2000 was our 20th anniversary, so to celebrate we set up a tour.  We stayed in Valkenburg, in the South Limburg area of the Netherlands, and visited Germany and Luxembourg as well as playing in the Netherlands.  Despite one or two minor hiccups, the whole thing was a great success and 98 people had a thoroughly enjoyable time!

Itinerary
Sunday 23rd July - Depart from Tutbury at 5-45 a.m!  Ferry from Dover at 10-30 a.m.  Arrive Valkenburg 8-30 p.m.
Monday 24th - Visit Drielandenpunt (Three Countries Point) where the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium meet.  Chance to climb the observation tower or get lost in the maze.  After lunch, depart for Monschau, Germany, to play a concert in the main square.  Monschau is an extremely pretty little town and we played to an enthusiastic crowd of residents, shoppers and sightseers.
Tuesday 25th - Visit Maastricht to play in Onze Lieve Vrouplein (a leafy square).  This was the major hiccup of the tour, as the chairs failed to arrive in time for us to play!  However, Maastricht is a lovely town and we had a good day sightseeing!

We had Tour T-shirts printed so the "groupies" could sport our logo as well.  Here are Clive and Rosemary Baker, mother of oboe player Ruth,  proudly modelling theirs.

NB Copies of Keith Kneebone's excellent Book Of The Tour are still available at £1 (75p goes to band funds).  E-mail the webmaster for details.

Wednesday 26th - Free day in Valkenburg.  Lots of activities were available, and as we have a mixture of adults and children, we were able to split into groups for bowling, tobogganing, Lazer Quest, Go-Karting and, of course, shopping!  In the evening we played at a local residential hospital and day care centre, to a very appreciative audience.
Thursday 27th - Luxembourg.  The journey was much longer than we expected, but the Bandstand in the Place d'Armes is superb and it even stopped raining while we played.  In the evening we had a final meeting and presented some silly "awards" for "Shortest Skirt of the Week", "Cattiest Remark of the Week", "Nattiest Dresser of the Week" and many, even sillier, others.
Friday 28th - Return home and bend the ears of loved ones with stories of the Tour.  Everyone is asking when the next one will be ….. Perhaps 2002?