the last few weeks.

There were only two bands playing in our grade so although the competition would be limited it would still be tight with Seven Towers out with the same intent as us to finish strongly. Our preparation went well and as we got closer to the line the view of the large crowd got us geared up; on we went and played our last contest performance of the season.

The post performance review in Portrush is usually followed with several members gathering for a discussion in a local meeting place where lemonade of various varieties and flavours are sold in pint volumes…this occasion was no different.

The results showed we were right to be happy with our playing - the band swept the board with four firsts so we did indeed end the contest season on a strong note. In the drum major contest Emma Barr came through in second place, well done again Emma – a great season for you!

Ravara has always been a close knit band so with the happiness and successes of the day there was also a fair bit of sadness during and after the parade through Portrush – Aaron and I (and subsequently Nigel) have decided to move on. The band wished us well in our new ventures and the close ties will remain in future so make sure there are always spare seats on the bus…I think I can speak on behalf of the others when I say thank you to everyone involved with the band for all the good times, friendship, support and camaraderie over the years. We wish the band every success in the future and will always look out for Ravara’s results. Whoever comes in to replace Aaron has a corps to be proud of and a band who’ll give all the support needed.

Well there we have it for another season, leaves falling, frost in the morning, snow on the hills, scraping your car windscreen, bands going into hibernation for a month or two except those getting ready for the solo drumming…I think DC will be taking charge of the pen from now on so over to you big boy!

There are two things you should always try and avoid - a fire on your bus and Geordie’s brandy….we didn’t manage to avoid either of them so all in all it was a good weekend!

The dashboard on the bus caught fire on the way to Cairnryan but a mysterious masked man in a fairly large outfit with “Captain Flymo” across his chest arrived faster than Pinky can close his wallet and pulled the dashboard apart so we were back on our way home…was it a bird, was it a plane, no it was Geoff - well done!

Geordie had given the band a bottle of brandy and if he wasn’t able to make the trip we were to have a glass in his honour and toast him but he was there so we got a wee nip and Geordie got the other half of the bottle…

The weekend started with an indoor practice in the hotel on Friday due to very heavy rain, with a good week’s practice behind us we were putting the finishing touches on our plans for the big day. The grade 2 contest was a big one with 26 bands entered and we were drawn to play last at 5pm so Saturday was to be a long day, if the weather would hold out at least we’d stay dry. It did stay dry and as it turned out we went on a few minutes early.

All the effort over the last months had been building to this moment and you could really see the focus from everyone as we got nearer the line, so much so that even the presence of two ex members couldn’t put us off (good to see you Neill and Gary). On we went and played our Lord Alexander Kennedy set with a real purpose, afterwards there was a sense that we’d played well enough to get in among the prizes so the wait was on. Like the rest of the day, the finale was being beamed around the world courtesy of the BBC so all over the world there were people watching their computer screens as the announcements came.

In the junior drum major competition Emma Barr lifted 4th place, congratulations and well done from everyone in the band Emma!

We were delighted to get into the prize list by coming second behind Inveraray who lifted their fourth major of the season, Mauchline and District Caledonia, Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, Grampian Police and New Westminster Police filling in the remainder of the top six. We were also second to Inveraray in the drumming but managed to get a first in ensemble. All in all we were delighted with our placing!

In grade 1, Simon Fraser University took the big one with Field Marshal Montgomery, St. Laurence O’Toole, coming in behind them. Congratulations to them all and to the winners in all competitions.

We had a really good night to celebrate and some good banter thrown in made it a great end to the weekend.

Before I get started I promised Emma I’d mention her engagement to Stuart in this week’s news. Stuart is one of the most absent minded fellas you’ll ever meet so to be honest I’ll be surprised if he remembers to turn up on the big day, he’s a lucky boy to have persuaded Emma to marry him, she or the other hand….best wishes and congratulations to you both from all of us!

