The Old Man and his Bass

It’s official: the old man and his bass (and his daughter) are IN THE BAND.
Ruby and I have been to a couple of Poporo Junior Swing Orchestra practice sessions already.
It has proven to be a major learning experience for me, not least because there is sheet music for all the instruments, including the bass guitar, and I’ve never played bass to sheet music before. In my band days the bass part was something that you just make up as you went, whereas now I have to actually play the right notes at the right time, the same time, every time. I’m not sure I can cope with the burden of responsibility.
The other thing is that my musical training (we’re going back 30 years now) was in the cello, and while I might be able to read the bass clef OK, the fingerings are all different because cello strings are spaced five notes apart (C-G-D-A from memory) while the bass strings are four notes apart (E-A-D-G). So I’m madly reading the sheet music trying to convert the ingrained old fingerings into the exciting new fingerings without losing my place and causing embarrassment to the newly minted eye-rolling teenager a few seats away.
The songs we’re practising include LOVE, that old number by Nat King Cole which previously I would have dismissed as rather cheesy but which I now rather like. It has a natty walking bass line which is proving quite a challenge (see above) but I’ve always wanted to play that sort of thing so I will be very pleased if I can master this one.
There are also boppy ditties such as Go Tell it on the Mountain, family favourites (I assume) such as the theme from Aladdin, and even a couple from left field such as Smoke on the Water and We Will Rock You (much to my disgust; I’ve never liked Queen much, let alone translated to brass band format).
And finally, the Poporo culture centre has an excellent cafe downstairs where Ruby and I can sneak off at break time for a quick snack.
We’re thinking of getting Felix to join too. He’s only just started the trumpet really, but newcomers are apparently most welcome (as well as old foges) and it would certainly be a good thing to do on a Sunday morning. I do have some reservations about his ability to maintain concentration for two hours and to follow basic procedure such as not playing while the conductor is talking, but if he can manage that then I think it would be a fabulous experience.
I wonder though if they have a limit on the number of foreigners permitted to appear at any one time?