On Saturday 15th October, fifteen members of Alton Handbell Ringers attended the HRGB joint East Midlands / West Midland rally in Kenilworth. There were about half a dozen teams from across the joint regions and there must have been in the region of a hundred ringers.

This was my first rally as a handbell ringer, so I had no idea of what to expect, but the day went well. We had a massed piece conducted by our own Wendy to start with and then had individual performances from the various groups present, ranging from three people ringing 12 bells between them (four in hand) to our performance as we were the biggest group there. There were some very skilled ringers and all groups produced entertaining pieces.

After a lunch break for our “picnic” (with provided tea, coffee, biscuits and cake throughout the day), we returned to a similar format for the afternoon. Our rendition of Highland Cathedral was a bit grander than the version played in the morning session by a smaller group. I think I prefer ours - it is a fun piece to play, especially when I get my part right.

All in all, an enjoyable day out, although it was a long day due to the distance (and road works).