Nothing brings a smile to your face like a sunny day at the seaside, that’s what we were promised…

As a dry run for the Worlds next week, today’s contest was MSR in grade 2 and Samuel had decided to go with our Lord Alexander Kennedy set - so Aaron had loads of warning that it was Susan and not Dora McLeod after the march…

We met early and the plan was to have a wander round and grab a coffee before getting down to it, Gary bought the coffees (note to Geoff re this) for the boys and left the coffee van £16.70 lighter!! This was going to be a long day for us; we were playing at 3pm and were down as a centre band as well playing the Anthem at the close. This time round the pipers had found a big tree to play under and to be fair they did look good in the shade, no wonder Roy’s always complaining about being kept in the dark…a bit of a crowd had gathered by the time we joined up and had a couple of runs through – although it turned out they were actually queuing for ice cream and weren’t interested in us at all, nothing like being brought back down to earth.

On we went and played, everyone within the ranks seemed to be pleased with performance so the wait was on. The finale didn’t quite go according to plan with the PA system breaking down before the prize winners were announced, so there we all were surrounding the RSPBA officials as the Chinese whispers started.

We still managed to hear our name whispered first as we won the grade with a clean sweep – best band, pipes, drums and bass section! Seven Towers, Killeen and Annsborough came in behind us, congratulations to them an all winners through the grades.

Emma Barr came second in the Novice drum major competition to keep her preparation for next week going, well done and good luck for next week Emma!

We couldn’t have hoped for a better run out before the Worlds so here’s hoping we’ll do ourselves proud next week. Good luck to all the bands and drum majors travelling across to Glasgow.

This year the contest was back in the Castle grounds and to make everyone feel right at home again the weather was due to be sunny, rainy, windy, cold…sunny, rainy, windy, cold…you get the picture.

Samuel had decided to enter the grade 1 contest to keep our MSR’s going ahead of the Worlds in a fortnight so we were in for a busy afternoon. The drummers had found the biggest tree in Castle park (I reckon it must have been even older than Terence…) to stay dry under and as the afternoon went on we were glad of it with the rain coming on and off. Bangor seems to bring the families out and it was nice to see everybody turning out to support the band. The prize for farthest travelled supporter goes to Ali, Dianne’s brother’s girlfriend who hails from Boulder, Colorado...apparently she wants to bottle my accent so she and her friends back home can have a right laugh and get a photo of me and her (probably for the same reason) – apologies Ali, we’ll get one taken at the Worlds.

Today’s grade 2 contest was medley and grade 1 MSR, a mixed bag to match the weather. Geoff was stranded in Scotland so in his honour we held a minute’s silence just to appreciate the quiet time before all that noise kicks off again when he gets back!

Speaking of getting back – I never mentioned that Johnny was back amongst us after a year out, he’s come back with even colder hands than before and a sore knee after grovelling to get back in to the band….welcome back Johnny.

Anyway, back to Bangor – we played a lively medley and were reasonably happy with our performance; straight off and after a change of make up we were on to grade 1. We drew a different set from last week and there were one or two things to sort out but we were happy to keep the MSR’s going.

In grade 2 Seven towers pipped us to the post with Annsborough and Killeen dropping in after us, we won the drumming prize and even without “Mr Loudspeaker” we got the M&D award. In grade 1 Cullybackey got the nod with Ballycoan and Seven Towers ahead of us.

Emma Barr marched in with a 1st place in the novice drum major grade, well done again Emma!

Before this weeks update, the weekend was overshadowed by the very sad passing of Pipe Sergeant Ian Bryson’s father Chester. On behalf of everyone involved with the band our sympathies, thoughts and prayers are with Ian, Lynne, their families and friends. Chester was a real character, a great supporter of the band and will be sadly missed….

….So to the contest. I’ll get the important stuff out of the way first - Gary’s brogues were gleaming and Sarah’s were just as shiny so the Moore household must’ve gone through dozens of dusters to get that result, fair play to you both! Speaking of results, we were hoping to get a good one in Inverclyde and I’ll get to that later.

The usual drill - up in the middle of the night, early ferry to Troon, me buying the coffees and breakfasts on the boat (any chance Geoff?), and on up to the championships with our coach driver Danny driving the bus like he’s in a rally! The BBC couldn’t make it’s mind up about what the weather was to be, the forecast had changed from torrential rain to showers to sunny on their website as the week had gone on so we didn’t really know what to expect. As it turned out we had great weather all day so some of the boys got changed into their gear outside the bus - tourists must’ve thought a school of milk bottle white whales had beached up and were trying kilts on for a laugh…sorry fellas, maybe a wee trip to the gym before the Worlds would sort you out (at least that’s what Susan and Elizabeth said).

