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People often ask what we do apart from concerts. Several times a year we play in local or national events. Some are open to the public:
The main public event of the year is the Handbell Festival Service at Guildford Cathedral. It's held in November each year. About twenty handbell teams from around the area all play in unison - including some with fifteen-pound bass bells and handchimes as tall as their players! It's a spectacular sight and sound, and well worth seeing. 2009's is on the 21st of November.
There are many rallies held at sites around the region, from Berkshire to Kent. Most of them are for HRGB members only, but a few are for the public too - check the South-East region website for details.
Just after Easter each year HRGB holds a National Rally for its members. The different regions host it in different years, providing lots of activities over a weekend. There's also a concert (usually on the Saturday night) in which several teams perform a selection of pieces, for which the public can buy tickets. This is a great way of seeing different styles of ringing and music, and meeting ringers.
The 2010 National Rally is at the University of Leicester, on the 16th - 18th of April; the 2011 rally is planned to be in Surrey.
We occasionally hold open evenings, when people can see us rehearse, talk to us about the bells and ringing, and try ringing for themselves if they want to! Most of these evenings go on as part of Thatcham's Festival of the Arts and Leisure in October. See Thatcham Town Council's website for more details.