Feb 4th, Ring from Scratch
Mar 3rd, AGM Rally
Mar 30th, National Rally, York
May 12th, SERBO concert
May 19th, Jubilee Rally
Jul 7th, Olympics rally
Jul 31-Aug 4 2012, International Symposium, Liverpool
Sep 15th, Ring from Scratch
Oct 20th, Guildford Rehearsal
Oct 29th-Nov 2nd, UK Bronze
Nov 10th, Guildford Festival Service
1st Dec, Ring in Praise
2nd Mar, AGM Rally
Sue de Gautier, a well known and popular figure in many voluntary spheres, lost her long-term battle against cancer just before Christmas, on 19 December. Her passing has left a large gap in many people’s lives not least of all the folk who live at Lord Harris Court in Wokingham where Sue was a regular helper for many years.
Among the handbell-ringing fraternity too, in particular her home team Finchampstead Handbells (FHR), she is sorely missed. A loyal friend, Sue was also a trustee of FHR, as well as prime fund raiser. It was through her efforts to raise funds for lightweight portable equipment that FHR’s work in local homes for the elderly was able to continue. FHR have now entertained thousands from Berkshire’s sheltered housing and residential/nursing homes, in addition to giving demonstrations to schools, women’s institutes, and groups within the scouting movement.
Sue was passionate about and committed to her handbell ringing and the opportunities it presented to help others. She was the base-bell ringer of the four-in-hand trio “Inspiration”, as well as being a regular member of FHR, and the South-East Region Bell Orchestra. Whilst thrilled to meet and ring for HRH Prince Philip at a Berkshire Community Foundation event in 2008 to honour the work of voluntary groups in the county, Sue’s main delight was to ring for the elderly in the community and then to take time to listen to the memories that the music may have stimulated.
1½ years ago, Sue joined FHR founder and team leader Meg Hostler to work with and teach local youngsters the art of handbell ringing. The Bell Buddies as the youth team became known remember Sue with much fondness. Sue was ever mindful of the therapeutic value of bells music for both ringer and listener and, even at the last, she had been considering ways of fundraising to refurbish for posterity the antique set of handbells recently donated to FHR by St Margaret’s Convent, Uckfield. Sadly her illness overtook her plans.
Sally Hamblin
There will be a concert on Thursday 22nd December at 7:30 pm (doors open 6:00 pm) at Benson Parish Hall, Oxfordshire to feature Gay and Alan, Pizzazz Handbell Trio and Wallingford Ringers. The concert will comprise solo, duet, trio and larger group music. There will also be a chance for ringers to ring and for everyone present to join in a fun ring of Jingle Bells and some party style diversions for ringers and non-ringers. In addition to celebrating the Festive season this event also marks Alan Cooper’s Big Birthday and he is keen to have a fun event to celebrate as it only happens once.
Please come and contribute to the jollity, and feel free to bring friends, family etc as well as anyone you know who might be interested in learning more about ringing!
Cost per person is £7.50 on the door, £4 for under 18’s to include a drink and hopefully some light refreshments as well as tea and coffee for those who would like something hot. Do feel free to bring a bottle to pool (or drink yourself) if you would like to drink more. We shall provide some light refreshments but any donations of finger food will be gratefully received.
Although we might use the odd flat or sharp there will be no bell changes in anything we all ring so you won’t need team tables, foam etc, but it will be helpful if you can bring bells (don’t worry if you can’t). We would be grateful if you are happy to allow some of your bells to be used by others (ringers and/or non-ringers) as we would like as many non-ringers as possible to be able to join in with Jingle Bells.
For more details email aeolianchimer@googlemail.com or mobile 07527575861. Email if you can to give us some idea of numbers, or just turn up at the door.
Work No 1197 by Martin Creed: All the bells in the country rung as quickly and as loudly as possible for three minutes.
