Donovan Banks

In 2005 I went to the World Youth Day in Köln, Germany. You can read more about it by following the link. I took a cheap guitar, in case it got lost or damaged, as I was involved in music and they asked me to bring one so we could sing songs as well as so I could lead the music in Masses.

When we were leaving for Germany, Tyler, Calvin and I were sitting in the departure lounge of JHB International (OR Tambo) airport. Tyler was playing the guitar and I was playing trumpet like melodies on a vuvuzela. The kids around us were so amused and it appeared to be quite entertaining for everyone waiting with us. It was so great to just be free and make music with no hindrances, no rules and no boundaries.

I made people sign the guitar and just looking at it brings back such great memories.



You can see the remains of Mich signing, We found a brochure on 100 ways to say no to sex. One of them was "sorry, I have sunburn." so she wrote that on my guitar.


We met Brad in JHB Airport. Tyler's signature is there as well.


We met a young priest who always drew a fish. His name has rubbed off but you can make out OFM just under the fish.


I remember Maggie, she was older than us but she was a music teacher. I can't recall where we met her but I remember why she drew the notes.


We played soccer with Jose and his mates from Honduras

Most have rubbed off because I played the guitar a lot on the trip. I couldn't not but I do wish they had stayed on...


Carrying the guitar around Germany was quite a hassle, but worth it all the time. We met a lot of people and in the end we had just over a million people in the final mass. It was astounding. There were a lot of guitars floating around and I was particularly intrested to see some Mexicans playing and singing, it was such an amazing experience.

As we were leaving it seemed we were due to start our departure lounge tricks again. Our whole group of 36 were sitting in the depature lounge at Dusseldorf Airport and I started playing again and the whole group sang along. We did everything from Children's Christian songs to playing The Calling, Damien Rice, That 500 miles song who I forget the artist. It was such a hoot. Even the other passengers joined in. Tyler was drumming on a plastic chair, there was a man in a suit shaking his Tic-Tacs, some women behind us were clapping their hands. It was such an amazing experience to be part of. The music erased all barriers and feelings of shyness, it removed any language differences and gave a jovial mood to everyone in the lounge.

What an experience and it was made all the better because of a hunk of wood with some string on it. I am very glad I took the time to learn to play.