AGEHR Distinctly Bronze European Tour

Final Thoughts

2007-07-08T17:02:00.000-04:00

Well, we've been home now for almost two weeks - settled back into our usual routines and the Distinctly Bronze tour seems a distance memory - a very good memory. One thing that has stuck with me as I think about those two weeks was how well we all go along. Everyone enjoyed each other and there were no personality conflicts or troubles. Even through some of the challenges we faced during the tour - long travel delays, loading into performance spaces across busy streets, hours of intense rehearsals, etc. - everyone met them with a positive attitude and willingness to help make the trip a success. To pick one favorite moment is impossible, but some of the highlights for me are....

Ringing once again under David's direction. The last time was when I rang in the Dallas Handbell Ensemble - 1993-1997. It was such a treat and brought back some wonderful memories of my time with DHE
Meeting so many wonderful people - both in our group and in the places we visited. Everyone was friendly and showed us amazing hospitality
The evening with the Beverly Ringers. Its always great meeting fellow bellringers!
Performing in St. Paul's Cathedral. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Our final concert at the American Church in Paris. Our best peformance and our best audience.

Here are some thoughts from others on the trip...

The tour was a fantastic joint effort of music and friendships---both within the DB group and the audiences. Our bell ringing communicated with our audiences our love of handbells and music. I only wish we had more time to tour more places. It was sad for the tour to be over which says in itself how great a tour it was. Jeanne Jessup
Among my favorite experiences were playing in the American Church in Paris & the wonderful response of the audience ~ getting to know & enjoy more personally the ringers with whom we toured, we don't have that kind of social time ordinarily and it was a treat ~ I thoroughly enjoyed meeting, hearing and then visiting with the Beverley Town Handbell Ringers. There is much more but those things come to mind quickly. Micki Mennet-Martin
As for thoughts about the trip….. - The audience in Paris was amazing - You could feel the end of Capriccio at St. Paul’s - The trip was everything I had hoped…playing wonderful music in amazing places, having David there to lead us, meeting some fellow ringers that have become great friends. Tracy Peterson
Even with the travel challenges the trip overall was enjoyable. It was nice spending more time with many of the people we see each year at DB, but only get to have brief conversations with in passing. And ringing in the cathedrals (especially St Paul's) was awesome. Leslie Lewis
It was such a rare privilege to ring with this group of musicians, under David’s sensitive direction, in the awesome venues arranged for us! What a chance-of-a-lifetime experience! Joyce Wolfe
I guess my final comment on the trip was that I was completely thrilled to meet and get to know such great people who feel as passionately about handbells as I do. I think the trip was a great opportunity to share that love of music across generations and across the ocean and I'm so happy I have so many new friends (who tolerated me for two weeks!) Gillian Penn
Traveling with the Distinctly Bronze Europe 2007 group was one of the neatest, most rewarding things I've ever done. To have the opportunity to play music at that level, in such fabulous locations, under such outstanding direction, was an experience that I'll never forget. The group was congenial, David was inspiring, Joyce was a wonderful guide, and even the cold and rain didn't diminish the magical effect of Edinburgh! Having the privilege of performing in St. Paul's Cathedral was a particular highlight. The entire trip was truly a memorable experience. Carol Sykes
I found myself awestruck realizing WHERE we were playing….the age of the churches and the famous people who had been there before us, and the honor of being able to be a part of such a wonderful group. Overall, it was as amazing and easy-going group, and we all got along extremely well. I guess when the common goal is as strong as ours, the little stuff just gets shed off. Ellen Moretz

Thanks to all who sent comments and good wishes during the trip.

You may view photos that members of the group have posted at this link: www.flickr.com/groups/agehrdbtour/

In addition, two more videos have been posted on YouTube (also available at the Handbell Community - www.handbellcommunity.com). Here are the YouTube links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGAH5cqDOWo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL4wDChsPnM

Farewell! Be sure to visit us at www.agehr.org for all the lastest Guild news.

Day 14 - The Louvre & Our Final Concert

2007-06-26T09:32:00.000-04:00

Our final day begins with a 3 hour visit to the Louvre. To see all the works of art contained in the Louvre, you need several months, so our mere 3 hours provided only an overview of some of the highlights. We saw the Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, the Mona Lisa and of course the pyramid as well as some of the structure of the original castle fortress of the building. Our guide also pointed out spots where the action of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code took place. Apparently this is now a part of most guided tours of the Louvre.