There have been numerous Press reports about a planned event titled 'All the Bells….' which requests all bell ringers to participate at 8.00am on Friday 27th July 2012 by ringing their bells as loudly and as fast as possible for 3 minutes.
HRGB was not involved in the conception of this project, nor the decisions on timing and content, but if individual teams would like to participate in this event, this is an opportunity to link handbell ringing to the Cultural Olympiad which we would encourage.
Registration of your intention to take part can be made through the 'All the Bells' website www.allthebells.com
We have just found out that on 10th December there will be a celebration in the middle of Milton Keynes of Red Bull Racing winning the formula 1 world championship. This will mean road closures and very loud cars racing up and down Midsummer Boulevard next to the church where Ring in Praise was to have been performed. Unfortunately we don’t think we can cope with all of this so we will have to cancel. Sorry about this hopefully we can get back to normal next year.
Alan and Gay and Carla, Pizzazz in other words, performed at the Bell Art Festival in Tallin during the summer. They were spotted by Lynda Barclay from the Scottish Region, who wrote up the event in her newsletter, and has kindly agreed that we could copy it. Click here to download a copy of her article.
Please note that the Bell Orchestra first rehearsal date has been changed. It will now be on Saturday 12th November starting at 10.30 am at St Georges Church, Tolworth.
To our newest team, Aylesford Handbell Ringers from Alyesford near Maidstone in Kent.
Note change of time and channel from first posting
Gay and Alan write "We will be appearing in "Big Brother's Bit on the Side" on Channel 5star at 10pm on Sunday 18th September, please note this is an adult programme!"
You can also find Gay and Alan on Twitter,@Gay_and_Alan and Facebook www.facebook.com/GayAndAlanOfficial
Hello everyone
I must apologise for leaving such a gap since I last wrote to you. I did not think anyone read my missives but was reminded at the last committee meeting! Many of you will have enjoyed the recent Chocolate Rally in Sanderstead – a real chocoholic fest! The more recent Camp Fire Rally at Burpham took many of us down Memory Lane as well recalled the songs of our youth – although there were some quizzical faces if they had no experience of Guiding or Scouting.
Our usual autumn programme of the Festival Bell service at Guildford and its rehearsal at Godalming will take place next month. As it is so early we have planned a Harvest theme. If you are not ringing then please try to come as members of the congregation. We look forward to seeing you then.
The Christmas bell service at Christ the Corner Stone, Milton Keynes is the second Saturday in December this year and John Thompson will be organising and leading it. For many seasons since Cliff Blundell stepped down Martin Winter has lead this event. He is unable to do it this year but we could take this opportunity to thank both of them for their work and wish John luck this year. John was a member of St Johns Redhill and still maintains his links with SER through SERBO while living now in East Anglia.
The New Year Birthday Rally will be hosted by St Marys Teddington and will be a free rally as usual. However you do still need to book and Alan Sharpe is looking forward to hearing from you all.
The AGM Rally 2012 will be held in SW Hampshire. Sway HR will be running this event. As you know your committee try to ‘move’ this event around the region so that everyone has a chance to attend a ‘local’ AGM. This means that those of you from that area who may not have attended recently should make a special effort and BOOK IN !
There are other events in the planning stage which I will write about in my next letter
Best wishes
Wendy Rowland
Chair SER HRGB
Pizzazz Handbell Trio will be performing at the Wantage Betjeman Festival, 7.30pm on Saturday 17th September. Tickets £8.50 phone 01235 770378.
A concert will be presented by Wallingford Ringers and Pizzazz Handbell Trio at Steeple Aston Village Hall (Oxfordshire) on Saturday evening 10 September at 7:30pm in aid of raising money for new Tower Bells. Tickets from Sally Cooper 01869 347172, or Graham Clifton 01869 347273. They cost £10 each, concessions £8.
Welcome to our newest team, The Gore Ringers in Burnham, Bucks.
