A Nottingham couple who found love at band practice are urging support for a large-scale community event celebrating colourful carnival bands which once lit up the East Midlands with their spectacular marching, music and costumes.
It was love at first sight for Ivan and Pauline Dunstan, of Nottingham, when they first clapped eyes on each other at an early practice session of the Eastwood Arcadians carnival band back in 1976.
Now the couple who turn 70 next year are looking forward to a big celebration event in July which is being held to rekindle the joy that carnival bands brought to so many.
Ivan said: “I’m really looking forward to the day. We had some incredible times in banding.”
Dunstan couple looking very happy on their wedding day.
Called ‘Banding Together’, the event on July 24 is being organised by Peaky Blinders actor David Chabeaux a fundraiser for his film and social change project, Moz’s Band.
The film is titled ‘Moz’s Band’ after David’s grandfather, Moz’s Ward, whose inspirational leadership lead his own band, the Derby Serenaders, to three European and 23 UK marching band titles and an appearance on the BBC’s The Generation Game.
David, who as well as Peaky Blinders has been in Hollyoaks, the Sky Atlantic series Bulletproof, and is part of the forthcoming Netflix horror drama Red Rose, himself grew up in the Derby Serenaders where he learned to play no fewer than 11 instruments. He hopes his film will springboard social change work in local communities to bring back the sense of belonging that the movement brought to the thousands of people who took part.
The Banding Together event will feature all the fun of the carnival with stalls, stands, inflatables, beer tent and candyfloss, plus walking football, ‘A Parade of the Band Uniforms’, live music all day, and a prize raffle. There will be a giant cinema screen showing archive film footage of the bands in action back in the day, and the chance for people to contribute to a unique ‘history of banding’ mural recording their precious memories. It will all be topped off with a classic ‘old school’ disco complete with outdoor dance floor!
Scan the QR code on the poster to buy your tickets!
Ivan told how he joined the Eastwood Arcadians when they were being started up again after being disbanded, and a call for members was put out through the local paper, the Eastwood and Kimberley Advertiser. At one time there were around 100 carnival bands across the region, including the Long Eaton Militaires, the Ilkeston Toreadors, and the Hucknall and Titchfield Nomads.
He said: “I have always been a lover of band music and wanted to be a part of something like that growing up. When the opportunity arose to be in a band, I just jumped at the chance, and I never regretted it. I met Pauline early on – someone had told her I was very rich, which wasn’t the case! But we just hit it off. We got together more or less straight away, and the rest is history!”
Ivan and Pauline spent many happy years playing in the Eastwood Arcadians: Ivan on the side drum and Pauline as a marcher and bugle player. When daughter Debbie came along, she joined in with the marching too.
Today carnival bands have become all but forgotten in the East Midlands. But for many of those who took part, the loss of the inter-generational camaraderie that banding brought is a bitter blow.
That is why David’s large-scale Banding Together event is aimed at getting people back together who were involved, as well as families and other people who would also enjoy the occasion.
David said: “The loss of the carnival banding movement is felt very keenly amongst many people across the East Midlands. It provided a sense of belonging and togetherness that I feel we have lost in today’s society where everybody has become very disconnected, and it can be difficult for different generations to bond as they used to. I really hope lots of people can make it to our Banding Together day to find out more about what the movement was all about and enjoy a spectacular and fun afternoon too.”
Proceeds from the day, which is being held at Borrowash Victoria Football Ground in Derby from midday to midnight, are going towards the ‘Moz’s Band’ film project.
Ivan said: “I’ve such happy memories of our practices on Tuesday and Friday nights in Eastwood Comprehensive School. We also did a lot of practice in Eastwood Football Ground for quite a long time to get the marching and the drills and everything right.
“Then there were street parades on Sunday mornings. I think it was just that feeling of community and togetherness. Everybody from across the generations was in the same boat. We were all just really enjoying it and the friendship was second to none. There were very few issues or fallouts – it just really did not exist. You got on and did what you were asked to do.
“And the band kept you fit as well, with the walking and marching. It was the connection, to keep families together and everything else, which is much rarer now. A lot of people in the band had brothers and sisters in there. Being together as people and growing up with the same people for year after year, you got so close as friends and those friends are still around today.”
Tickets for the Banding Together day are already selling fast. They are available by calling 07437 160832, or by visiting www.mozs.band/tickets. An early bird ticket of £7 is available until the end of June, and under 12s go free. The on-the-door ticket price is £10.
Lucy Stephens on 0771 983 9446 or email [email protected]
