Irene Merson

I  had a  sneak   preview ( or maybe a preliminary

skirmish) before I actually started ringing. One of

the Kinder Ringers formed a handbell team at my

daughter's primary school, as part of a new Music

Club. I went along as a  'pointer' and  to help keep

the  little  horrors  in some  semblance  of  control.

Then  one evening   she  rang  to  say  that Kinder

Ringers were looking  for a  new  membe  and  she

wondered if I would like to have a go! I would, so I

went along to the next practice . This  was  a  huge

revelation - until then I had only heard the   school

teams 'murdering' 'Daisy,Daisy' etc. and I had not

realised that bells could sound so musical!. In spite of the shock to the sytem, I joined in, and  that was it really.Except to add that I was very quiet  at  that   first  practice and  hardly said  a word -  and  this has, of  course,   continued  throughout  the  subsequent nine years (ish) with Kinder Ringers.     As  to how I became Secretary of the Region  - suffice  it to say that if Anne Hopley ever asks   whether  you  fancy going along to an AGM , you should think carefully before replying.. In Feb. 2005 I was  to  be

elected to the exalted posotion of Regional Chairman

                               

                                                                                                              Tel. 01663 742776

                                                                                             

Anne Hopley

In 1960  I  began  church  bell  ringing  in  Keswick, Cumbria.  The tower  captain was also leader of the Crosthwaite  Handbell  Ringers and  before  long  I was invited to join the team. Living in a tourist town we were kept  busy with  concerts at the local hotels as well as weekly performances  for  visitors  in  the Parish Hall.  Throughout  my  three  years  away  at college I  rang  with  them  as  often  as  I  could and more regularly on my  return  to  work  in  Cumbria, until I  then  moved  to  Cheshire  and  then  on  into Derbyshire. 

I joined the Young  Wives' Group in  New Mills and one evening found myself giving a talk on handbell ringing. to the rest of the group.  Four of the members  were interested enough to want to have a go.    We were able to borrow fifteen bells on which to learn a  few  simple pieces for performance at a Christmas   Concert   for the elderly residents of the town.  We enjoyed ourselves so much that we decided to continue and called the team Kinder Ringers because we all lived within sight of Kinder Scout, a famous mountain peak in Derbshire.

We offered to host the  Region's Autumn Rally in 1985 and at the A.G.M. I was 'invited' to join the regional committee.   I agreed,  thinking that it might be useful for getting help with the rally organisation.  Fifteen years  on  I  am  still  here,  having  held  the  post of  Editor, Chairman and Secretary along the way and I am now Editor for the second time.   The team has progressed too and now owns  3+  octaves  of  bells and  has a  membership  fluctuating between 7 and 10 regular ringers.

                                                                                                  Tel. 01663 742302