I Purchased the Regionals CD

Episode 11 of Series 5 of the hit show Friends is entitled ‘The One with All the Resolutions’ and, as the name suggests, sees each member of the famous group make a new years resolution. For his resolution Ross tries something new every day, ultimately buying a pair of tight leather trousers and resulting in disastrous consequences.

This year, I did something new. No, not that - trust me, nobody wants to see me in leather trousers - rather something that, at the time, was completely innocuous but now feels extremely poignant.

I purchased a copy of the 2024 Regionals CD.

I probably shouldn’t admit this but I’ve never bought a Regionals CD before. In all my years involved in banding I’ve always borrowed a CD from one of the older players in my band, added it to my iTunes library, put it onto my iPod (or latterly iPhone) and returned the CD to its owner. But this year I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t do that because the last of that group of elder bandsmen has passed away. This year I needed to purchase my own copy of the 2024 Regionals CD.

It wasn’t until several weeks after the purchase that it struck me that those strong influences in my banding life are no longer around. The players I’d sit next to in band and share a joke with which I’d never dare repeating in front of my dad. The players who, through their example, showed me how to behave in band practice, when to listen and when to joke, when it was time to concentrate and when it was time to have fun. The players who by just being themselves helped shape the person and player I am today, without whom I wouldn’t have had the experiences I’ve had.

I’m now an experienced player in my section - not because of my age (because I’m still really really young) but because I now show others the way. I’ve been involved in teaching on and off for several years, but it only hit me recently the impact I’ve had when I bumped into a former pupil who still plays an instrument that I taught them from scratch. It was nice to reminisce about our lessons together, and I realised that I’d not just taught them their instrument, I’d taught them how to behave in band practice, when to listen, when to concentrate and when to have fun. 

I realised that we are all examples to the next generation. I realised why, this year, I purchased a copy of the 2024 Regionals CD.