Latest News
28th December 2023
Final 2023 Figures
On 23rd December, some of our members, Catherine Inglis, Sally Julian, Nadine Hobbs, Sue Herbert, Alison Buck, Becky Payne, Becci Beard plus her husband Kenton, got together to play Carols and Christmas Music on the village green in Newnham near Daventry, Northants.
This was greatly appreciated by the village folk and the collection amounted to £343.24, including a very generous £50 donation from David and Maria, the owners of The Romer Arms.
This has now been sent on to Breast Cancer Now to fund a bit more research into finding a cure for this horrible disease that affects so many.
This is the final donation of 2023 taking our total fund raising amount to £274,830. Of this, £238,512 has been donated to breast cancer research and the remaining £36,318 has helped many other needy charities. A break down of how this has been distributed can be found under the `Fund Raising` section.
We would like to take this opportunity in thanking everyone for their continued support and wish you all a Happy and Peaceful 2024.
A break down of this can be found on our `Fund Raising` page.
Thanks
Maggie
2nd November 2023
Latest Fundraising News!
Today we have posted a cheque for the value of £1297.00 to Breast Cancer Now.
Together with the £1247,00 raised at our joint concert with Harborough band, we are enclosing a donation of £50.00 from Sitemark, the Company that employs one of our playing members - Julia Hollis.
This takes our fundraising total to £274,486.00 - £238k of this has been donated to breast cancer research whilst the other £36k has helped other needy charities - a break down of this can be found on our `Fund Raising` page.
Thank you all for continuing to support this concept. Let us hope that all our efforts have helped at least one person.
Maggie x
18th October 2023
Concert with Harborough Band
Read All About IT
For one night only, Harborough Band became known as Bra-borough Band!
Saturday, 14th October 2023, Harborough Band held a concert in the Octagon
Theatre, Welland Park Academy, Market Harborough. Boobs & Brass were
invited as the guest band and performed their set during the second half of the
programme.
Harborough kicked proceedings off with a powerful programme in the first half:
When Thunder Calls, The Seal Lullaby, With Fire and Sword, Moon River Cha
Cha, Balkan Dance (loved this one), Sleep and Shine as the Light. The
conductor was Ben Smith and on percussion was Owen Yarrow, a very talented
young man, who also played for Boobs & Brass, due to illness depleting this
section on the night. He sportingly donned a pink jacket for his appearance
with Boobs!
Another male player who came to the rescue of Boobs & Brass, was our old
friend Mike Kilmartin, on Soprano Cornet. He drove down to Market
Harborough, all the way from ‘up North’ and brought his own pink jacket with
him! His contribution to the band was greatly appreciated, especially with that
top note in MacArthur Park!
Boobs & Brass were magnificent, despite very little rehearsal time, with players
dropping like flies from covid and other nasty bugs.The trombones were down
to three, but Mary, Tracey and Sally pulled off ‘I Will Follow Him’ with style ….
and then some!
Kate Mullen was our superb tenor horn soloist for ‘Over the
Rainbow’ and, as ever, the band’s playing of ‘I’ll Walk With God’ was very
emotional and touched so many people in the audience.
Jonathan Mott was the conductor, with his best Mollard baton in action and
the band gave of their best under his excellent musical direction.
We had a ‘newbie’ in the band, whose smile was shining as bright as her talent.
Thirteen-year old Annabel Halcrow took to the percussion section with ease,
well looked afer by Sam and Tracey. All the faithful stalwarts were there, the
band leaders are indebted to you for all that you do and think you are
incredible, with your commitment and the diverse talents which you bring to
Boobs & Brass and the charity ‘Breast Cancer Now’.
The concert was brought to a climatic conclusion, with the two bands coming
together to play the last three numbers, Prismatic Light, Crimmond and
MacArthur Park! Carolyn, our compère, then whipped the audience up into a frenzy of
excitement when they demanded an encore, as Jonathan Mott conducted the
mass band for the final time, as they played the ‘Floral Dance’, whilst Cheryl
and Glenis were last seen dancing out of the door into the car park!!
