Handbell Ringers
The Cirencester Parish Handbell Ringers continue to meet most Tuesday evenings and their numbers have remained constantly at nine throughout the year.
All of our performances this year have been within the Cirencester area as, for one reason or another we, as a team, have not been able to take part in the Handbell Ringers of Great Britain Regional events.
Our first performance of 2007 was at Hunters Care Centre in March where our programme included a variety of pieces including Irving Berlin's "Puttin' on the Ritz", Tony Hatch's "Messing about on the River", a medley of Beatle tunes and a locally produced variation of "Strawberry Fair".
We returned to Hunters Care Centre in October where we performed some arrangements that we acquired at one of the South West Regional rallies in 2006. We also played a particularly challenging piece called "Singalongaring" containing some well-known "old" songs that allowed audience participation. It was well received, resulting in some non-planned singing during the rest of the programme, such as "Singing in the Rain" and "If I were a Rich Man"!
We were invited, in November, to play in the Parish Church once the Advent Market festivities had begun. Although the audience had dwindled by the time we played, it gave us an opportunity to remind ourselves of Christmas music!
In December the team played at the beginning of the Carol Services for both Holy Trinity and St John the Baptist Churches. We were able to play not only Christmas Carols but also other Christmas music including "Walking in the Air" and a variation of "Jingle Bells".
Hunters Care Centre invited us back in December, we must be doing something right, where we were able to provide a full programme of Christmas music that lasted for about an hour.
Our year concluded on New Year's Eve when we performed at the Cirencester Bowling Club's party. We managed to get them singing to "Singalongaring" and then asked them if they would like to try ringing "Jingle Bells". After a recognisable tune from them we continued our programme and finished the evening with an arrangement of "Auld Lang Syne". On this occasion we were very grateful for a player substitution as one of our regular members was unable to attend.
We already have a couple of bookings for 2008 and two of our team have been asked to become involved in the 2009 National Rally which will take place at the Royal Agricultural College over a weekend in April. There is normally a concert at these events so if you have never heard hundreds of handbells playing tunes together this may be a unique opportunity. More details when they become available.
Peter Cottey
For those who would like to know more please contact Peter Cottey via the Parish Office |
