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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.
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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....
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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
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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
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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
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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’.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
[email protected] 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:[email protected]
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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