Headline news - Alton handbell ringers found speeding in Ellastone!

On Sunday the 17^th November, we gathered in Ellastone for what has become an annual concert.  However, this year the venue was Ellastone village hall and this was much warmer than the church where we had performed previously.  The floor layout provided individual tables and chairs as opposed to rows of seats and this resulted in a more relaxed and social atmosphere.

The team arrived early to have a brief practice session.  This turned out to be one of the most fault ridden pre concert practices we have ever had.  For some reason, our speed of playing was all over the place and we played The Beatles ‘Yesterday’ so fast that someone suggested it be renamed as ‘Tomorrow’!

Soon it was 3 pm and with the audience in place, we began the first half of the concert.  With our...

On Thursday November 14th we visited Denstone Hall Farm Shop for the first of our Christmas visits this year.

The shop was decorated ready for the Christmas season. Hundreds of sparkling lights. and staff dressed in festive costumes added to the atmosphere. We played for two sessions in the restaurant, with everyone obviously enjoying all of the traditional tunes and carols. We were told later that our music echoed throughout the shop.

We enjoyed complimentary hot drinks and mince pies during the break, and were given a generous donation towards our chosen charity, the Dougie Mac Hospice.

We hope that we bought a little extra Christmas spirit at the beginning of this special season. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening!

Saturday 9th November

We were pleased to be invited to play at the Crich Tramway Village special event 'A Journey through Time and Light'. We played in one of the exhibition halls amongst trams and tram parts from across the years. It was a good venue with nice acoustics and space to allow visitors to stop and listen or to continue looking at the trams. We played two sets of mostly traditional songs with a pause in the middle for for a very welcome cup of hot chocolate!