TAP TO DOWNLOAD SHORT VIDEO CLIP
27th August 2023
Concert with Harborough Band
Saturday 14th October
For tickets please see poster
22nd July 2023
Thrapston Plaza Concert
Raises over £1500
Back in May, the band boarded a coach and Boobs & Brass headed off to
Brighton, to perform with students from The School of Performing Arts. The
audience were so apprecia!ve of the ‘Hits of Stage and Film’ set which we
performed, that we decided to do it all over again on Saturday 15th July, back
on our home turf in Northamptonshire.
The venue name is not exactly The London Palladium but, The Thrapston Plaza
definitely has a ring to it. Our guest musical director, Jonathan Mo0, rehearsed
the band and the guest singers in the a1ernoon, ready for the evening
performance. Sam on drums was buried somewhere in the back of the rather
small stage and had to come up for air in the interval and everyone was almost
si2ng on the lap of the person next to them but, the stoic boobies didn’t
complain (much) and proceeded to give a great performance.
Despite a few technical hitches with recalcitrant microphones and a ‘haunted’
fire-door (we should have played something from ‘Phantom of the Opera’), the
show went on with great energy and enthusiasm.
The Brighton singers and dancers were terrific and Ka!e Proctor’s rendi!on of
‘Never Enough’ from The Greatest Showman, brought the house down, whilst
the tap dancers for ‘Singing in the Rain’ made us smile in the face of the
horrible weather outside. The band’s own tenor horn soloist, Kate Mullen,
played ‘Over The Rainbow’ with such a beau!ful touch and the naughty nuns
(Sister Act ‘I Will Follow Him’) of the trombone sec!on recruited Dan Jackson
as a last minute stand-in, who I think enjoyed his debut ou!ng as a pink
boobie, even though he was forced to wear a wonky wimple!
The raffle, ably administered by the wonderful Glenis and Cheryl, helped to
boost the funds raised, and the fabulous amount of just over £1500 has been
donated to Breast Cancer Now. Everyone now looking forward to the next
show in Market Harborough on 14th October; details to follow.
31st May 2023
Our Summer Show in Thrapston
Saturday 15th July
For tickets please call Margaret Betts on
01832 720401 or 07833 663448
15th May 2023
Our Concert in Brighton
Brighton Rock? – Cheryl wanted aniseed flavour!
Brighton Pavilion? – Someone wanted to see it!
Brighton Boobs & Brass? – We arrived just in the nick of time!
It was the coldest May morning imaginable, when Gareth drew up in his
magnificent bus – ‘NO! it’s called a coach’ – on a Raunds industrial estate, to
collect his first contingent of Boobies. The skies were grey....
Click to read the full story
12th December 2022
Cheque sent for £151
Today we have sent a cheque to BCN for £151. Andy Culshaw, who is Captain of Cortijo Grande Marine Golf Society held his Captain’s Day on 20th November where a raffle was held which raised this money. We feel very honoured and privileged that we were chosen as the beneficiary. Thank you very much Andy.
22nd October 2022
Co-Founders awarded
Brass Bands England
Social Impact Award
Social Impact Award Definition
The organisation or individual will have made a massive positive impact on their local community, either through outreach, fundraising, or involvement in making their community a better place. They will have delivered benefits to the community, raised the profile of banding and engaged with more diverse audiences in the process.
"Whilst we never look for personal gain from what we do, it is absolutely wonderful to have been nominated for The Brass Bands England Social Impact Award - to be actually awarded this accolade is quite overwhelming and we would sincerely like to thank those who made this happen."
Jane & Maggie
Co-founders - Boobs & Brass
5th October 2022
The massed bands concert on Saturday, 1st October at Whittlebury Hall was an amazing event and resulted in another fantastic amount raised for Breast Cancer Now.
Towcester Studio Band invited us to join them on stage and all their hard work in organising and promoting this event proved to be a great success.
Whittlebury Hall very generously allowed us to use the venue free of charge - Kate - a horn player with B & B has worked there for a number of years and kindly arranged this.
