Monday, 21 May saw the National Capital Band leaving Bern and making the relatively short journey to the city of Basel. Near both the German and French borders in the extreme northern part of Switzerland, Basel is situated on the banks of the upper Rhine as it comes down out of the Swiss mountains to form the border between France and Germany. Unfortunately, we had to leave one of our members behind in Bern, as he had become ill. Several others in the band were also experiencing some discomfort, leading us to suspect a round of food poisoning.

At our arrival in Basel, we were greeted by the Songster Leader from the Basel 1 Corps, Danny Stucki, who remained with us for the rest of the day. Our first stop was a short concert at the Rathaus (town hall), where we played a few marches (To Regions Fair, The Pioneers, God of Wonders, and Golden Jubilee) and sang the well-known hymn Amazing Grace. The Mayor of Basel offered his greetings to the band. Another member of the band became ill during this concert, and was taken to the hospital by ambulance as a precaution.

After loading our instruments back onto the equipment van, we embarked on a tram and made a short journey to the Barfüsserplatz, where we set up in a standing formation for a 45-minute open-air concert. There were a large number of people in the area, particularly those waiting for trams at a nearby stop. Concert repertoire was similar to that used for the outdoor concert in Bern on Saturday.

The next stop was at the Salvation Army cadet school, where we had lunch and a tour of the facility. Originally built to train cadets from several countries, the school now has only ten cadets in residence and only three full-time instructors. In an effort to keep the building open, several innovative programs have been instituted, including a children’s centre and renting portions of the building to a local church for their services. Perhaps the most innovative is the Alegria bed and breakfast, which rents rooms from 70 to 125 Swiss francs per night. The bed and breakfast operation is a major source of income, with a current capacity of 70 persons.

Following the tour of the cadet school, we moved to the Basel 1 Corps buildings, where we were able to change out of our uniforms for a couple of hours of free time in Basel. The corps buildings are only a couple of blocks from the Rhine, and some of the band chose to spend the time on the banks, or to cross the river on a ferry consisting of a boat tethered to a cable stretched across the river, powered only by a rudder in the strong current. A few enterprising members climbed the tower at the city’s large cathedral for an unparalleled view of the area.

We returned to the Basel 1 building, changing into our festival uniforms before having a fine supper with some members of the Basel 1 band. The evening concert was in the nearby St. Johannes Reformed Church. Although still missing two members because of illness, and having some challenges with the church’s piano, which had a broken string on one of the bass keys, the band performed a full concert to an appreciative audience. Notable features in the concert included the first public performance of Jamie and Wendy Hood as a vocal duet. Jamie has close ties to the Basel 1 corps, and this was particularly evident in the warm welcome given to this item. The band also performed the march Goldcrest as the final item. This march, written by Bandmaster James Anderson, has a strong emotional meaning for the Basel 1 corps.