We were drawn to play just after 2pm so the drummers started preparing and the pipers stood and looked on in awe (well they did have blank expressions but then they always look like that). As both corps joined to play a few tunes we felt things were going to plan. Through final tuning and on we went and played a well controlled MSR - we had drawn our Highland Wedding set and our main concern was that Aaron (remember him with the Velcro hands from earlier in the season?) would play the right strathspey given he’d gone into the wrong one twice in practice! He did play the right one and got a beer or two as reward.

As normal we left to catch our return ferry before the finale so the results came through on the phone…in our grade Inveraray kept their season going winning to add the European to their Scottish and British titles, we got third behind Dumfries and Galloway who also got the drumming prize, congratulations - top six below:

Emma Barr came second in the junior grade in the drum major championships – well done again Emma!

In grade 1 Field Marshal Montgomery also made it three out of three Majors winning in style with St. Laurence O’Toole pick up the drumming, well done and congratulations to all the prize winners through the grades.

The draw for the The 2009 World Pipe Band Championships is now available............RAVARA are drawn No.26 at 16.55pm.

See the RSPBA site for full details of all grades.

01. 13.00 University of Bedfordshire
02. 13.09 Hamilton Police - Canada
03. 13.18 Annsborough
04. 13.27 Phoenix Honda Glasgow Skye
05. 13.36 Buchan
06. 13.45 Arklow
07. 13.54 Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary
08. 14.03 Inverary and District
09. 14.12 Killeen
10. 14.21 Denny and Dunipace - Gleneagles
11. 14.30 Seven towers
12. 14.39 Lomond and Clyde
13. 14.48 Grampian Police

10 MINUTE BREAK

14. 15.07 Strathclyde Fire and Rescue
15. 15.16 Dumbarton and District
16. 15.25 The Highlanders (4 Scots)
17. 15.34 Clydebank
18. 15.43 The Pipes and Drums of the 1st Royal Engineers - Sweden
19. 15.52 Lochgelly High School
20. 16.01 The Pipes and Drums of Central Scotland Police
21. 16.10 MacKenzie Caledonian
22. 16.19 Johnstone
23. 16.28 Mauchline and District Caledonian
24. 16.37 New Westminster Police
25. 16.46 Bucksburn and District
26. 16.55 RAVARA

One week after a good British Championships and we were back on the line at the All Ireland Championships hoping to keep our recent run going. Like last week MSR was the order of the day and we were looking to take advantage of a good draw (for a change…) to put ourselves in the ring fully prepared.

We were last on just after 3pm so we gathered ourselves for a bite to eat and got started in good time – I’d been on holiday for two weeks so I needed as much practice as I could get!

The weather was kind to the bands with the rain staying away leaving it a bit cloudy but reasonably warm for most of the afternoon. Gary wasn’t too happy though – he was looking for rain to clean his brogues (sort that out would you?), we gave him a bit of stick about it so apparently we’ll be able to see our faces in them at Inverclyde…

On we went and played a well controlled MSR - we were all happy and Samuel even managed a smile at the end…his smile got bigger when we got 1st place overall; Seven Towers, Killeen, Annsborough and Arklow filling the places behind us. We got best drum corps and bass section and M&D (even with Gary’s brogues); Seven Towers got best pipes, congratulations to them and as usual all the prize winners in all grades and drum major competitors.

Emma Barr followed on from last week winning her grade in the drum major competition – well done again Emma!

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 25th JULY 2009 - IVERCLYDE, SCOTLAND - GRADE TWO DRAW

The draw for the next major of the 2009 season is now available............RAVARA are drawn No.6 at 14.05pm.

See the RSPBA site for full details of all grades.

01. 13.20 University of Bedfordshire
02. 13.29 Buchan
03. 13.38 Denny and Dunipace Gleneagles
04. 13.47 Seven Towers
05. 13.56 MacKenzie Caledonian
06. 14.05 RAVARA
07. 14.14 Lochgelly High School
08. 14.23 Mauchline and District Caledonian
09. 14.32 Lomond and Clyde
10. 14.41 Killeen
11. 14.50 Dumbarton and District
12. 14.59 Johnstone
13. 15.08 Clydebank
14. 15.17 Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary
15. 15.26 Phoenix Honda Glasgow Skye
16. 15.35 The Pipes and Drums of Central Scotland Police
17. 15.44 Strathclyde Fire and Rescue
18. 15.53 Bucksburn and District
19. 16.02 Inveraray and District
20. 16.11 Grampian Police

Adjudicators:
Tony Sloane
James Campbell
Sandy Steele
James Baxter

Banbridge Rugby Club has surely never seen the likes of it before, well, apart from the last time that it played host to a Major contest, but this was bigger and better.

