On 8 November a group of us rang for the Hoyle Court Ladies Luncheon Club. This was a mid week afternoon performance but we were able to play our 2 octave repertoire successfully. We arrived in good time and were treated to a drink (no alcohol before ringing though!) while we waited for the ladies to finish their meal and draw their raffle.
Roger had prepared some words about the history of our group and some background to the pieces we were playing and his “banter ” appeared to be appreciated by the audience. He did not go into too much detail though as a number of the ladies had heard us perform before. Hoyle Court is a lovely venue and last time we performed there it was for a local Masons’ Lodge Christmas Dinner attended by a number of the ladies. We are grateful for the generous donation from the lodge when we were first fund raising for the restoration of our bells and we are sure the ladies appreciated the contrast between the bells we ring and the soot contaminated samples of unrestored bells that we brought with us.
It was a shame however that there was no time after our performance for our traditional “have a go” session so instead we invited any of the audience who were interested to join us on one of our practice nights in the New Year.
Our other November booking will be at the end of the month at St Wilfrid’s Church, Gilstead which will be our first performance of our Christmas pieces this year in advance of our busy December calendar. This year we will be performing without Anne, a stalwart member of the team for many years, who has recently had a hip replacement operation. We wish her all the best for a speedy recovery.
This is our last news of the year so all that remains is to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Solna Burnham
Secretary – 07884 233382
