North East Region Newsletter

February 2001 Issue 44

LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN

Dear Friends,

A Happy New Year to you all! I hope you all had a good one and are

managing to cope with the long dark days after Christmas. Soon be

spring! The Beverley Town Handbell Ringers had a good Christmas

season with several concerts and fund-raising ‘ring-ins’ at Morrison’s to

raise much needed funds. Our old trailer has, after some 18 years, given

up the ghost and the purchase of a new walk-in box trailer has depleted

our finances hugely - no chance of the MD buying more bells yet!

In December, four of our band visited Peterborough to be part of the

final event organised in support of the ChildLine appeal - a concert with

handbell ringers and international percussionist, Evelyn Glennie. Whilst

I know it was quite a way to go, those of you who couldn’t manage the

journey missed an evening which was very special. Special, not only

because our Region was admirably represented on the concert platform

by our friends from Ecclesfield, but also because such an event had the

patronage of Esther Rantzen and the support of Evelyn Glennie who

performed with the handbell ringers. Such support from well-known

celebrities can do nothing but good in ensuring that our Society reaches

the status in the musical world it rightly deserves. As I have said before,

I believe the ChildLine initiative has proved to be one of the most

significant projects ever undertaken by HRGB and members of the

North East Region can be justly proud of their contribution.

The ChildLine Appeal will enable a significant donation to be made to

the William Hartley Memorial Fund. Talking of funds, the Society is

seeking a new National Treasurer. At the last AGM, Simon Rennie

stood down after many years in the post. The roles and responsibilities

of Treasurer have changed significantly since Simon took up post and he

now feels it is time to hand over to a new face! The Society has yet to

resolve the filling of the vacant post and NEC Regional Representatives

have been contacted to ask whether they know of suitable members who

could undertake the duties. If you think you could spare the time and

have the commitment to support HRGB in this important and interesting

post, please let me know.

You will receive with this edition of ‘In-Touch’ a letter which gives

details of the work that is being done to develop the North East Region

Web Site. All Regions are currently setting up similar sites and if you

have access to the WEB you may like to visit the HRGB site to see what

is currently available. It is expected that our site will be launched in the

spring of this year.

A little nearer home is the Committee’s decision to try and establish the

Regional Forum. If you refer to back editions of ‘In-Touch’ you will be

able to remind yourselves of the concept of the Regional Forum.

However, you will receive further details and proposed dates in due

course.

On a more practical note, the end of March sees a mini rally that is to be

organised by the Holy Trinity Handbell Ringers from Sheffield. Teams

will receive details soon and I hope for a good response.

You will also receive details of the Spring Rally - yes, Grassington

comes round again. Arrangements are in hand for this most popular

event. As usual, demand for places is expected to be high so you are

reminded that an early response is advisable to avoid disappointment.

Beverley Town members have already checked their accommodation

requirements at the Forresters Arms and I look forward to meeting you

in May!

Until then....

My very best wishes to you all

JOHN ATKINSON

NORTH EAST REGION CHAIRMAN

SECRETARIAL NEWS

Regional Rallies and Events

Mini Rally - Sheffield - 31 March 2001

Plans for this mini rally hosted by Holy Trinity Sheffield Handbell

Ringers are well in hand. Invitations have already been sent out together

with details of timings and massed ringing music. If you are interested

in coming along please make contact as soon as possible to reserve your

place. Further details are available from Mrs Margaret Ibbetson, 74

Pringle Road, Sheffield, S7 2LL, or myself.

Spring Rally and AGM - Grassington - 12 May 2001

Invitations are enclosed with this newsletter. The rally will follow a

similar format to last year and include an afternoon master-class when

you can sit back and enjoy listening to a team performing. There will be

plenty of opportunity to ask questions and maybe glean a few new ideas.

For those who prefer to carry on ringing, there will be an ad hoc session

in the Main Hall.

Autumn Rally (+ possible Barn Dance) - Beverley - 13 October 2001

The hall is booked for the rally. If you would like to come to the barn

dance in the evening please let any Committee Member know, as soon

as possible, so that the viability can be ascertained.