We have lunch in the many cafes and restaurants within the museum complex before leaving our last sightseeing stop for the American Church in Paris where we will ring together as this group for the final time.

Fred Gramann meets us at the door when we arrive. The coach is parked at a bus stop on a very busy street and we have to unload most of the bells on the street side of the coach. We quickly form a line as close to the bus as possible and pass cases from one to another to get them to the curbside.

After set up, we have a 90 minute rehearsal and then an hour break to change and get ready for our 5:00 concert. Fred is a very gracious host and has set up refreshments for us - juice, water and cookies - and several line up to have Fred autograph copies of his music that we perform on our concert.

Before we know it, it's concert time. A large, international audience has filled the church on two levels. Easily the biggest audience of our tour. What a wonderful audience it is - long periods of applause follow each piece and while we play I can see people sitting forward in their seats - so attentive and appreciative. This is our best performance of the tour and the audience is a big part of it. For me, at least, and I suspect for others in the group, we fed off the energy in the crowd and it put more energy in our performance. A great way to end our run of concerts!

But - so quickly it ends. As soon as the concert is over we have to get everything back on the coach and back to the hotel where we share our last dinner together before packing for the trip home.

We all agree that this has been a wonderful trip due in large part to the people with us. Everyone has worked hard and had fun. We all got along well - there were no personality problems. Our hosts were accommodating, helpful and gracious. Our tour manager, Joyce, was fantastic. Always pleasant, informative with a great sense of humor and working diligently to make sure all arrangements are in order. Our coach driver, Graeme, has maneuvered us through some very tight places and has tirelessly loaded and unloaded the coach after every concert and rehearsal. Keith and Wendy Rowland made sure we had equipment and instruments and arranged many of our concerts. The Handbell Ringers of Great Britain and the Scottish region helped make sure we had strong audiences in the UK. David, as always, has been a superb conductor leading us to some wonderfully musical performances, inspiring us with his dedication to excellence.

All of us have made some new friends and had some wonderful experiences. We linger a while at our last dinner saying our good byes and sharing some memories of these two weeks together. We have hours of travel ahead of us tomorrow on our journeys home.

Signing off for now. I will have some final posts later in the week with some closing thoughts about our trip.

Day 13 - Touring Paris

2007-06-23T15:31:00.000-04:00

Imagine trying to tour Paris in 4 hours - well that's what we tried to do. We started on the bus at 9:00 AM with a Paris guide that joined us for the morning and literally drove past the highlights of Paris. We stepped off the bus a few times - one of which was to climb what seemed like one thousand steps to Montmartre - the highest point in Paris. We arrived at the Sacred Heart at the top via a round about route (and after a few rest stops on the way up)through the artist's square.

We were allowed 15 minutes to explore the area and walk through the Sacred Heart before we started back down to our coach at the bottom. Along the way, most of us are accosted by one of the many men trying to sell us braided friendship bracelets. We quickly learned to keep walking on not make eye contact or you were trapped. They would physically block the way forcing us to dodge around them - very uncomfortable.

Next we drove around the Arch de Triomphe and the Eiffle Tower. We allowed 5 minutes to jump off the coach a snap a quick pictured of the Tower. We continued driving through the streets of Paris, past the Opera House, the Louvre (we'll be back there tomorrow), and numerous other sites until we finally settled near Notre Dame where we left the coach for the afternoon. It is now 1:45 and we are free until 5:00 PM for lunch and independent site seeing. Once again, we break off into several small groups, all going toward their own interests. Some stay to tour Notre Dame interior, some take a cruise on the Seine, others head for the shops or a walk along the river, and others visit the Musee d'Orsay - a museum featuring art of the latter half of the 19th century including a wonderful collection of impressionist and post-impressionist works of art.

At 5:00 PM we head back to the hotel for a short rest before a 7:00 PM dinner and free evening. Tomorrow we visit the Louvre in the morning and then head to the American Church in Paris to set up and rehearse for our final concert. We are all looking forward to seeing Fred Gramann and this last concert on our tour.

Only one day left....