Ravara were drawn No.1 playing at 1330hrs so it was an earlier start than usual. The PM had to get the girls rushed through the parlour a good bit quicker than usual, but thankfully he left enough time to get himself a good scrub.

Preparations went pretty well and everyone was trying their best to keep a relaxed but focused mood and not wondering if McCartan will drop a stick today! I’ll regret this I know….

A decent run was had, but we knew it just wasn’t as good as it should have been and that was the annoying factor after the performance, but after the 1st shandy all was soon forgotten!

Another great day of results for the bands on home soil with Thiepval Memorial awarded 1st place in Grade 4B, and Bro. Matt Boyd Memorial winning Grade 4A; a grade which has been dominated by Letterkenny and District for most of the season.

Castlerock dominated Grade 3B winning 1st overall and also winning the drumming prize. The Scots got their 1st taste of victory in Grade 3A with Williamwood coming out on top in a very closely contested grade, with Killen, Augintober, Howard Memorial, and Raffrey taking 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th places respectively.

The main attraction of the day was of course Grade 2! Inverary and District took the honours making it their second successive Major win of the season, and for good measure they done it with 1st placings right across the board from all judges, pretty impressive. Ravara took 2nd place and this was met with great elation, realising how close we had come and knowing that we can still improve.

Field Marshal Montgomery wiped the boards in Grade 1 winning 1st overall and for good measure secured the drumming prize which surely comes as a great boost to Keith Orr and his core.

I thought that I would leave the best until last. Emma Barr won the British Championships, Junior Section, and my was she chuffed, she was shaking like a leaf. This is a tremendous achievement considering Emma has to compete against an older age group than she normally would have to when competing at local competitions. Another puppy please Daddy!

Chambers Park, Portadown was the venue on Saturday 20th June 2009, another location listed on the calendar which hasn’t been visited in well over a decade. What a welcome return for this excellent venue with its easy access just off the M1, great parking, spacious grounds for tuning up, and superb facilities; well done Mervyn Herron and your team.

With the British being held next week in Banbridge it was necessary for the County Down Section to find an alternative venue and somehow Craigavon borough Council came up with the goods.

Drum Major Emma Barr kept her name in the prizes picking up 4th place in the Novice Section. Well done and keep practicing ahead of the British next Saturday.

Ravara took 2nd place behind an ever improving Seven Towers, followed up by Killeen and Annsborough in 3rd and 4th place respectively. The Ravara Drum Corp was back on form again taking the honours, and the Band’s M&D was on the mark again.

The band could have pushed The Towers’ much closer if it hadn’t been for a clown of a judge, who shall remain nameless, (willy g), who gave the pipers a right hammering! At least this proves to any doubters that willy is his own man, he’ll not be influenced, he’ll judge fairly and give the result as he sees it. He’s still a clown, even though we had a bad intro and our playing wasn’t as together as it should have been!

Be prepared for the invasion of the Scots next weekend, its sure to be a cracker in the midst of this heatwave.

Congratulations to Roy and Gillian Connolly on the new arrival of their 3rd son.

Cameron Samuel Connolly who was born in the early hours of Saturday 13th June 2009 weighing in at 7lbs 14ozs.

The band wishes to congratulate Ex Ravara member Aaron Turkington (tennor drummer) & Annemarie Lugton who tied the knot on sat 6th june 2009 in Edinburgh. Aaron played tennor in ravara for 14yrs before leaving to pursue other things and although he now lives in Edinburgh we know he still takes a great interest in the band and how they do every Saturday.

We were in sausage country this week and for some of the day it was nearly as hot as a frying pan but as per usual the rain didn’t stay away for too long. We had been there about an hour when the clouds opened and dropped a few buckets on us but that didn’t last too long and when they moved off they stayed away for the rest of the day.

The most impressive sight of the day (from the drummers point of view anyway) was the set of alloys on the ice cream van, Geoff immediately identified them as 20” – his ice cream was pretty good too….