Ring for ChildLine

The appeal has been a great success. A big thank you to all those who

contributed! The concert at Peterborough Cathedral just before

Christmas was wonderful with a fantastic mixture of bells and Evelyn

Glennie’s very spectacular individual performance on percussion. The

Region was well represented by Ecclesfield Handbell Ringers who

played to their usual high standard.

If you still have any collecting pots or similar items from ChildLine

please do not forget to return them!

Annual Subscriptions

Many of you will have received your member renewal reminder for

payment of national HRGB annual subscriptions rather belatedly. For

some reason (possibly a problem with the Post Office in Doncaster)

many of the North East Region letters were not delivered. This has now

been rectified. If you have not yet responded please do so as soon as

possible. If you have not yet received your renewal reminder please

contact Margaret Reed, Membership Secretary, on 0114 236 2286.

JOAN ENGLER

REGIONAL SECRETARY

CLOSING DATE FOR THE NEXT ISSUE

30 APRIL 2001

ST MARY’S HANDBELL RINGERS,

SCARBOROUGH

Saturday 9 December saw four cars full of ringers, boxes of bells and

foam mattresses speeding down the M1 heading towards the South

Yorkshire village of Elsecar where there is a Heritage Centre which is

quite large and includes a power house, beam engine, Victorian

classroom, living history museum, one-mile long steam railway,

Building 21 which hosts events, exhibitions, performances and

conferences and weekend walks are also organised.

On the day of our visit it was their Christmas Fayre, held in Building 21,

and we were amongst several groups of artists providing entertainment.

We gave half-hour concerts, 12.00 noon to 12.30 pm and 1.30 pm to

2.00 pm. The first one was from our main programmed (several items

we played are on our tape, ‘Over The Waves’) and the second concert

was most of our Christmas programme.

Other entertainers included village choirs, brass bands, Victorian dancers

and a magician. We played to appreciative audiences but, because the

large building was very full of stalls and customers, the noise level

tended to drown out the sounds of the bells, even when we were given a

microphone for the second concert. Most of the sound seemed to

disappear into the rafters far above our heads.

After all the bells, etc, had been packed away into the cars again, some

of us had rides on the steam train. The locomotive ‘Earl Fitzwilliam’

was actually being driven by one of our members, David Muffitt, who

had soon changed from his ringing uniform into his engineman’s garb.

Santa Claus was also on board. Four of us were lucky enough to have a

ride on the footplate which was most enjoyable and, after the last train

had returned, some of our members stayed on for a party on one of the

coaches put on for the volunteers on the line.

So, all in all, a most enjoyable and different day out for us, most of us

arriving home around 9.00 pm feeling quite exhausted but in a happy

frame of mind.

Our many thanks go to Dave for organising the day for us.

EDWIN KING

ST MARY’S HANDBELL RINGERS, SCARBOROUGH

RING FOR CHILDLINE AT

PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL

On 22 December four members of Beverley Town Handbell Ringers set

off for Peterborough looking forward to a special concert arranged by

HRGB as the finale for a major fundraising campaign for ChildLine.

We arrived in Peterborough about teatime, parked the car and then went

to find a spot of tea in the precinct near the Cathedral. Suitably

replenished we strolled across to the Cathedral to choose our seats. We

were welcomed inside the main door by the Winterbourne Ringers

playing a seasonal collection of carols, thus setting the mood for the rest

of the evening. The stage was set with tables bearing rows and rows of

shiny bells and an impressive display of percussion instruments for

Evelyn Glennie.

Looking through the programme and my brief notes after the event, I

find it difficult to pick out any item that deserved greater applause than

another. The concert was most definitely a resounding success. Evelyn

Glennie and her pianist, Philip Smith, were superb. The handbell teams

selected to play alongside were also to be congratulated on their

performance at this very prestigious event. The target of £30000 was

achieved due to much hard work by all the regions and a cheque was

duly presented to Esther Rantzen.