Day 12 - Travel to Paris

2007-06-22T19:21:00.000-04:00

Today is all about travel. We start out at 8:00 AM in hopes of making the 10:50 ferry from Dover to Calais. Just about everyone sleeps on the bus during the journey to Dover – it was a late night last night and an early morning today. Traffic getting out of London was slow, so we missed the early ferry by about 5 minutes. The next is at 1:00 PM so we have a bit of a wait. The ferry boats are huge – large enough to carry semis, coaches, cars, etc. – and are located directly below the white cliffs of Dover and Dover Castle – a great photo op! The crossing to Calais takes about 90 minutes during which we roam the decks for photos and grab lunch at the snack bars. Once in Calais, it’s back on the bus for what is supposed to be a 4-5 hour drive to Paris. Joyce (our tour guide) continues her commentary providing some history about the relationship between England and France. According to Joyce (who lives in London) the English people love France – they just don’t like the French people. We make one restroom stop along the way and hit horrible traffic outside Paris. We finally arrive at the hotel at 10:00 PM (we were supposed to be there in time for a 7 PM dinner). Our dinner is served at 10:15 PM. In Paris, unlike our other stops, carafes of wine are included with our dinner – we like Paris! Not much else to report for today – just a long ride on the bus. Tomorrow is sightseeing in Paris – only 2 days left before we come home.

Day 11 - Concerts at St. Paul's & the Harlequin Theatre

2007-06-22T18:51:00.000-04:00

With two concerts today, we have a long day ahead of us. We begin by traveling directly to St. Paul's Cathedral to set-up and get in a few minutes of rehearsal before the noon prayer service in the cathedral. Our bass train is now drawing crowds during the set-up and tear down.

As we've been traveling, we've told those we met along the way about our upcoming concerts. This performance in St. Paul's has brought the most impressed reactions. We learn that we are the first handbell choir to perform inside the cathedral (instead of just on the front steps) in a very long time. Special thanks to Keith Rowland for making this happen. The acoustics are amazing - we will perform directly under the dome. The final mart in Kevin McChesney's Capricio reverberates for several seconds after it's played.

We draw a very nice crowd - several Americans who are visiting London among them. There's an energy in the group that we haven't had yet just because of the place we are playing - its such an honor to be here!

After our 30-minute concert several in the group climb the steps to the bell tower while others explore the are around the cathedral. We have about 90 minutes before we board the bus and leave for Red Hill where we have a concert at 8:00 PM.

In Red Hill we play at the Harlequin Theatre - a wonderful venue and our only performance not in a church. We actually have some stagehands to help us load in and get about an hour of rehearsal in before we break for a quick dinner before the concert.

Again, we thank Keith Rowland for arranging this concert. Our audience is almost exclusively handbell ringers. The Handbell Ringers of Great Britain have done a fantastic job of promoting our performance (as well as our concerts in Scotland) and are a gracious audience.

After the concert, its back on the bus for the 90 minutes drive back to the London hotel.

