Reisebericht HMS Helon Volunteer Band 2002

On arrival at Dover docks we were soon on the ferry and on our way. Thank goodness this year the crossing was good. (Last year a few of us were rather poorly due to the awful weather!) An hour later we were back on the coaches, next stop Germany for breakfast! I had the pleasure of sitting next to Ron Naden, chatting away the journey went well. It wasn't until later that I realised he had eaten most of my sweets!

Arriving at the German barracks we were able to settle in with no panic having to rush out like last year. Our first gig was at the Deutsche Welle radio station on Friday morning. We met up with our friends from the Domstadter Band for this gig which was really great. It was lovely to meet up with many old friends, plus make a lot of new ones. Friday night saw us at the Dorint Hotel for one gig. On Saturday we played in our first Carnival procession, then Saturday evening gigs started coming thick and fast. Four gigs around Cologne saw us getting back at 0230 on Sunday morning. During the evening there had been quite a downing of snow. Not mentioning any names, at 0300 I saw a few boys and girls having a snowball fight outside! Sunday morning saw us up bright and early to take part in a church service with the Domstadter's. After this we were playing for a large crowd on the Cathedral Square awaiting the arrival of the Carnival Prince. Sunday night we had another four gigs though we were home a little earlier at 0130. On Monday we took part in the main carnival procession through Cologne. Once again there were an estimated 1.5 million people on the streets, an incredible sight. There were people from start to finish along the 6.5 mile route.
Our fancy dress party on Monday evening went very well. As last year, I took part wholeheartedly, shaving my moustache off to get into the part! I didn't fool as many people this time; they were expecting a similar outfit to last year. I'm sure there will be a few photographs flying around the bazaars!

Tuesday saw us playing our last gig and by 0045 we were back on the coaches heading for home. The incredible thing about our trip to Cologne is that time just seems to fly by. Before you know it we are packing up and it's all over for another year.
My thanks to everyone who took part. As ever, everyone had a very professional attitude to all the gigs we took part in. I must thank Klaus Hennecke who in previous years played with the Domstadter Band. This year he played for us and acted as interpreter whenever it was required. Many thanks also to his son Martin who helped our Corps of Drums at many of the gigs on side drum. A very good drummer for the future.

To finish, is anybody interested in going next year?