The audience was very appreciative of both bands’ performances in the first half - the ‘dodgy’ nuns brought a few extra smiles to peoples faces - and then they joined forces for the second half
- Darth Vader and Stormtroopers even made an appearance in the encore!
The raffle itself raised over £1200 with some fantastic prizes donated by Tesco Northampton South Extra, Michael Jones Jewellers, New Inn Abthorpe, National Trust Ascott, Silverstone Interactive Museum and Whittlebury Spa to name just a few.
It was a night filled with entertainment and fun and It was so good to see those pink jackets back on stage again having had them tucked away since our last concert in 2019.
What made it even more amazing was that Towcester Studio Band informed us that they were sending the total proceeds from the event to us to pass on to Breast Cancer Now.
Today £4000 is on its way to fund more research into finding a cure for this horrible disease.
Thank you Towcester Studio Band and your very hard working Committee.
You’ve done us proud!
5th August 2022
We're delighted to announce that there will be a joint concert with Towcester Studio Band at Whittlebuty Hall near Towcester on 1st October 2022. This will be an evening performance starting at 7.30pm. Please see our diary dates section for details.
8th November 2021
Yesterday, we sent our first donation of 2021 to Breast Cancer Now!
Last Saturday evening, there was fun and games when Steve Alexander and his `Oompah` band entertained a full house at Irthlingborough Cricket Club. We would sincerely like to thank all the band members – Jane & Alan Nichols, Gareth Haynes, Simon Gough-Brown, Ian Bates, Michelle Farren, Robert Tite, Gareth Statham, Richard Kilby, Nathan Waterman, Mike Kilsby, Chris Sheldon, Savannah Bone and, of course, Steve Alexander.
Every one of these fine musicians gave up their evening to play in the band and support our concept. The Cricket Club gave them a £200 donation – all of which was given to Boobs & Brass to pass on to the charity. We are very grateful – thankyou!
Thanks also go to Irthlingborough Cricket Club for hosting this event. We also had a donation of £50 from Aldwincle Village Hall Committee from an event they held in August. So, in these difficult times, we are happy to have sent this £250 to the charity and hope that very soon Boobs & Brass will be back performing concerts to raise more funds to help those suffering from this horrible disease.
Over the past few months, there have been donations of £25.00 to our Just Giving Page – thankyou to those people. Our overall fund raising total is now £266,625 – a breakdown of where this money has been donated to can be found on this website. Thank you all for your continued support!
18th October 2021
We're pleased to announce and give advance notice of a concert for next year (2022).
This one is for the Midlands Girls and will
take place on Saturday the 19th February 2022 - Times to be confirmed.
Venue is: Saxon Hall
Thorpe Street, Raunds
Northants NN9 6LT
Rehearsal - Sunday 21st November 2021 at
Raunds Football Club, Kiln Park
London Road
Raunds, Northants
NN9 6EQ
11am - 2pm
22nd March 2021
We have another great read for you. 'Memoirs of a brass tube blower' by Dennis Wilby. Dennis has been a great supporter of Boobs and Brass and was conductor of the 'Southern' Boobs.
Here's the link for more details and how to grab a copy for yourself
CLICK HERE
1st January 2021
Today we have posted our last donation of 2020 to Breast Cancer Now.
Since our last update, we have sent a further £30 from the sale of face masks that Sue Herbert made, a £20 donation from Sonya Freeman who has the `Blue Surf Pod` in Raunds – during lockdown, supporters of Boobs & Brass, Gareth Haynes and Peter Beale located a supply of flour for her and they would not accept any payment, so Sonya kindly gave us a donation.
There was also a CD sale of £10 plus a donation on our Just Giving Page of £30 from another great supporter of ours.
This takes our donations to breast cancer research up to £230,032 and together with the £36,318 that has gone to `other charities`, our Grand Total to the end of 2020 is £266,350. Click here to see full breakdown
It has been a very difficult year for everyone and we hope that there are great improvements in the coming year that will allow us to get back together, to make music and raise more, much needed funds to help the researchers.
Until then, please stay safe and well.
Boobs & Brass
24th September 2020
Hi Everyone, We hope you are all keeping well and being cautious in these very uncertain times.