Who could resist this rally? Well organised by Wandle Bells in Sanderstead, the church hall was bursting at the seams with bell ringers, who had gone to great lengths to think up some links between music and chocolate - some more tenuous than others, but all with good excuses to distribute sweets to the assembled ringers.
Sandra, and Angela conducted everyone in some massed ringing challenges: "O Sole mio" (just one cornetto) complete with cornet shaped baton, "For the (Chocolate)fruits of his creation", and "The dance of the Mirlitons" (Cadbury's Fruit and Nut case). Teams played their own solo pieces, including "The arrival of the Queen of Sherbert" which won the prize for the most tenuous link but was a very tricky piece very well played. Everyone enjoyed a splendid tea, and a very good day of bell ringing.
News and photos of Pizzazz's recent trip to Estonia can be found on their facebook page www.facebook.com/PizzazzHandbellTrio. They attended the Bells Art International Handbell Festival as the invited group from the UK. The facebook page (which is accessible to non-facebook members) includes photos of Tallinn ( European Capital of Culture 2011) and of handbell teams from Estonia, Finland, America and Japan as well as of Pizzazz performing in the Town Square and giving workshops as well as some new videos.
Welcome to a new team in our region; All Saints Guildford Handbell Team have 13 ringers including 3 junior ringers
Our very own famous duo, Gay and Alan, will be playing live on Radio 1 on Thursday 9th June, at about 1.30 pm on the Greg James show - not to be missed. And if you can catch it, listen to his trailer for them which can be found on BBC iplayer at 56 1/2 minutes into Greg James' show on Tuesday 7th June.
June 2011 Chairman’s page Greetings to my fellow ringers.
I think that this month praise must be given to Gay and Alan Cooper ringing as Aeolian Chimes duo for putting hand bells before the nation! They were on prime time Television with Britain’s Got Talent and third place in the semi-finals is a great achievement, only missing the final by one place. Well done! The morning slots were also watched by many people over their cornflakes and we must thank them for promoting HRGB. To see Gay and Alan's performance follow this link to youtube.
I am looking forward to hearing about their experiences and await their report in our Newsletter. May I blow our SER trumpet and say once again we in the SERegion have pushed the boundaries of hand bells. Who will take up the challenge and follow this?
Later in the year Pizzazz, comprising Alan and Gay with Carla Runciman will represent HRGB and the UK in Estonia. Some of you may remember Arsis the fantastic group from Estonia - they played at Cirencester as part of their British tour. They are hosting a ‘bell fest’ in their home country as part of a wider musical festival. Groups are attending from Japan and USA. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all go and participate? Or at least support them?
"Many of you know that we have moved house – our e mail addresses and telephone numbers remain the same. Please contact me if I can be of any help to you. Meanwhile the organisation of SERegion marches on. The Guildford music has been posted. Remember the service is earlier this year. We hope you will be there either ringing or supporting us in the congregation.
I am sorry to report that due to lack of support the summer rally at Finchampstead had to be cancelled. We lost an opportunity to ring bells, have a delicious cream tea with strawberries in a pretty village hall adjacent to the cricket field and a subsidised bar. Are we mad?
However the Chocolate Rally in July is oversubscribed so for those of you who booked early remember moderation in all things?
With very best wishes
Wendy Rowland Chair. HRGB SERegion
240 ringers from all over the country were at Royal Holloway College at the very successful national rally run by the SE region from 15th to 17th April this year. Thanks to Martin Winter's impeccable planning, the whole weekend ran like clockwork with a wide variety of workshop sessions.
The Saturday evening concert was superb. Waverton Handbell Ringers began the proceedings and their mallet antics had to be seen to be believed. Next we were treated to some superb ringing by the Bournemouth Youth Handbell team. Their ages ranged from 12 to 19 and their programme was great. In one piece two ringers even moved between bells, not just next door, but several places away.
Here are some of the thoughts about the rally:
The AGM ran its course as all AGMs do utill the "any other business" section. There was just one thing for Alan Hartley to announce: that Sandra Winter had been awarded an Honorary Life Membership for all her many years and tireless work in the world of handbells.
