Good effort with the walk and the fundraising.
Is the band still playing? And what became of the ne'er-do-wells who started the fire?
Cheers👍
The bands still going. Fortunately the local and brass band community rallied round and the support for them has been fantastic, including local hotels providing rehearsal facilities and percussion hire providing instruments free of charge for concerts (all their percussion went up in smoke too).
They’ve had music donations too - their library was completely destroyed sadly.
They qualified for the national finals in Cheltenham in October, so will be going down to compete there too. As far as I know the insurers are playing ball too which is huge. It’s going to take time for them to rebuild, but they’ll get there.
As for the two individuals - I know they were in court shortly after the event, but never heard what became of them.
The biggest loss had been the bands history and memorabilia- they are one of the oldest in Scotland and had a huge number a vintage photos from the late 19th and early 20th century as well as more recent ones. Commemorative certificates from contests over the years displayed on the walls, pretty much all gone. Their hall was unique, as a former colliery band it was built by the members themselves using the techniques that they used in the pit!
And the band played on 😀