Dear Ringers,
I’m wondering if it’s too late to wish you a Happy New Year – particularly
when I have seen many of you at the Birthday Rally and/or at our first
South East Region Bell Orchestra rehearsal – but with all the Christmas
articles in this newsletter, it still seems appropriate!
It really is good to hear about everything that you are doing around the
region. As one of the biggest and most active regions of HRGB, we never
seem to have any trouble filling a hall for a rally - in fact we are
sometimes having to turn people away! However, it is becoming clear that
it seems to be the same people and teams who are willing to run or host
events for the region. While it is lovely to go back to the same places,
parcitularly when we know a venue works well for our needs, it would be
equally lovely to go to some different parts of the region. Please do have
a look around your local area – is there a large church hall, or a school
which might be able to be used for a rally? It doesn’t need to be a huge
space, just enough for a few teams – and we will provide all the help you
need to run the event (the form, the music, the conductors, even the
cake if necessary!). Let us know if you have anywhere which might be
suitable.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new members. We
have many independent members who have joined HRGB recently, some
teams which have been revived or have reformed with a slightly
different name, and many teams are also reporting new members.
Sadly, we also have some teams which have disbanded and members who
have chosen not to renew their membership for a number of reasons,
and we are sad to see them go.
Moving forward we have a number of events planned for the year – the
next being our AGM Rally. While it does contain the AGM (held just
before lunch as an incentive to me to get through the official business
as quickly as possible!), most of the day will be taken up with ringing.
Alongside our transport themed massed ringing pieces, we are hoping a
number of teams will perform solo items. Please remember that it
doesn’t need many people to ring something, and if you are short of team
members on the day, you will be in a room full of ringers and many of us
are quite happy to step in and help out, so please do not be afraid to ask!
Some of you may be aware that the Harlequin Theatre in Redhill, where
SERBO were due to perform in May, is currently closed. Their website
says “The Harlequin Theatre & Cinema building remains closed due to the
extensive presence of RAAC. We are working with the holder of the head lease
of the building to reach a resolution, but the reality is we anticipate the theatre
will be closed for some time.” This means that SERBO have unfortunately
had to find an alternative venue for the concert. We are very lucky that
North Camp Methodist Church, as well as having a hall which is big
enough to accommodate our rehearsal, are also able to let us use the
church for the concert. This means that the concert will take place at
the same time as originally advertised, just in a different venue. Tickets
will be available soon and we will send out information when everything
has been finalised.
Don’t forget to send in any snippets about what you or your team have
been up to – no matter how small. We can all find inspiration in
something someone else has done.
Keep Ringing!
Yours, Helen