During the last `lock down` period, one of our euphonium players, Sue Herbert,
made some protective facial masks and sold them.
She has very kindly donated 50% of the proceeds to Boobs & Brass. Thank you Sue.
Your efforts are very much appreciated and today, we have posted a cheque for the £164.70
to Breast Cancer Now.
Another one of our playing members has recently been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and
has undergone chemotherapy and surgery.One of the side effects was that
she lost her hair. Two of her very best friends decided that they would have their heads shaved
and try to raise some funds for Target Ovarian Cancer. Boobs & Brass made a £50 donation towards this.
They raised a fantastic amount so well done girls! Sending our lovely “Boobie” our very best wishes for a speedy recovery.
This takes our overall fund raising total to £266,260 of which ££229,942 has been donated
to breast cancer research and the remaining £36,318 going to various other causes,
a breakdown of these charities can be found on our website.CLICK HERE
Unfortunately, we have not been able to get together to perform any concerts, and as a consequence
our fund raising has been drastically affected. At present there does not seem
to be an end to this horrible virus so all we can do is keep safe and hope that 2021 brings better news.
All The best
Maggie
16th July 2020
Today we have posted a cheque for £175.00 to Breast Cancer Now.This amount was donated in memory of Mrs Heather Dixon – Kay Hollingworth's Mum, following her death in June. Having suffered breast cancer herself, Heather was an avid supporter of Boobs & Brass and its concept. We shall miss her smiling face and seeing her at our concerts. She was always happy to chat with the girls and help in any way she could. Goodnight Heather – Rest in Peace.
In addition to this cheque, we have also received £30.00 on our Just Giving page and this takes our overall fundraising total up to £266,046 of which £229,778 has been donated to breast cancer research with the other £36,268 going to other needy charities. A breakdown of these can be found at:
boobsandbrass.com/funding6.pdf
Let us hope that in the not too distant future we are able to reconvene and, once more, work together making music, perform concerts and raise more, much needed funds to help those not so fortunate as ourselves.
Keep safe and well.
Boobs and Brass
13th February 2020
Thanks To Rufford Park Golf Club!!
Rufford Park Golf and Country Club is set in beautiful, picturesque surroundings in the heart of Sherwood Forest and renowned bandsman, Stan Lippeatt, has been a member of the Club for many years and was appointed `Captain` for the year 2019/2020.
Stan has been connected with Boobs & Brass for many years, conducting various performances, offering us advice and is a staunch supporter of our concept and what we do in raising funds for breast cancer research and other worthy charities.
Some of our playing members have experienced this horrible disease and it hit Stan and his family very hard when his daughter, Amy, was diagnosed with it three years ago. Fortunately, after successful treatment, Amy is doing well and is a member of this unique band of `Boobies`.
Therefore, it was no surprise that Stan nominated Breast Cancer Now as the charity to be the recipient for funds raised during his tenure.
In addition to this, the Lady Captain, Marion Burrell, also chose Breast Cancer Now as her nominated charity.
Throughout 2019, various fund raising events took place –
`Four Rounds of Golf` in a day which involved Stan, Marion, together with Senior Captain Jim Stirland and Junior Captain Harry Beckwith playing one round of golf at Rufford Park, another one at South Chesterfield, then lunch followed by the third round at South Chesterfield and back to Rufford Park for the final one. All in one day. Phew!!!
There was also a `PINK `day organised - seeing Stan in a kilt was a sight to behold. The question on everyone`s mind being- `what has he got on under there???` We never did find out!!
Another fund raiser was the `Captain`s Charity Bunker` where anyone landing their ball in the bunker had to pay 50p.
2019 was the 25th Anniversary of Rufford Park and an Open Day was arranged. Stan asked if Boobs & Brass would attend to provide musical entertainment and we were only too happy to accept this invitation. The girls arrived, including Amy and Stan`s wife Christine, but the inclement weather meant that plans were changed and we had to play indoors rather than in the lovely grounds of the Club. However, when the clouds dispersed and the sun shone down, Stan requested that we moved everything to play outside on the veranda. The girls reorganised everything, sat down to play the next piece - but - as we started, the black clouds drifted back, covered the sun and deposited their raindrops on us half way through. Not such a good idea after all Stan! As always, despite a few mascara runs and flattened hair styles, the girls never complained, moved everything back indoors and carried on with the job.
