Investigates
It was a typical August evening in Ystranglus - the rain was falling steadily and a chill had started to descend on the bandroom. Alex was highly disappointed. After the dramatic outcome of events at the National Eisteddfod, he had expected much more of a turnout when they returned after the short summer break. His eyes quickly scanned the room and he counted the number of players. "Thirteen!" he thought despondently to himself. Aloud, he said, "Ok, we'll have a five minute break."
There was a flurry of movement as players vacated their seats to do whatever it was they wanted to do during the short intermission. The younger band members headed out into the drizzle. Others gathered around the percussion for a light-hearted discussion. Alex sat by his stand and removed a notebook from his pocket. He had decided to keep a register at band rehearsals and started to look down his list of names. "Members present: Stew, Rodney, Glen, Russ (a full top cornet section!), Wayne, Gemma, Katrina, Peggy, Helen, Chas, Toby, Spaniel and Charlie. Hmmmmmmmm." Alex was aware that three players were still on holiday, but where were the rest? He replaced his note book and walked slowly into the band library where Chas was trying to find some music for the small gathering to play in the second half of the rehearsal.