There is not enough room here to enlarge upon individual items because

I am sure many more of you will want to write to ‘In Touch’ about such

a special event. Of course, we will all have memories of certain pieces

and these are mine. I loved the ‘Little Prayer’, composed by Evelyn

Glennie herself, and the dramatic ‘Darkness Into Light’ must have had

everyone on the edge of their seats to see and hear the fantastic sound

effects produced by Evelyn. As for the teams taking part, they all did

well to combat the nerves and produce some lovely music but the young

ringers from Clyst Vale really made an impact on me with their

delightful rendition of ‘Winter Wonderland’, ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed

Reindeer’ and ‘Jingle Bells’.

Now, I look forward to reading other members’ accounts of this

memorable event.

ELIZABETH COLES

BEVERLEY TOWN HANDBELL RINGERS

NEWS FROM ST EDMUND’S HANDBELL

RINGERS

We are sorry not to be able to join you all at the rallies. We did feel

guilty when it was suggested that teams should remain to the end of the

rallies and we had always had to leave early due to our two dogs. This

last year our four-legged commitment has doubled and we have taken on

two more dogs from aged friends who were no longer able to manage

them. So that is why we are missing from rallies.

We are still busy ringing, particularly in the run up to Christmas. Since

1993 when the Save the Children Fund asked handbell ringers to support

their Christmas Carol Appeal we have, each Christmas, rang for their

Appeal. This Christmas has been the most successful, raising £735.40

for the Fund. Most of this was raised by two of us ringing in the local

pubs. Since 1993 we have raised over £3500.00.

Best wishes to all the members in 2001.

MURIEL AND PAT CALLIS

ST EDMUND’S HANDBELL RINGERS

BEVERLEY TOWN HANDBELL

RINGERS - 2000

Beverley Town have had a run of mixed fortunes during the last 18

months or so, mainly due to recruitment problems. However, we believe

we have turned the corner and are gathering strength to go out this New

Year 2001 with a full team giving the busy round of concerts we always

did.

In the early part of last year we were pleased to welcome Kath and Val

into the team. They are ready-made ringers from St. Mary’s team, which

is now disbanded, so our tenor line-up is now complete again. Their

debut was at the North East Region rally held as usual at Grassington. It

was good to appear at a rally in full strength again. The rally was a great

success - two master-classes were held in the Octagon Room for the first

time and the weather was kind.

On a rather chilly day in July we gave a concert at a garden party for the

St. Mary’s church tower bellringers. The splendid buffet provided by

the hosts certainly compensated for the disappointing weather.

Baildon were the host team for the North East Region autumn rally.

Beverley Town did a master-class with the aid of two good ringing

friends from Ecclesfield. Both the rally and the master-class were

enjoyed by all.

Our next outing as a full team was in December for two Christmas

concerts. First to Grimsby, where we were guests of the Grimsby and

Cleethorpes Ladies Choir. What a lovely choir this was, too! They were

helping raise funds for Diabetes UK and a cheque was presented to a

representative during the evening. Our second concert was at Lindum

House, a nursing home in Beverley, where we also rang a few carols on

the smaller 12-bell set before the main concert.

Also in December we were out and about the region entertaining the

public with our carols on the aforesaid 12 bells, which are always well

received.

Finally, I would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year.

ELIZABETH COLES

BEVERLEY TOWN HANDBELL RINGERS

BAILDONGERS 2000

The year 2000 saw us hosting a rally for the first time and, as we were

concerned that we should ‘get it right’, we were grateful for the support

given to us from Joan Engler and John Atkinson. We are pleased that so

many of you commented on the merits of the Methodist Link Centre in

Baildon, although it was a pity that it wasn’t large enough to

accommodate all the groups who had applied.

Our large group, the Baildongers, has increased in size to 11 players and,

apart from the Autumn Rally, we gave concerts at Oxenhope Church and

Baildon Moravian Church.