As it was a championship there was no opportunity to play up so all the effort would be thrown into the grade 2 contest. We were drawn to play first before 3pm and were playing our medley so we got cracking after the ice cream break and got things underway.

On we went and played a pretty controlled selection – the crowd seemed to like it, we were reasonably happy too so the wait was on…..it turned out the result reflected how we felt after playing with us coming in 1st place; Killeen, Seven Towers and Annsborough filling the places behind us. Seven Towers won the drumming and bass section prizes in our grade, congratulations to them and as usual all the prize winners in all grades and drum major competitors.

We kept up our M&D run with taking the prize there and Emma Barr nabbed second place in the novice drum major grade – well done Emma!

COUNTY ANTRIM CHAMPIONSHIPS, CARRICKFERGUS, 6th JUNE 2009 (results)

After last weeks sunshine it was back to normal form in Carrick with rain most of the day, the wind made it a cold one too so the conditions were tough for everyone looking to get the sound they wanted. Like previous weeks we were playing up to grade 1 to keep both medley and MSR going, it was MSR in our grade and with an hour between performances it would give us a chance to regroup in the rain to get ready for the grade 1 contest.

As our grade 2 draw time got closer the rain eased off so we got a bit of relief and on we went, although we stayed dry we weren’t happy with how we played and as it turned out the result reflected that with us coming in third behind Seven Towers and Killeen – congratulations to them both and as usual all the prize winners in all grades and drum major competitors.

The hour I mentioned earlier gave us a chance to put things back in order and we went in to the grade 1 contest with a much improved band. We leapfrogged Seven Towers to come second to Ballycoan so there was a bit of silver lining to all those rain clouds.

Emma Barr continued her good run with a first place in the novice drum major grade – well done Emma!

COUNTY FERMANAGH CHAMPIONSHIPS, ENNISKILLEN, 30rd MAY 2009 (results)

There was sun in the sky as the road show moved to Enniskillen – even the stall selling umbrellas couldn’t tempt the rain clouds so the contest circuit was in for its first family day out this season…..it’s always a good day for the FA Cup final.

Our plan was to compete in Grade 1 as well as our own grade so we were in for a busy day, we reckoned there was real benefit in having run outs for our MSR and medley to keep us on our toes as the season approached its first full month end.

The sun cream was slapped on and we got our preparation underway. The measured approach before our performance paid off - we played very well in the ring and managed to win our grade with first overall along with best piping, drumming and the M&D prize as a bonus. Annsborough came second with Killeen following in third, well done to them and prize winners in all grades and drum major events (speaking of which Emma Barr kept up her good run by coming second in the Novice grade).

A short break and we back getting ourselves ready for playing up to grade 1, with two grade 1 bands also competing it was always going to be difficult however we came third behind Ballycoan and Culleybackey with Killeen nipping in behind us.

IBRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS : 27th JUNE 2009 - BANBRIDGE - GRADE TWO DRAW

The draw for the next major of the 2009 season is now available............RAVARA are drawn No.1 at 13.30pm.

See the RSPBA site for full details of all grades.

Grade 2

01. 13.30 Ravara
02. 13.39 Johnstone
03. 13.48 Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary
04. 13.57 The Pipes and Drums of Central Scotland Police
05. 14.06 University of Bedfordshire
06. 14.15 Strathclyde Fire and Rescue
07. 14.24 Phoenix Honda Glasgow Skye
08. 14.33 MacKenzie Caledonian
09. 14.42 Denny and Dunipace Gleneagles
10. 14.51 Arklow - Eire
11. 15.00 Buchan
12. 15.09 Inveraray and District
13. 15.18 Lomond and Clyde
14. 15.27 Dumbarton and District
15. 15.36 Annsborough
16. 15.45 Seven Towers
17. 15.54 Killeen
18. 16.03 Bucksburn and District
19. 16.12 Mauchline and District
20. 16.21 Clydebank

Adjudicators:
P Snaddon
T.B.A
J Noble
M MacKenzie

EAST ANTRIM CHAMPIONSHIPS, NEWTOWNBBEY, 23rd MAY 2009 (results)

It must be around 15 years since the tartan fraternity last stepped out onto the 3 Mile Water playing fields, and in the current ulster climate what a damp return it was.
What fond memories this venue has, none more so than when PM Pollock stopped playing during the ‘monkies’ performance, opened his sporran, shoved a hankie up his nose to stop the sudden nose bleed, then strike up and continue playing, AND of course still managed a 1st place. You can tell that this development didn’t annoy me in the slightest and I have totally forgotten all about it !