Day 10 - Sightseeing in London & a visit to Whitechapel

2007-06-20T18:35:00.000-04:00

Today begins at 9:00 AM on the tour bus. We make our way through the traffic from the hotel to Westminster Abby for a guided tour. Along the way, Joyce calls out points of interest and gives us some historical background on the area. Before entering the abby for our tour, Joyce warns us to stay together and to watch our for "marauding Koreans" who may rudely break through our groups. We all had a good laugh. Westminster Abby is fabulous. It is the resting place of monarchs, musicians, scientists, poets, nobles, etc. We saw the tombs of Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, George Handel, Isaac Newton, Lawrence Olivier, D.H. Lawrence, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In addition there were memorials to Shakespeare, Jane Austin, Theodore Roosevelt and Martin Luther King, among others. It was very cool – and little bit eerie to be walking over all these great people. After Westminster Abby (we never encountered the marauding Koreans), we rushed to Buckingham Palace to catch the end of the Changing of the Guard. Then, the bus dropped us near Trafalgar Square for exploration on our own. The group broke up and went every direction – some to the London Eye – a giant ferris wheel with beautiful views of the city – some to the Tower of London, others to Convent Garden, Picadilly Circus and Leicester Square. Others chose to visit the British Museum, the Portrait Museum or the National Museum. Between everyone in the group – we saw just about everything there is to see in London. At 4:00 PM, it was back on the bus for the drive to Whitechapel for a tour and dinner with Alan and Kathryn Hughes. Alan gave a wonderful and informative tour and lesson on making both tower bells and handbells. Then we were treated to some delicious refreshments for our dinner. During this social time were heard more stories about the history of Whitechapel Bell Foundry and the Hughes family’s part in that history. A great end to a fantastic day. Tomorrow its two concerts – lunchtime at St. Paul’s Cathedral and evening at a theatre in Redhill. It will be a long day. I’m hoping to get my technical issues resolved tomorrow so I can post some of the great pictures we’ve been taking. Many of you reading these posts have asked who is on this trip. Following is the list…. Elizabeth Allen Karen Blakeslee Mr. Ben Brinson Mrs. Lavieta Brinson Cammy Carteng Jennifer Cauhorn David Davidson Judy Davidson Mrs. Dale Douros Mya Dundzila Tomas Dundzila Janet Harner Jeanne Jessup Sue Kues Steve Leadbetter John Leonard Karen Leonard Leslie Lewis Lynne Marks Glenda Mason Micki Mennet-Martin Norma Miller Ellen Moretz Gillian Penn Alan Pentecast Tracy Peterson Gail Ritchey Keith Rowland Wendy Rowland Gerry Schmidt Sharon Schmidt Carol Sykes Joyce Terry Jean Wiggins Barbara Wilson Joyce Wolfe Patty Yates Rad Yates

Day 9 - London - Travel Day

2007-06-19T18:58:00.000-04:00

Today we said goodbye to York and continued our journey to London. Much of the day was spent on the bus, with a 45 minute stop for lunch along the way. We arrive at our hotel about 2:00 PM – a little earlier than planned. The rest of our day is free so many have spent the time on the bus mapping out a game-plan for Tuesday. Our hotel is west of the city centre – so just about anything we want to do will involve a trip on a bus or the tube (London’s subway). About 18 of us decide to head straight for Leicester Square to get half price tickets for a show in the West End – London’s theatre district. We walk about 3 blocks to the Underground to buy a travel pass and catch the Tube into London. We make one transfer and arrive at the Leicester Square Station still in one group (pretty amazing!) Then it’s another 3 block walk or so to the ticket booth where most of us buy tickets for Mary Poppins. Others choose Spamalot, Billie Elliot and Cabaret. It’s now 4:00 PM so we have some time to explore before finding our respective theatres so we head to Covent Garden to shop the market and grab some dinner. Covent Garden is an interesting combination of permanent shops and independent vendors in booths. You can find everything from the standard souvenirs to personalized crafts and paintings. In addition, there are variety of restaurants and pubs and street performers through out. A few of us settled in at the Crusted Pipe – a small café in a lower courtyard with a great wine list and simple menu. Entertainment in the courtyard is provided by students of the Royal Academy of Music. We heard a wonderful string quartet and a great soprano while we were there. On to the theater – about a 6 block walk. Fourteen of us have tickets for the show and take over the back two rows of the orchestra level. It is a fantastic show – we are all laughing, clapping along to songs and standing at the end. A very entertaining production – imagine Bert the chimney sweep dancing upside down on the ceiling and Mary Poppins flying out over the audience and into the balcony. Amazing! After the show, its back to the hotel on the tube (all together again – we’re very proud of ourselves!) and off to bed.

