Oompah! Oompah! Stick it up your jumper!

When you look back it was obvious that what Hull lacked was a really good bandstand. No self-respecting city can hold its head up without a place for the delightful oompah of collective brass instruments gently wafting in the afternoon air while gentlemen in boaters escort ladies in their long Summer dresses across the green lawns of Queens Gardens .... Well now that shortfall has been met with this glorious edifice. Installed exactly a year ago by apprentices from Hull Training and Point Engineering and opened by the Mayor in his fancy regalia (any excuse to dress up) it is supposed to "enhance the musical life of the city". The first band to play was the Humberside Police Concert Band celebrating their 150^th anniversary. The cost of £70-80,000 was met by a levy developers in the city pay towards community projects. Now far be it from me to rain on anyone's parade, least of all Humberside Police Band, but I seem to recall that when nearby streets were pedestrianised in the mid 80's a similar bandstand was erected then and lay idle for 10-15 years before being pulled down.