AFTER a gap of 25 years, not one, but two, bands came along at once to play at Sling’s Scarr Bandstand near Coleford on Saturday, August 26.

Secretary of the Friends of Scarr Bandstand, Alison Collison, said: “The event was called ‘Festival Saturday’, in a tribute to the famous ‘Hospital Sunday’ events that used to be used for fundraising events.

“First to perform was Parkend Silver Band at 3.30pm followed at 4.15pm by Drybrook Band and the event also included food, stalls and entertainment.”

The bandstand, which dates back at least to 1913, was relaunched in June this year, thanks to a grant of more than £12,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, as part of the Foresters’ Forest project.

The money enabled the friends to clear vegetation and install a deer-proof fence.

This Saturday, September 9, a performance of Passing the Baton, as part of Forest Tales, by Lydbrook-based Wyldwood Arts, takes place at 2pm on the band stand.