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‘Bells-Up of Bosham’
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A
Dr. Cameron of Cambridge approached the village via
his son & daughter in law in the middle of 1997
and published an article in the Bosham Life. He had
acquired these bells many years ago from the estate of
a lady of Bosham and had tried, unsuccessfully, to
find a group to ring them. He particularly wanted to
hear them ringing at Christmas time.
Dr
Cameron offered them back to the village if the
village could put a team together.
Several members of Holy Trinity Church
responded to this challenge and a team was formed.
They did indeed ‘ring that Christmas’
and played at the Children’s Christmas Eve
Service and then, to accompany the traditional,
‘Mulled Wine & Mince Pies’ after the 9:30
service on the following Sunday. We were privileged
that Dr. Cameron travelled down from Cambridge to join
us for the latter performance and so his lifelong wish
was granted. The Bells date back to the middle of the
last century and are still in tune to this day!
The
team rehearse every Thursday evening in the Holy
Trinity Church, Bosham starting at 7:00 p.m. Visitors
are always welcome.
Since
that time we have purchased, with donations from
members of the parish, a set of BellePlates to help
develop the interest and skills of the youngsters of
the village. These are similar to the bells in style
and technique, but are lighter and more suitable to
younger players. We see this as a training ground for
those who wish to progress to playing with the
Handbells with the senior team. There are now two such
groups.
Whilst
we do purchase some of our music from the national
association ‘HandBell Ringers of Great Britain’,
we also produce many of our own arrangements. These
include modern church songs, hymns and traditional
carols as well as
popular items from the contemporary repertoire
such as film & show themes. Invariably this old
art form includes a selection of lighter, classical
music with a repertoire ranging from Bach to Pacabell
pausing at Handel, Hank Williams
and Lloyd-Webber on the way.
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Contact:- John Beck
Telephone:- 572829
e-mail:- JOHNDIBECK@CS.COM
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