Gay and Alan Cooper, performing as Aeolian Chimes, have recently been broadcast to about 11 million viewers on prime time ITV "Britain's got Talent" (BGT) playing their version of "My Heart will go on" from Titanic. Upwards of 750,000 views of the Youtube video of their audition have also been recorded in the four weeks since they were on.
To see them for yourself follow this link.
Hello fellow ringers
We are so lucky with the weather at the moment so I hope you are all making the most of it. So far we have only received one communication about the proposed E Letter. Does this mean you don’t know or don’t care about the decision? Let us know what you think. The next SER Committee meeting is on Sunday when we hope to discuss the results of the questionnaire.
SERBO did very well and their concert was a success. Next year the 12-05-12 has been reserved so put the date in your diary please! Are some of you thinking about joining the orchestra? Talk to those who have ‘had a go’ they often have surprised themselves with their developing expertise.
The rally in Finchampstead should be fun and so why not apply? The tea will be delicious and the bar is subsidised! There are still places free! The Chocolate and Camp Fire Rallies have excited a lot of interest but as space is limited applications will be on a first come basis. You have been warned.
In July/August the biennial National Residential Ringing Week will be held at Kingston on Thames University. A few spaces are still to be had or just come to the concert on Friday or at Hampton Court Palace on the Saturday morning. This is probably your last chance in this area as Keith Rowland does not plan to run one again. Does anyone fancy doing it instead?
Hello fellow ringers
First of all let me tell you that we have moved into our new home at Ash on the edge of Hampshire and Surrey. Our e mail address and phone number remain the same. We have been so lucky with the weather which has encouraged us to get going on our improvement projects.
At the AGM last month I floated the idea of an E – Newsletter for the SERegion as they are successfully doing in NE Region and Scotland. At the moment we spend much of the region’s rebate on the costs of the Newsletter which is printed 5 times a year. These costs are almost £1000 per year taking into account tangibles like postage and printing. It is impossible to calculate the time and effort given by the editor, Di Ashton, and distributor, Valerie Boon. A questionnaire is being sent to everyone to find out how we feel about the idea. Currently we propose to send a ‘hard copy’ to each team and post it on the web as well. This will make a more level playing field for us all as far as access goes. Please let me know how you feel about the idea and if you have any queries or comments my address is wendy@acorncottage.org.uk and the telephone number is 01252 409438.
The National Rally held in Royal Holloway in Egham went very well and congratulations are in order for Martin and Sandra Winter and a group of hard workers who made it all go so smoothly. At the AGM Sandra Winter was presented with an Honorary Life Member award which was well deserved. Congratulations.
On 8th May SERBO will be giving a concert at the Harlequin Theatre, Redhill, Surrey. Please come and bring a friend we hope the programme will be popular. There are also rally events in the region with a strawberry tea promised at Finchampstead and a Chocolate rally in Sanderstead. I hear the Camp Fire rally a little later may have toasted marshmallows. Who says bell ringers are motivated by their tums?
I look forward to seeing you or hearing from you soon
Regards
Wendy Rowland Chair SERegion HRGB
Greetings from the sea side!
While we are between homes Sandra and Martin very kindly lent their retirement flat to us. Our belongings are spread amongst many ‘depots’ in Surrey and Sussex and we are fast losing track of them. We have also forgotten what is in the boxes so when we finally move to our new home KR may have to wait a while for his cup of tea!
I am looking forward to seeing many of you at the AGM on 19th March. This will be my last year as chairman as my time is up in 2012. During this time we hope to trial an electronic newsletter to those of you with access to PC’s. We will still make the regular hard copy available to teams. Our thinking behind this is the cost – in women hours, paper and above all postage. At the moment we spend about £1000 per year to send out the letters. Other regions are also tackling this problem – you can find examples from Scotland and the NW Region on the web.
