PW_2_2023

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Competition Win was right up our Prom Andy Gregory, Birmingham, West Midlands Branch I was delighted to receive a message from VP Yvonne McGregor, advising me I had won the IPA competition for two tickets to see the British Police Symphony Orchestra’s (BPSO), Last Night of the Proms, in Birmingham in December. M y wife Joanne and I often book to see the show with some friends; however, for various reasons we hadn’t ordered tickets this year. This year was to be an extra-special performance, as The BPSO ‘Last Night of the Proms’ follows the same format; the first hour of the show includes various classical pieces and after the interval, the second half delivers the more familiar pieces.

it was the BPSOs 30th Last Night of the Proms, and apart from a couple of Lockdown years, I had seen every BPSO ‘Proms’ performance at the Birmingham Symphony Hall. If you have never attended the Symphony Hall, then you are missing a treat. The hall was built in 1991 and modelled on venues in Vienna and Amsterdam. It is reputed to have the best acoustics for any venue in the UK. It boasts a 6,000 pipe organ (the largest mechanical organ in the UK) that when used to its full extent makes you feel like the roof might lift-off. The BPSO was started in 1989 by a former West Midlands Police colleague, PC Alex Roe, and in addition to the Christmas Proms, they play a variety of classical concerts across the country. Additionally, they run musical experience and tuition days, to encourage children to play an instrument. Over the last 30 years they have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity, through their concerts and fundraising activities. Personally, I’ve never been a big classical music fan and even though I worked at Birmingham’s Hippodrome Theatre (pulling pints) for a couple of years before joining the police, I still don’t know my Brahms from my Liszt. However, my parents and I enjoyed watching the BBC coverage of the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. The ‘Last Night’ always celebrates the end of the summer season of Promenade concerts held across London and the UK, where visitors can walk around while the orchestra plays.

At the interval this year, we met up with IPA President Clive Wood and his wife Helen. It was lovely to catch up with them both, and it was great to see Clive sporting his Presidential Chain of Office and promoting the IPA to the senior police officers in attendance. After the break, my old Assistant Chief Constable, Roger Wardle (the first Chair of the orchestra in 1989) took to the stage. Mr Wardle made a short speech and introduced the outgoing Chair of the orchestra, Sir David Thompson, who was retiring the following day after thirty-two years police service. Mr Thompson was Chief Constable on my retirement in 2017, and it was great to see him deliver a speech on his last day as a police officer. The last section performed by the 90-piece orchestra, included the traditional rousing Proms: Henry Wood’s Sea Songs, Rule Britannia, Jerusalem and Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March number one. This was the time for the audience participation, with streamers and flags a plenty. A sea of Union Jacks and flurry of confetti streamers coincided with the fireworks and cannons on stage, resulting in an incredible end to a brilliant evening. For me, the Proms evening always starts the build-up to our annual Christmas celebrations. Walking through the German Market in Birmingham, followed by the fabulous BPSO event really gets me in the Christmas spirit. A huge thanks to the IPA National Executive Committee for providing the prize of the two tickets and I encourage all members to enter future competitions; you have to be in it, to win it.

POLICE WORLD Vol 68 No.2, 2023

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