Also, throughout the year, various raffles and auctions took place and donations were made including one of £25 from Simon Willis who played at The British Open Brass Band Golf Day.
Now that Stan`s and Marion`s term of office has come to an end and final figures have been calculated , we have been informed that they, and Rufford Park Golf Club, have raised the incredible amount of £3,804.90.
On behalf of Boobs & Brass, we offer our congratulations and sincere thanks to everyone involved in raising this fantastic amount which will fund more research at Breast Cancer Now (reg. charity number 1160558). It`s declared ”Action Plan” is “by 2050, everyone who develops breast cancer will live”. We hope that all our efforts will contribute to making this happen.
THANK YOU RUFFORD PARK GOLF CLUB !!
24th December 2019
Click on the image above to read about when Keith and I met agreat lady called
Dorothy Sessa on our travels through the Panama Canal
CLICK HERE and learn about her`Flight to Freedom.
Perhaps send her a message – she was very interested in our story and I am
sure she would be pleased to hear rom you.
Maggie
23rd December 2019
Hi Everyone, Today we are sending a cheque for £515to Breast Cancer Now. This has been raised as follows£200 - A very generous donation from Dodworth Colliery Band
£150 - Gareth Haynes organised an `Oompah` Band to play at AFC Rushden & Diamonds Football Club and their fee was donated to us
£40 - A further donation was received in memory of the late Mrs Hazel Molly Morgan, a great supporter of ours
£32 - A further donation received from our October concert at Thrapston
£40 - A donation received from one of our "Boobies"
£53 - General donations received
We also received a £10 donation on our Just Giving Page
Our sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to this donation - it is very much appreciated
This takes our overall fundraising total up to £262,036 of which £225,768 has been donated to breast cancer research with the remaining £36,268 going to other worthy charities. Click Here for a full breakdown of these charities
From all at Boobs & Brass, we wish you a Very Happy Christmas and a Healthy New Year
Thank you all for your continued support
Maggie
2nd November 2019 - Hi Everyone
Hi Everyone, Today we are sending a cheque to Breast Cancer Now for the amount of £1468.00. This has been raised as follows:- £1105.00 50% of the proceeds from our concert last Saturday at Thrapston Plaza£107.69 Donations received in memory of the late Mrs Hazel Molly Morgan who passed away recently. Hazel was a great supporter of Boobs & Brass and she helped us greatly with our fundraising. Many thanks to her family for choosing BCN as the recipient of this donation.
£50.00 Donation received from 8 year old Kimberly Longstaffe who made bracelets for her Brownie badge work from lollipop sticks and sold them to her friends.
£50.00 Donation from Aldwincle Village Hall Committee.
£97.35 Profit from the sales of Alan Nichols` book “I`ve Had This Idea”.
£57.96 General donations.
We are also making a payment to Magpas Air Ambulance for £1105.00 being 50% of the proceeds from our Thrapston Plaza concert. There was also £84 raised from the sale of their Christmas cards and merchandise making a total of £1189.00
This takes our fund raising total to £261,511. Of this, £225,243has been donated for breast cancer research with the remaining £36,268 going to various good causes. See our website for a breakdown of these.
Thank you to every person who has been part of this fundraising. Your support and encouragement is greatly appreciated. Together we can make a difference!