Proceedings were wrapped up fairly quickly on Saturday due to the poor entry of bands right across the spectrum.

Emma Barr kept her name in the prizes picking up 4th place in the Novice Juvenille despite difficult conditions. Even the adults had problems, just ask Brian Wilson !
Well done Emma and keep up the good work.

Thiepval Memorial were to the fore again in grade 4B and Quinn Memorial took top spot in grade 4A. The Donegal folk were making their presence felt again with Manorcunningham bringing home another 1st place in grade 3B and McNeillstown improved on their last outing taking the honours in grade 3A.

With grade 2 having only 2 participants it was the Co. Armagh men versus the Co. Down men, with Ravara squeezing into 1st place ahead of Killeen who also picked up the drumming.

Ballycoan were the only grade 1 band to make an appearance so the enthusiastic grade 2 duo dried themselves off and had a pop at the coan’, but with Alfie’s ever expanding midriff to compete against the challenge was too much and the coan’ swept the boards with 1st placings.

SCOTTISH CHAMPIONSHIPS, DUNBARTON, 16th MAY 2009 (results)

Samuel had given everyone explicit instructions - be on our best behaviour and don’t be late - yes it must mean we’re on our way to Scotland! So there we were on the early crossing to Troon and on up to Dumbarton for the Scottish Championships. The coach was fully allocated with a few former members, players from other bands, family and friends joining us….in fact Samuel had been so generous with handing out seats playing members struggled to get on!! Everyone was looking forward to having a good day out.

The weather was forecast as being showers but that was just a decoy – as it turned out we had a dry and breezy day. Time for a quick bite to eat after getting changed into the battle gear (for a certain former member joining us, battle gear meant a consistently half empty glass….you know who you are Neil Ussher….). We were drawn just after debutants Inveraray to go on 4th out of twenty bands so there was a lot to be done in a short time to get ourselves ready.

On we went and played our medley and although there were a few things to work on everyone seemed reasonably happy so there was a long wait now to see how things would unfold.

We’re thinking of entering next year’s Britain’s Got Talent, well to be precise one of us is. Aaron has decided he’ll enter but not as a juggler cos old Velcro hands dropped his stick half way through the performance, on the plus side he’s discovered a new talent as a brass necked contortionist after the way he picked the stick up and carried as if no-one saw it happen…….

As with previous years, we had to leave before the finale to catch the return boat so the mobile phones were going nuts getting the results through – Inveraray capped off a remarkable jump from the juvenile grade to win 1st prize with University of Bedfordshire, Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, ourselves, Seven Towers and Lomond and Clyde hot on their heels. Well done and congratulations to Inveraray and all the other winners throughout the grades.

Emma Barr came through in 3rd place in the junior Drum Major section so well done from everyone in the band Emma!

Needless to say there were a few (well OK maybe a lot) lemonades taken on the journey home and more than likely a number of sore heads the next day…can’t wait for Inverclyde now…

DUNGANNON, 9th MAY 2009 (results)

Preparations for the first outdoor competition of the season weren’t too good on the weather front with a week which saw rain, rain and more rain. On the morning of 9th May not much had changed as the RSPBA took the tartan fraternity to a new venue, the accommodating grounds of Dungannon Rugby Club. As the day progressed, the clouds lifted and the 2009 season was well under way.

1st in Grade 4B was Thiepval Memorial, making it 2 wins on the trot.
Grade 4A winners were Harry Bloomfields men, and women of course from the Quinn Memorial.
Grade 3B honours also went to the North West with Castlerock taking 1st overall and the drumming prize.

The very consistant Augintober also secured back to back victories securing top spot in Grade 3A and also best drums.

Killeen pipped Ravara at the post to win Grade 2, with Ravara in 2nd and also winning best drums, bass section and M&D.

Grade 1 was won by Terry Tully’s St. Laurence O’Toole and they also picked up best drums and M&D, big Davy Chesney must have polished his brogues! 2nd place went to FMM who were also awarded best pipes and best bass section. Ballycoan and Cullybackey finished 3rd and 4th respectively.