Our Quartet has had a very busy year. The highlight early in the year

was taking part in the performances of ‘Noah’s Flood’ at Leeds Civic

Theatre that we reported in an earlier edition of ‘In Touch’. Our summer

highlight was undoubtedly the invitation from the National Trust to be

one of 12 musical and choral groups performing at the Annual Music

Day at Fountains Abbey. We learnt how difficult it is to play handbells

outside. One of the two concerts we gave was in the Cloisters, an

experience we will all remember for a very long time. The Quartet have

given many lunchtime and evening concerts throughout the year to

Women’s Lunchtime, Townswomen’s Guilds and Women’s Institute

groups, mostly in the Bradford and Leeds area but also further afield - to

Harrogate and Goole, for example. We have also given public concerts

at churches in Matlock and Ashbourne in Derbyshire and Hughenden in

Buckinghamshire where the money raised has gone to Church funds.

We called the concert at Hughenden ‘Coming Home’ as Keith and I

were returning to the church where we were married and our original

eight bells were returning to the village where Keith’s father, who was

the Captain of the Tower, had used them at home to practice change

ringing. The Quartet has continued to give workshops/concerts, mainly

in primary and junior schools.

The year ended with the usual hectic programme of Christmas concerts.

The Quartet were also asked to play Carols in the foyer of the Bradford

Alhambra Theatre on three evenings as theatre-goers arrived to see the

Bradford Catholic Players’ production of ‘Scrooge’. Playing in the

hustle and bustle of a theatre foyer is not easy but it certainly helped to

raise the profile of handbell ringing - and we collected £200!

We started the year with the aim of raising £1000 for ChildLine and our

evenings at the Alhambra enabled us to well exceed this target for we

have recently confirmed with ChildLine a total of £1270 raised by our

groups.

We hope that the year 2001 will be just as enjoyable and successful.

JULIE BIGGS

BAILDONGERS

NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that the

Annual General Meeting

of the

North East Region

of the

Handbell Ringers of Great Britain

will be held on

Saturday 12 May 2001

at 12.00 noon at the

Town Hall, Grassington

(Minutes of the previous AGM appeared in the February 2000 issue of

‘In Touch’)

OTLEY BELLS’ HECTIC CHRISTMAS

Our season started off very early this year, in early November, with a

concert at the Stoke Club in Ilkley.

This was quickly followed by many other concerts in Leeds, Guiseley

and Ilkley.

We did our usual Supermarket Dash and raised some serious money for

St Gemma’s Hospice and Otley, Aireborough and District Domestic

Violence Group.

Three workshops at Harewood House for their craft fair were very busy

and this year they are going to give us our own ‘stall’ so we can

entertain and let people ‘have a go’. We find the bells and chimes

particularly fascinate children.

Our last concert was on Christmas Eve in Ilkley.

Our most enjoyable outing was taking the children into town on

Victorian Fair Day dressed in Victorian costume. We had a large crowd

to listen to us and, as the weather was atrocious in the morning, we took

the chimes and played in a passageway to the shopping precinct. They

played wonderfully and have really put a lot of hard work and

commitment into their music. They got rapturous applause and loads of

photos were taken, to the extent that we were only just back for school

dinners!

The adult team now has ten members, all very musical and full of

enthusiasm and commitment.

We have a very busy year ahead of us with bookings already for next

Christmas and a new school to go into after half term.

CAROLE CHARNLEY

OTLEY BELL AND CHIME ORCHESTRA

GIFT AID SCHEME

Along with your membership renewal you should have received details

of the revised Gift Aid Scheme which allows for a simplified method of

recovery of income tax from the Inland Revenue. Full details of the

Scheme and a declaration form for each adult member were enclosed

with the renewal notice. Using the current membership rate of £8.00,

the Society can benefit from an additional £2.26 by recovering this

amount of tax from the Inland Revenue. Please help HRGB to take

advantage of this new scheme by completing the Gift Aid Declaration.

This only needs to be done once and is a lifetime declaration for as long

as you continue to pay either Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax. If you

can answer ‘Yes’ to Question 1 AND any part of Question 2 then HRGB

can recover tax on your membership fee.

1 Will you have paid at least £2.26 in Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax in the current tax year (6 April 2000 - 5 April 2001)?

2 Do you pay your HRGB membership fees (currently £8.00 adult rate) directly to HRGB?

OR

Have you paid your HRGB membership fee to your team

correspondence, treasurer or other authorised person who has

paid the team subscription?