Maggie
26th October 2019 - Hi Everyone
What a splendid night had by all at the Thrapston Plaza last night. We should celebrate the full-house audience who appreciated the varied programme and warm atmosphere. Well done to everybody. There are a few videos on YouTube. See the links belowVideo 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4
Maggie
16th September 2019 - Hi Everyone
Alan Nichols, Jane's husband, has written 'A light-hearted history of Boobs and Brass' entitled 'I'VE HAD THIS IDEA'. It is now available to purchase at a cost of £12.95 (plus postage if being mailed to you). To purchase a copy please email margaretbetts@btinternet.comDetails also on Facebook
Maggie
5th September 2019 - Hi Everyone
We're getting ever closer to our Autumn Charity Concert at Thrapston Plaza. Tickets are available through Maggie. It's going to be a geat night!Maggie
8th Feb 2019 - Hi Everyone
Today we have sent a cheque for £4,840 to Breast Cancer NowThis was raised as follows
£3415.00 - Boobs & Brass performance at Butlins and collections over the weekend
£1000.00 - another donation from Lincolnshire Hospitals Band re Lincoln Cathedral concert
£115.25 - donation from Rushden Mission Band from their fund raising
£110.40 - donation from Cholsey Silver Band - they held a raffle at their December concert
£65.00 - sale of our cd`s
£134.35 - General donations
Thank you to everyone who has raised this money for us. Our fund raising total now stands at £256,239 Of this - £221,260 has been donated to breast cancer research and the other £34,979 has been donated to other good causes
Jane & Maggie
8th Feb 2019 - Hi Everyone
We are sending a cheque to Breast Cancer Now for £267.00This is from Mr Peter Vause from the Lincolnshire Hospitals Band
and is an addition to the donations that he received on his
Just Giving Page for the Sky Dive that he did to raise funds for Boobs & Brass.
This takes our total fundraising amount to £251,399
(£216,420 for breast cancer research and £34,979 for other charities).
Wishing you all a Healthy and Happy 2019..
Maggie & Jane 14 December 2018 Hi Everyone, Just to let you know - we have received some more donations on the Just Giving pages - £340 in total. There is £90 on Ewan Robson`s page and £250 on Boobs & Brass page (Margaret Betts). The £250 is from a `Boobie` who has not played with us for a while but still follows us and supports what we are doing. So - to this Boobie - we would like to say a huge `thankyou` for this very generous donation and for continuing to support our concept and cause. You know who you are !! These additional donations now take our total fun raising total to £251,132. Of this, £216,153 has gone to breast cancer research and the remaining £34,979 to other worthwhile charities. Maggie & Jane
22nd Nov 2018 - Hi Everyone
Since our last update there have been more donations received on some ofthe Just Giving pages, as follows
Ewan Robson - £479
Sue Herbert - £35
Peter Vause - £10
M Betts - £60(including donation from Judith Hayes from
the sale of her music)
Therefore, this additional £584 takes our total fund raising to
£250,792 (£215,813 to breast cancer research £34,979 to other charities)
Thanks everyone
Maggie & Jane
16th Oct 2018 - Hi Everyone
Today we have sent cheques to the value of £7606.00to Breast Cancer Now
This is made up as follows
£6000.00 - concert at Lincoln Cathedral
£623.45 - Bucket collection at Lincoln
£218.80 - Raffles on the coaches to Lincoln
£393.50 - CD`s and other merchandise sold at the Lincoln concert
£370.25 - other donations and cd sales
In addition to this we received a donation from
Amy Bland of £500 Just Giving page - Genette Gilbert,
cornet player Lincolnshire Hospitals Band £65.00
Additions to Ewan Robson`s and Boobs & Brass (Margaret Betts)
Just Giving Pages
The Grand Total is now £250,208.00
£215228 to breast cancer research
£34980 to various other charities
Thank you to everyone who has made this happen.
It is an absolutely incredible achievement.
Your support and encouragement has, and still is very much appreciated.
Jane & Maggie
4th Oct 2018 - Hi Everyone
Today we have posted a cheque to Breast Cancer Now for £100.This generous donation was given to us by supporters
of Boobs & Brass who are unable to make the Lincoln concert.
Thank you very much - you know who you are!!
In addition to this, there have been more donations made
on some Just Giving pages, as follows
Boobs & Brass - £72
Sue Herbert - £30
Sharon Marshall - £130
Ewan Robson - £100
Total of donations in this report - £432.00
Total of funds raised - ££241,892 (BCN £206,912.34 Other £34,979.36)
Amount needed to hit £250,000 - £8,108
Thank you all for your continued support
Maggie & Jane