Next month is the National Rally. This year it is our turn in the SERegion and it will be held in the Royal Holloway College in Egham. This is our opportunity to show case our bells to the country. If you have not already applied get in touch with Martin Winter and he will be happy to help you. The National Rally will not visit us again for 8 years so now is the time to benefit from reduced travelling costs. If this is not enough inducement many of us will be able to go as day delegates which further reduces the expense.
I look forward to chatting to you soon
Wendy Rowland
Chair SER HRGB
Hello
Suddenly it is time to write this article and my mind has gone blank! Does that happen to you? Luckily bell ringing has been proved to improve the connections between the neurons of our nervous system, especially the synapses of the brain. The co-ordination of hand, eye and brain is ideal for warding off the ageing process, which is good news for us all. All the furniture moving keeps us fit too.
There has been a change of date for the SERBO concert. It will now be held on Sunday 8th May 2011 in the afternoon. It was either change the venue or the date and this was thought to be the best option. We hope all those of you who planned to attend will still be able to come and maybe some more who were not able to before. This coming SERAGM will include our first award to an Honoured Member of the SERegion. You will find the criteria for nominating members on the Web site.
We also want to canvas your opinions on electronic Newsletters. We currently spend about £1000 of our funds on printing and posting the Newsletters – not counting the time of the distributor and editor of our News letter. The committee has been discussing options for some time, currently one edition per two members is sent. This is not eco-friendly!
We hope to see many of you at the AGM. We are looking for new committee members to help run the region so if you feel motivated to join us please let us know. The nomination form can be found here.
Best wishes, Wendy Rowland
Pizzazz are a trio of Alan and Gay Cooper and Carla Runciman based in Berkshire and rehearsing in Oxfordshire. We are interested in small ensemble ringing and would be happy to be of help to any ringers or teams who would like to gain the skills used in solo and small ensemble ringing. We are also giving a workshop at the National Rally demonstrating the many different sources and kinds of music that a trio can perform. We are happy to perform, give workshops or advice (email: ajc@hrwallingford.co.uk ).
This is our first team video and we are proud that it was taken up by the Handbell Podcast in the USA who made it their featured video of the week, as well as placing it on the Handbell Community web site.
Finchampstead's youth group of ringers was formed in September 2010, and now has 10 members who meet once a week at the FBC Centre in Gorse Ride North, Finchampstead, on Wednesday evenings from 7 pm to 8 pm.
Finchampstead Handbell ringers promoted handbells to nursery schools, junior schools, local youth and Scouts groups and set up the Bell Buddies with the financial support of Children in Need. 
The Bell Buddies quickly learned how to ring and they held their first concert on December 15th and are now looking forward to other performances.
Membership for this year is free, and all that is needed is a pair of cotton gloves. For more information contact Meg Hostler
A Happy New Year to you all
Did you see the One Show on the Friday before Christmas? You were right, some ringers from the SERegion were there, but now Christmas is over and the Hogmanay celebrations are imminent. A new year, new intentions and new opportunities.
2011 will have plenty of opportunities for us to ring our bells once we recover from the excesses of our festive season.
The New Year Birthday Rally will be on 8th January. It promises to be a day of massed ringing with 5 conductors and party pieces from some teams. Donuts on arrival and cakes to bring to share for tea - as if we need any more indulgences!
The ring from scratch event in February needs more ringers. It is an opportunity to play music not previously seen in a workshop environment with like minded ringers. No one is expected to be note perfect but it is a chance to see how we cope.
The new year also brings a return of the regular SERBO rehearsals culminating in the concert at the Harlequin, Redhill in May.
How many of you have not yet booked your places for the National Rally at the Royal Holloway College in Egham. If a weekend seems too much then why not come for the day? It is our opportunity in the SERegion to attend a ‘local’ National Rally. There will be an orchestra workshop to try, a concert on the Saturday evening and much more. Martin Winter is leading the organisation and I hope to see you there.
Regards Wendy Rowland Chair SER