OR

Do you pay a subscription to your team from which your HRGB

membership is taken?

If you pay tax at the higher rate you can claim further tax relief in your

Self-Assessment Tax Return.

JOAN ENGLER

REGIONAL SECRETARY

CHEVIN HANDBELL RINGERS

A happy New Year everyone. Who would believe that the build-up for

the year 2000 has come and gone? For us as a team it was busy and

exciting. The first part of the year saw us working hard and raising

funds to purchase our own bells. We sold quizzes, went to car boot

sales, table top sales, summer fairs and shows, concerts, etc, and by July

we knew we had sufficient funds to place as a deposit to purchase our

own bells.

October came and so did the bells, a beautiful three-octave set of

Malmark - now we were in business. Our calendar was already quite

full and we knew the months leading up to Christmas were going to be

busy. To set the bells ringing we did our own concert and invited people

who had helped us along the way to come and so not only would we be

able to thank them but also they could see what we had purchased. We

were also able to present these people with a gift as a token of our

appreciation for all their help. As well as ringing ourselves we invited

the junior team to ring and this they really enjoyed.

This led us into preparing the Christmas programme. The first event

was 25 November when we opened a Christmas Fair for St Chad’s

Church in Bradford, after which we were able to look around the fair and

come home with a lovely big bunch of bananas which cost us all of 50p

(a real bargain).

Next we travelled in the opposite direction, to Addingham Wednesday

Club, where we had a lovely evening and a lovely audience.

This should have been followed by the train trip and ringing all the way

to Edinburgh but unfortunately, due to the problems with British Rail, it

was cancelled and we rang at a social event organised for the evening

instead.

We then did the Trefoil Guild where we had a lovely supper and were

given a gift of a little box of Thorntons chocolates - this was a lovely

idea.

Morrison’s at Guiseley was next. They wanted us to do their Senior

Citizens’ evening. Well, we were there but we’re not quite sure where

the senior citizens were (probably in bed).

If you’re thinking of your old age and of having residential care in your

old age then you want to go to Straven House in Ilkley. This was

beautiful. We arrived to find the residents in the day room all dressed

for the occasion having had their sherry and in top form. One lady, who

will be 102 years old in February, sang all the Christmas Carols and

songs while we rang. We gave them the belleplates or tambourines and

sleigh bells and what a wonderful noise we all had together. I’m not

sure who was the most exhausted at the end. It all ended with more

sherry, mince pies and tea or coffee.

The Victoria Fair Day was another extremely busy day. First of all I had

my graduation and was awarded my degree at Bradford University, then

it was home quickly, change and down to the HBC Bank where we were

ringing. This included photographs with the town mayor and also

ringing for her. Plenty of sherry, coffee and mince pies here (oh, and I

forgot, the chocolate coins). After finishing here it was preparation for

the evening. We not only had our own craft stall but we had been asked

to ring around the town. There is always a lovely atmosphere and it

seems to draw the people in. Having struggled to keep our music from

blowing away, we exhausted the Carols and went back to ‘Help The

Aged’ frozen stiff, tired and hungry, but before they fed and watered us

we had to play for our supper but they did warm us up with some lovely

warm mulled wine.

The next day saw us at Booth’s in Ilkley - what a beautiful store - and

we rang beside the Christmas tree next to Father Christmas’s grotto.

I couldn’t go through all the events we did but our programme continued

for the next two weeks. We did ladies’ fellowships, guilds, nursing

homes and supermarkets. Many of these events were used in our fund-

raising for ChildLine.

The junior team played in their own school assembly before going out to

the Wharfedale Hospital where they played in three wards and have

already been asked to come back this year. They also went to Shipley

Hospital and entertained the patients with bells and instruments. Sarah

played ‘Silent Night’ on the flute and Naomi played ‘Away In A

Manger’ on the clarinet. Then they played a duet of ‘Deck The Halls’.

There were plenty of tambourines, sleigh bells, maracas and triangles

here so we really made it enjoyable for the patients. The best part for the

juniors was having the afternoon off school.