Former Ravara player Andy McGregor has now taken over the reigns at Cullybackey and I’m sure he is glad to get his first contest as Pipe Major out of the way; all the best for the season Andy.

Congratulations to Mervyn Herron and his team for their organising skills for Saturdays event, plenty of car parking was available within walking distance of the venue and the shuttle coaches accommodated all.

A big THANKYOU to the AA for coming to the rescue of the Rover 25 and taking its passengers home to Ravara, everyone else cleared off and left us! The mechanic has now fixed the fault. Hopefully we won’t have the same problems with the ferry and coach going to Dumbarton this week.

BANBRIDGE INDOOR, 2nd MAY 2009 (results)

And they’re off!........Another season is underway and we’re indoors at Banbridge. All the work put in through the winter would be put to the test; we meet up and it’s clear the band is split into 3 groups:

The organisers obviously had irony firmly in mind when allocating rooms to practice in – they gave us the library! To be fair the drummers did soak up some of the literature on hand and thankfully there were loads of books with nice bright pictures in them to keep the pipers amused for ten minutes…..

We were playing our medley and everyone was looking forward to getting the season underway. As our draw time came closer we went through our routine with a purpose and went on to play with a positive attitude. Overall we were happy with our first performance of the season and the result seemed to back that up with the band coming in first ahead of Killeen and Arklow.

So we head from here to Dungannon next week and look forward to playing outdoors and keeping up our winning habit.

RSPBA SOLOS

The Northern Ireland branch of the RSPBA held their annual solo competition in Lisburn on Saturday 11th April. With the football season coming to a close, Scott Barr managed to find the time to participate at this event. Unfortunately due to a lack of entries in Scott’s section (Under 14 Piping) he had to box above his weight and compete in the Under 16 section. As ever, the 12 year old was totally unfazed by this turn of events and he gave it his best shot.

ULSTER SOLOS

The Ulster Solos took place on Saturday 25th April in Monkstown Community School, Newtownabbey. Scott Barr was on the floor again and he took leading tip Aaron McCartan along with him this time for company.

Scott collected another title and added another trophy to the cabinet by being placed 1st in the Under 14 Piping.

Scott thought his days work was done but he was on the floor again to play alongside Pipe Major Sam Connolly when they accompanied Aaron for his performance in the Senior Drumming.

Aaron landed 4th spot and maybe next year if he actually does some practice he will lift the Ulster title again!

BI ELECTRICAL SERVICES (NI) Ltd.

Electrical contractor and maintenance company, B.I. Electrical Services (NI) Ltd, www.bielectrical.com are marking two decades in business. Ravara wish to thank the Mallusk based firm’s Managing Director Ian Humphreys for supporting the band as part of the celebrations.

In the current economic climate businesses have to be more vigilant than ever so for a local firm to reach a landmark with such a success story is a tremendous achievement. Hopefully the band can emulate B.I.’s success in the coming season, thank you once again.

WILLIE’S BAG IS BUST!

It’s a very sad day, one we thought that we would never see from the ranks of Ravara, it even pains me to inform you, but Willie Garrett has moved across to the dark side; yes, he has joined the Judging Panel!

All of the years of hard work at the Piping and Drumming school has paid off, and Willie is now fully qualified to take his position outside the saw-dust circle with pen and clipboard in hand. Hopefully some of his new friends will show him how to scribble some incomprehensible waffle whilst pretending to listen to a bands’ performance, come to think of it, someone had better show him how to write! His calm, composed, and relaxed demeanour shall surely be missed on competition days! We’d better hope that he doesn’t judge us for some considerable time after he reads this!

All of the crack and banter with Willie will surely be missed, but no doubt he will pop into see us from time to time to offer some constructive criticism, and he will always be made very welcome.

The members of the band would like to wish Willie all the very best in his new venture, and we’ll be sure to let you know when we think you’ve got results wrong!

A Burn's Night celebration was hosted by the band in Ballygowan Village Hall on Saturday 24th January 2009. The evening was the foresight of Mrs Marion McCloy who undertook the mantle of organizer for this event. An Auld Tyme Dance was the entertainment for the evening with the music being provided by Sammy Miskelly on the squeezebox.

