Article by: Lee Jones
This article is an Introduction to the Allens Music Extravaganza 2017, it is divided into 10 parts with photographs and a full written description of the whole 3 day event.
This FULL REVIEW contains many Photographs and Videos that cover every aspect of the Musical weekend, and takes you inside the Music Workshops and Evening Concerts, so you can see for yourself what you can expect from this fantastic yearly event as well as a detailed insight to the Hotel Accommodation itself, in fact every aspect of the weekend is covered.
Marriott Hotel in Peterborough – the Location of this event
Peterborough Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6GB
August 2017
It was back in August 2017 that I was thinking of attending the 2017 Allens Music Extravaganza, having just previously purchased my first Organ, a Lowrey Stardust.
It was something I pondered over for quite a while before booking, but I did eventually pay to go to the event, albeit a bit late, but am very glad I did, and here is why.
THE LINE UP OF TOP ORGAN PLAYERS
I Really could not make up my mind if it was going to be for me or not ?, Yes I wanted to go and would get the chance to meet some of the top Organ players in the business and stay at a 4 star Hotel for three days with Full board accommodation (breakfast, lunch and evening meals all included!) , so Why the indecisiveness you may ask ? . . . well there were a number of reasons really !
Firstly My wife would not be attending to keep me company, so I would be travelling alone. She does not play herself, and although she would have enjoyed the evening entertainment, much of the day was to be taken up with activities and workshops that would only be of interest to Organ Player’s, so she decided to stay at home and look after the dog instead. (also a saving for me of just over £300)
Another big problem for me personally was not knowing a single person there, and to be fair from looking at the Promotional Video on the Allen’s website, I would probably be one of the youngest attendees ( at the time I was 59 ), don’t get me wrong I am not ageist an any way shape or form, as the majority of my friends /people i know and fellow R/C Model Aircraft Pilots are either my age or older, it was just really the fact that I would not know anyone from approximately 200 people in attendance !
With the decision that I would indeed be going, I sent off an email to Jill Alcock, the Bookings Coordinator, asking if it was too late to make a single final payment by Cheque, she replied very swiftly followed by a phone call letting me know how the whole weekend would proceed and confirmed that I could attend if I sent off the cheque straight away. After about a week I received confirmation of booking, and a brief description of what time to arrive and how to get there.
13th – 16th October – 2017
These were the dates that this Music Extravaganza was to take place, and as the day’s came closer, I soon realised that I would be travelling to this event on FRIDAY THE 13Th
And believe you me, it certainly lived up to it’s reputation !!!
I did not want to arrive too early as the room would not become vacant and I could not check in before 3pm that day, So I decided to take a leisurely drive from my home to Peterborough and that would take about an hour, not a difficult journey at all, simply straight up the A1.
I left at around 10:00am with the intention of arriving at about 11:00am and familiarise myself with the Hotel layout and generally have a good look around. I sat on my driveway and no matter how much i tried i could not get the Satnav to accept the destination Postcode, for some reason it was expecting another number after the 2 and before the 6, well after about fifteen minutes of trying i gave up and entered the road name – Lynch Wood – this was accepted and found in Peterborough so I was all set to go.
To get to the A1 from my house, i needed to travel past Stotfold using the A505 By-pass, for some reason there was a lot of traffic on the opposite lane coming towards me, which was extremely unusual for this time of day. When i arrived at junction 10 of the A1 Motorway section, the up ramp slip road was blocked by cones and Police, so had to go all the way back the way i came, luckily for me i knew a quicker route back onto the road further up than all the rest of the traffic was taking by following the diversion signs. So having rejoined the A1 further up, i was the only one on the road for about 2 miles and finally on my way, a radio report stated that a lorry had overturned in the wind.
This all cost me about half an hour so when i later arrived at the Peterborough services, I decided to stop off for a bite to eat and a cup of tea. The time was getting on for about 12:15 now and I re-joined the A1 for the final part of the journey, unfortunately I then missed the turn off, had to go a further 2 miles up the A1 before turning back and making the exit.
With a short travel down the road the hotel was in sight, I had finally arrived !