At the end of May we attended the regional Spring Rally in
Grassington. This was a particularly well attended event as it involved the
celebration of 40 years of modern handbell ringing in the North East. The
region was formed following a rally in Selby in 1977 and many of the original
participants were at the celebration.
There were so many people there that we had to share our
bells with some ladies from Market Weighton for the massed ringing when everyone
rings together. One of these pieces was conducted by our musical director Clair
who is fast becoming a regional superstar.
Our performances of our own pieces also went well and
congratulations to Renee on her first public outing. She did so well having
only been with us for just over a month.
It clearly did not put her off and she performed again with
us at the beginning of June when we played for the Silsden friendship group.
This is a new club which meets monthly in the building next to the Catholic
Church in Silsden. Although many of their members come from the church it is
not exclusivly Catholicand there were other people from the locality some of
whom were attending their first meeting of the group. I have noticed over the
years how many groups there are that meet on an afternoon for a cuppa, chat and
some entertainment. There is no excuse for any retired person to say there is
nothing for them to do!
Our performance went well with Roger’s compering that he has
got down to a fine art. If we need extra time for bell or music changes he has
no problem talking on longer! Afterwards a number of the audience joined us to
have a go and a very creditable performance of Grandfather’s Clock followed.
Don’t forget anyone who is interested is welcome to visit one
of our Monday or Wednesday evening rehearsals in the vestry to see what handbell
ringing is all about.