Our final event was Safeways of Otley on 23 December and, I can

assure you, by this time I was exhausted and was very happy to let the

bells have a rest for Christmas. We have already done a concert this

year for the German Society and are now preparing for Sheffield. You

know what they say - there is no rest for the wicked.

GEORGINA LANSDELL

CHEVIN HANDBELL RINGERS

The views and opinions expressed in letters, reports and articles in this

Newsletter are those of the writers and are not necessarily shared by the

HRGB Executive Committee, North East Region Committee or the

Editors.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Saturday 31 March 2001 - Mini Rally - Holy Trinity Church, Sheffield

Friday 20 – Sunday 22 April 2001 – National Rally, Nottingham

Saturday 12 May 2001 - Spring Rally & AGM - Grassington

Saturday 13 October 2001 - Autumn Rally - Beverley (+ possible Barn

Dance)

Saturday 12 October 2002 – Autumn Rally - Otley

If you have an event for inclusion in this section, please send the details

to the Editors.

JUNIOR JAPES THE SECTION FOR JUNIOR MEMBERS

OTLEY ST JOSEPH’S BELLS AND CHIMES

Michael and Carole Charnley founded the Otley St Joseph’s Bells and

Chimes in April 2000.

This school team, like our other junior teams, is split into two groups.

The 5 to 7 year olds meet Wednesdays from 12.00 noon to 1.00 pm

when we have 15 tiny ringers who play the handchimes from numbers

on a central board and at present enjoy Sandra Winter’s ‘Beginners

Please’ book. The older group of 7 to 11 year olds meets after school on

Fridays from 3.15 pm to 4.00 pm and consists of 12 ringers who ring the

Malmark handbells from music, at present ‘Clapper Classics’ which is

an excellent book of two-octave music.

The after-school group has given two performances this Christmas, first

at Otley Victorian Fayre and also at the Our Lady and All Saints

Catholic Church in Otley where, on both occasions, they rang Christmas

Carols but changed from handbells to handchimes for these two

concerts.

They are looking forward to taking an active part in HRGB.

MICHAEL AND CAROLE CHARNLEY

OTLEY ST JOSEPHS’ BELLS AND CHIMES

In the next edition of ‘Junior Japes’ - Profiles of members of the Otley

Bell and Chime Orchestra.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this issue. It is always

nice to hear what other people do during the year and particularly at

Christmas.

Before the next issue there will be the mini rally at Sheffield and the

National Rally at Nottingham. If you attend either of these events please

write and tell us about it. (I’ll probably be at Sheffield in my capacity as

Sales Manager but don’t leave it to me to write a report - Claire.)

All items for the next edition should be sent to: Andrew & Claire Ford,

Editors, ‘In Touch’, 11 Green Lane, Tickton, BEVERLEY,

East Yorkshire, HU17 9RH, or you can email us at

Andrew@aford11.freeserve.co.uk or fax your article to (01964) 543260. The

last date for receipt of articles is 30 April 2001. Don’t forget, if you are

sending us a photograph out of a newspaper or magazine, we need to

know the name and address of the newspaper or magazine as well as the

date of publication.

We look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Claire and Andrew

mailto:Andrew@aford11.freeserve.co.uk

MUSIC FROM THE DRONFIELD COLLECTION

Play the classics on your bells.

For catalogue of over 50, 2 and 2+ octave concert arrangements,

send SAE to:

The Dronfield Collection,

Vic Cox,

36 Elwood Road,

Bradway,

SHEFFIELD.

S17 4RH

Kall Kwik Printing

Many thanks on behalf of the North East Region go to Kall Kwik of Hull who have printed and sponsored this edition of ‘IN TOUCH’

PRINTING - FULL COLOUR PRINTING PHOTOCOPYING - COLOUR COPYING - PLAN COPYING

DESIGN - ARTWORK

The Woollen Warehouse, South Church Side, HULL Telephone 01482 586487/8 Facsimile 01482 586488

HANDBELL RINGERS OF GREAT BRITAIN Reg Charity No:- 298945