Phil Crabbe
Questions for the band
Each member of the Creative Team was asked to give 10 fun facts about themselves. Here is what Phil said:
- My first interesting point is that I have so many interesting points, that it it is difficult to narrow it down to just 10.
- Whilst on a whitewater rafting expedition in New Zealand, I got thrown out of the dinghy as it went over the highest commercially-rafted waterfall in the world - and into a rock pool below. Amazingly, I survived with just a few cuts and bruises!
- I was the drummer & percussionist serving as part of the Royal Marines band (nicknamed ‘`the Golden 25”), attached to H.M. Royal Yacht Britannia.
- Me and my fellow band-mates in the Royal Marines band, were showered with ‘ticker-tape’ during a massive parade, as we marched down Broadway, New York on July 4th 1976 as part of the American Bi-Centennial celebrations. An amazing event to be part of!
- In 2007, I broke my left wrist in an accident - whilst working in Mauritius. We still had three more shows to do though, and I played them one-handed, with my good right hand - whilst my left arm was plaster-cast in a sling.
- Once, whilst playing the timpani solo at the end of The Dambuster’s March, during a big concert - a leg on one of the kettledrum’s broke - and the drum rolled down 5 tiers of staging before finally landing at the edge of the stage on the last chord ! I got a standing ovation…..
- I collect art deco, and other early 20th century furniture, clocks, china, and other bric-a-brac.
- My paternal grandfather designed the ‘pop rivet’, as used in aircraft manufacture - whilst working as a draftsman for Gloster Aircraft co. He later co-designed the 1st jet-propelled fighter plane The Gloster Meteor, and rose to become the company’s managing director.
- In 2008, I flew in a dawn hot-air balloon flight over a safari park near Sun City, South Africa. Expensive, but fun!
- In 2007, I sailed in a Catamaran in the Indian Ocean - also expensive, but fun.