Welcome to HRGBSE

This is the website of the Handbell Ringers of Great Britain South East Region (HRGBSE). The society is dedicated to the promotion of making music with handbells, chimes and belleplates.

We hold many local events and participate in and hold National and International events.

For more information on HRGB please click here. For how to join and the benefits from joining click here.

News

Hello Everyone

June is well under way and I am only now writing my monthly message. Where does the time fly?

I have just returned from Scotland where an American team started their tour with a concert in Edinburgh. They are planning concerts in Chester, Liverpool and London. At each venue they will be joined by a local team. When they reach London their concert will be in St Andrew's Church in Chancery Lane. It starts at 8pm on Monday 16th June. SERBO will be the local team there.

Today I received a call from a chance visitor who was enthusing about the whole Edinburgh concert experience. She had never heard a large group of bells before with the special sound of Bass through to top treble and was 'blown away' by it all! Perhaps this will lead to something else? It serves to remind us that we should take every opportunity to 'play out' when ever we can. You never know who is listening!

Sometimes it is tempting to be negative when we are contacted about ringing our bells. The hassle of organising our teams, getting there and so on just seems too much. We keep telling ourselves that it is more fun than going to the gym and just as demanding!

On 6th June SERBO went to the Dome - or O2 as it is now known. This was the result of a phone call out of the blue. The bells were part of the British Music Education scheme. We were invited as a celebration of the re-release of Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield and had 30 minutes to prepare our variation of the Tubular Bells theme.

So I guess my message this month is play out whenever you have the opportunity. Spread the joy and fun of bell ringing as far as you can. There are so many people out there who have never heard our form of music and don't know what they are missing until we show them.

Best wishes
Wendy Rowland

Added 12/06/2009

Chairman's Monthly Web Site Update

You all know how keen I am to increase our numbers of ringers in the SERegion. We have to be open to opportunities and if they present themselves to grasp them quickly.

The first team that I was associated with from the beginning started life as an idea from a young persons church leader. She wanted to give her children a chance to experience music making. We took a small set of bells to her Monday evening meetings. It segued into a regular Monday group. The children left for senior school and the adults who had been helping became the ringers and a team was born which is still flourishing.

The next team with which I was associated was as a result of one person hearing a concert given by one of the larger teams in the SERegion. She was inspired to start her own team and as I had recently moved house I was handy to help. This time the team were all mature people and the challenges were different but we got there. Not only is that team well established the leader has gone on to facilitate more teams in her neighbourhood and become active in the regional life.

When we moved here my husband set up a team for experienced ringers. All were already members of HRGB so no new members resulted in that enterprise but we all have fun sight reading music and meeting alternate weeks with absolutely NO PRESSURE. After a couple of years the church where we practice expressed an interest in having bells as part of their Christmas play. About 6 members of the choir learnt a few changes to ring in their presentation on Christmas Eve.

One of those ringers leads an after school club on a Friday and asked about bells for the older children. I took the SERegion Celebration Chimes to show them and let them have a go. Now we are going to have a half hour slot for the 7plus children. Maybe we will have a new Junior team?

So you see the cause and effect of the most unlikely situations may result in MORE RINGERS! Would any of you care to share your similar experiences with us? There must be so many stories you could tell.

Wendy Rowland
Chair SERegion

Added 07/05/2009

Event News

NRRW Form

An application form with more details has been added for the 2009 National Residential Ringing Week.

Added 02/02/2009