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From the madding Crowd

with the Bradfordians — Director Phil Courage

Quote from the Rose bowl Awards, Adjudicator June Raynor

”Musically the production was enormously enhanced be the presence of The Packhorse Band  who might have come straight from 19th century Dorset. In background music, in mood music and in songs and dances, this small group of musicians created a bucolic pastoral atmosphere together with the simple pleasures and pastimes of country life. The director (Phil Courage) had used them so creatively as they stepped in and out of the action. And their appearance was captivating.”



Some of the many comments (originals available)

Just ringing to say how much we enjoyed everything you did for us, basically everyone who was there can’t stop talking about what a great time they had, enjoyed listening, singing and dancing with you, we wanted to thank you for giving us such a great time, the memory of you all running up after the bridal couple, still playing away was just amazing so thank you from all of us.
David (Phone message)


I know we thanked you on the night but I wanted to email and say it again. So thanks for such a great night. Tracey and myself had a huge number of comments after the evening about 'How great and friendly the band were'. You guys certainly helped to make it a great 40th birthday for us both.

Darren


Many thanks to Brian and the Packhorse Band for making the evening such a success, although I did not dance as much as I would have liked, your music was first class. Cheers for now.

Craig and Sarah


Many thanks to you, John, and to the rest of the band for giving us such a splendid evening on Friday. I hope you all got home safely. Best wishes.

David.

 

 

Quote From NODA, Adjudicator Sharon Wood

“In the very capable hands of The Packhorse Band , the three instruments lent authenticity and atmosphere to the production. I must admit that I had never heard of a 5 string fiddle before , (I had enough trouble learning to play a 4 string one!), and put together with the concertina and guitar, the effect was excellent and lent great atmosphere to the proceedings”


Just a big thank you for making last Saturday such fun. Perfect for the reception and lively at the tables. Lots of feedback from so many, particularly how professional you were.

Many many thanks. Pete


We wanted to thank the Packhorse Band for playing at our wedding at Druidstone.
You were so generous to us, to our guests including the children and everyone enjoyed the dancing. If we ever hold a reunion we would love you to play.
I hope you all have a very good xmas and new year

Anita


A huge thankyou to the band for the superb night on Saturday. I hope all their ears are burning as everyone we've talked to has been singing their praises. Now we look forward to another dance in December! Thanks again,

Kate


Hi, just to say a very big 'thank you' from Sodbury Players for the great evening on Friday. We all really enjoyed it.
Cheers
Annette

 

 

Dear Brian
I just want to thank you and your band for such a splendid evening we had at our party,
We had so many wonderful letters , a few were quite moving, saying how much everyone enjoyed the party and how great the band were.
So thank you all for making our evening and providing such wonderful entertainment. Just the right balance on dancing and going round the tables and my mother in law Babs was thrilled when you played her out as she left.
Great

Thanks once again

best wishes

Alan Bryant

 

Dear Brian & band

This is very very belated – we’ve had quite a few unexpected things to deal with over the past year or so and it’s only since Christmas we’ve had time to really look properly at all our wedding photos and sort them out and pick out ones that you would perhaps be interested in having.

Anyway, herewith a few photos which hopefully show what an amazing day we had and just how the band made the whole experience extra special! So many of our guests comment whenever we see them on the fantastic ceilidh dancing on the beach – a truly unforgettable experience!

Thanks so much to you all!

Many thanks & best wishes,
Clare & Simon Dwight

 

Thank you again for a fantastic night- as you could probably tell we all thoroughly enjoyed it and you and the band were excellent.

I have to say that although I love ceilidhs and knew my family would join in I hadn't anticipated that that huge room wouldn't be big enough to house everyone that wanted to dance! It made our wedding not only great fun but really memorable for everyone from the 2yr old running round the middle, through josh at 6yrs on the spoons to people at... The other end of the spectrum!

Thanks again to you and the really skillful musicians and I hope you all have a great summer.

Best wishes,

Ruth and Sam

 

Hi Helen (agent)
Still suffering from post-wedding brain deadness......I did mean to
email you at the beginning of the week to say how much we enjoyed the
Packhorse Band- they were brilliant and much appreciated by all the
wedding guests!
They just fitted in with whatever we wanted and understood that we
were running late without complaining! Loads of our guests commented
on how much they enjoyed the band and we would certainly book them
for future events (just not yet- we'll recover from this one first!).
We particularly enjoyed the way they played the bride and groom out
at the end of the evening, and chasing them down the street in the
centre of Bath caused much hilarity to all.
Many thanks for helping us with this and we'll certainly recommend
you to others.
Best wishes
Ruth


Dear Neville and fellow band members,

I am writing to thank you for your contribution to the above event. You were splendid at entertaining the company, and there were many positive and flattering comments about your performance from the guests. It was such a relief to me to know I could leave things to you, not the least your talent for getting all those people onto the dance floor! We couldn’t have done it without you.
I thought you would like to know that we raised in excess of £1600 for the charity, which was far more than ever anticipated. Every penny of this money will go to Victim Support in Wiltshire and Swindon to help victims of domestic and sexual violence, a Victim Support Community Service that does amazing work with particularly vulnerable victims of crime.
Everyone said it was a most enjoyable and worthwhile evening, a view which I hope you share. Thank you so much for your support which helped to make it so successful.

Apologies for sending this by email, but I do not have your postal address.
Yours sincerely
Judy Rose
For and on behalf of Victim Support – Wiltshire Area

 



 

Dear Neville,

Susie and I just wanted to say a huge thank you to you and the band for making Saturday night so enjoyable. We had a great time and all our guests said how much they loved the dancing and the music. The barn seemed like the perfect setting for you and the band - it was absolutely perfect. We're glad you enjoyed the food and the ale, too!

Send our regards to the rest of the band if you would, and I hope we get a chance to see and hear you chaps again.

Thanks again,

Mike & Susie

 

Hi Brian and the rest of the band!

We would like to say a huge thank you for being such an amazing band and being part of the evening celebrations at our wedding. Everyone has commented on how great you guys were, so a big thank you and a huge thumbs up!

As we didn't end up doing the traditional first dance, and it was actually something played by you guys I would really love a copy of your CD - how can I get hold of one?

If anyone is looking for a Ceilidh band, we will definitely be recommending you. Actually I already did a couple of months ago, to the company I bought my dress from - she is organising a wedding fair in Devizes and wanted something a little different so I said you guys would be perfect.

Thanks again for all being amazing and I hope if we ever need a Ceilidh band again we can call on you all.

Best wishes

Sarah & Tom King
xx

 

Hello Brian (and the rest of the Packhorse band!),

It is Matthew and Sarah Robinson here, you played a barn dance at our
wedding on March 19th at Priston Mill's Tythe Barn. We have just got back
from honeymoon and wanted to send you a note to say how brilliant you were
on the night - we'll be honest, Sarah was worried prior to the event that
people would not get involved and that it might not have been the best idea,
but you really brought people into the action and you were all superb.
Everyone was raving about you afterwards, saying how brilliant the dancing
was, and as you may have noticed, quite a few people were simply staying on
the floor from dance to dance - me included! It was a load of fun and
everyone had a great time, thanks to your diligence and engaging nature.

We would have absolutely not hesitation whatsoever recommending you to
people - in fact, we'll be actively telling people to book you for events!
Thank you so much for all your efforts on the night, which made it the best
day of our lives!

All the best,

Matthew and Sarah Robinson