Even with it being a wet and windy night the hall was filled to capacity and the dancers got into the mood of the night with the ladies adorned in their tartan.

Before supper was served it was time to remember the great Bard himself. The Pipe Major (and his dodgy high 'G') with Willy Connolly and Jack Crompton (Band President) with haggis in hand took to the dance floor. Willy recited the address to the haggis which was then suitably toasted, and followed by the saying of the Selkirk Grace. A great supper was provided, if anyone was left hungry they only had themselves to blame.

A big thankyou to all those who provided sandwiches and pastry, and the very generous array of prizes for the ballot.

Special thanks to Marion McCloy, Ruthie Craig, and their merry band of helpers for all their assistance in making this event such a success.

The band has had its 1st outing of 2009 already. On Thursday 8th January we were the guests of Ards Borough Council at a reception in Stormont, held in recognition of the band's tremendous list of achievements in 2008.

The invitation was extended by MLA Michelle McIlveen and she was accompanied on the evening by Councillor Robert Gibson. A big gratitude of thanks must go to Michelle for her invitation and for the hospitality that was displayed to the band members, band officers, and family members on the evening.

The Ravara crowd never being the ones to pass up on a photo opportunity thought that they would keep the treasurer / band steward (Willy Connolly) busy for a few days by getting the silverware polished up for the occasion, great job Willy. As you may be able to tell from the photo all the good looking members stood towards the top of the steps and all the vertically challenged folk to the front ! Obviously Geoff Jennings got slipped into the back by mistake !

After the photoshoot our guide for the evening gave us a very informative but humorous tour of the great hall and stormont's chambers, very impressive and well worth the visit. With the opportunity to mingle at this stage it was very evident that some amount of fake tan and lippy had been slapped on for the occasion, but Brooks you did look well !

The evening provided a great opportunity for a get together in the winter months and the band would like to express our sincere thanks to Ards Borough Council for their very kind invitation.

The members of Ravara wish all our supporters a very Happy New Year & all the best for the 2009 season ahead.

COUNTY ANTRIM CHAMPIONSHIPS, CARRICKFERGUS, 6th JUNE 2009 (results)

COUNTY FERMANAGH CHAMPIONSHIPS, ENNISKILLEN, 30rd MAY 2009 (results)

IBRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS : 27th JUNE 2009 - BANBRIDGE - GRADE TWO DRAW

The draw for the next major of the 2009 season is now available............RAVARA are drawn No.1 at 13.30pm.

See the RSPBA site for full details of all grades.

EAST ANTRIM CHAMPIONSHIPS, NEWTOWNBBEY, 23rd MAY 2009 (results)

SCOTTISH CHAMPIONSHIPS, DUNBARTON, 16th MAY 2009 (results)

DUNGANNON, 9th MAY 2009 (results)

BANBRIDGE INDOOR, 2nd MAY 2009 (results)

RSPBA SOLOS

ULSTER SOLOS

BI ELECTRICAL SERVICES (NI) Ltd.

WILLIE’S BAG IS BUST!

COUNTY ANTRIM CHAMPIONSHIPS, CARRICKFERGUS, 6th JUNE 2009 (results)

COUNTY FERMANAGH CHAMPIONSHIPS, ENNISKILLEN, 30rd MAY 2009 (results)

IBRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS : 27th JUNE 2009 - BANBRIDGE - GRADE TWO DRAW The draw for the next major of the 2009 season is now available............RAVARA are drawn No.1 at 13.30pm. See the RSPBA site for full details of all grades.

EAST ANTRIM CHAMPIONSHIPS, NEWTOWNBBEY, 23rd MAY 2009 (results)

SCOTTISH CHAMPIONSHIPS, DUNBARTON, 16th MAY 2009 (results)

DUNGANNON, 9th MAY 2009 (results)

BANBRIDGE INDOOR, 2nd MAY 2009 (results)

RSPBA SOLOS

ULSTER SOLOS

BI ELECTRICAL SERVICES (NI) Ltd.

WILLIE’S BAG IS BUST!

IBRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS : 27th JUNE 2009 - BANBRIDGE - GRADE TWO DRAW

The draw for the next major of the 2009 season is now available............RAVARA are drawn No.1 at 13.30pm.

See the RSPBA site for full details of all grades.