Day 8 - Touring York and the Beverly Ringers

2007-06-19T18:34:00.000-04:00

Today began with a walk through the streets of York to York Minster - easily one the most beautiful places I've ever scene. York is a charming city. Walking through the streets of the city center feels as if you've traveled back in time - narrow streets lined with cafes and shops. Again pictures can not do it justice - but I've posted a few to try to give you a sense of everything. At York Minster we broke into two groups for guided tours and a history lesson on the Minster, the architecture and the amazing stained glass windows - including a very cool "bellmaker's window". After about a 90 minute tour, we were on our own for lunch and independent time in York. Some stayed at the Minster to explore the lower crypts or the towers. Others went in search of pieces of the ancient walls surrounding the city. Many explored the shops in the area. I'm getting tons of pictures from everyone - its taking me a little time to sort through them all, but I'll post what I can. By 3:30 PM we were back on the bus and headed to the small town of Beverly and St. Margaret's Church where we were met by members of the Beverly Ringers. They of course had tea, coffee and biscuits waiting for us. After a short break we unloaded our equipment to set up for a short rehearsal (in preparation of Thursday's concert at St. Paul's Cathedral). Before we started the rehearsal we were treated to a quick tour of St. Margaret's. One of their key points of interest is a sculpture of a white rabbit in coat tails that is the inspiration for the drawings in Lewis Carrol's "Alice in Wonderland". Several of us then climbed the 80 steps up a very narrow spiral staircase to the bell tower ringing room where we received a quick lesson on tower change ringing - fascinating! A few more steps up and we were in the tower room with the actual bells. A few more steps (130 in total) and we were on the roof of the bell tower. The problem with going up is that you have to come all the way back down - a little scary on the narrow spiral staircase with a few dark spaces! After rehearsing a little more than an hour, we had the best treat of the trip so far - the Beverly Ringers performed for us in the traditional Yorkshire style of off-the-table ringing. Several of us took video that we will try to post to YouTube soon. I'll let you know when it's up. What an amazing sight! None of us had ever seen anything like it. They were wonderful! I'm trying to think how to describe in a way that will make sense to you - but I'm not coming up with anything. You'll just have to wait until we have a chance to post the video - sorry. Next - we joined the Beverly Ringers at the Tiger Inn for dinner, drinks and social time before making the drive back to York for the night. All in all, a very good day!

More to add - Gillian Penn has started a trend of 'self portrait' photos. The photo below is one I took of Gillian showing David her technique on the roof of the Bell Tour in Beverly. You can see by the photo that we were all having fun with this. We've also become very good at loading and unloading the truck for rehearsals and performances. Another photo (left) shows our "bass train" on its way to be loaded back in the truck.

Day 7 - Melrose & York - A Travel Day

2007-06-17T18:00:00.000-04:00

Our group outside Melrose Abby. We're smiling because we've finally seen some sun! The tower bell at Melrose Abby The "Border Piper" serenading us with "Rock Around the Clock" (yes - really!) as we cross the Scotland/England border. We left Edinburgh at 8:30 this morning and began the long journey to York - with a few quick stops along the way. This is our first long trip on the bus since the trip began, but Graeme (our bus driver) has stocked the cooler with bottled water and soft drinks, available to the group for only 60 pence each - very reasonable. Most settle in with IPods, books or puzzles (or take a nap) to pass the time. Joyce, our tour manager, keeps a running commentary on the history of the UK and important land marks that we pass. Our first stop on the trip leads us to Melrose Abby - a border abby that is mostly in ruins. Its a beautiful pink stone with tons of history. After a brief introduction from one of the Abby guides, we explore on our own for about an hour. Then back on the bus to continue on our way to York. Next, we make a brief photo stop at the Scotland/England border (Keith Rowland lets out a big sigh of relief - its good to be home!). There we meet the "Border Piper" who serenades the crowds. As we are boarding the bus to continue our journey, he breaks into "Rock Around the Clock" - and we thought it sounded strange on bells! We continue the drive through the rolling hills of England - dotted with sheep and cattle and covered alternately with pine trees and heather. A truly beautiful site that can not be captured one camera - I tried and the photos pale in comparison to the real thing. I wish I could share it with you! Another brief stop at a small portion of the Hadrian Wall - built across a 70+ mile stretch of the UK when it was part of the Roman Empire. Joyce tells us that you can sometimes see a Roman Centurian still patrolling the ruins. Next - a service stop for lunch and then back on the bus for the final two hours to York. Upon our arrival in York, we race through the streets of Your to the Minster in hopes of making the 4:00 PM Evensong Service. A few make it before the doors are closed - but most of us are left outside to just hear a wonderful serman and closing hymn. The Minster is on our tour schedule for tomorrow, so we head back to the hotel to settle in and have a group dinner. Tomorrow we tour York and then travel to Beverly to see true York-style off-the-table ringing and socialize with some fellow ringers here in the UK. We will play a few songs for them as well. Oh - I almost forgot. Malcolm Wilson sent this link to a wonderful video on YouTube of our performance of his "Amazing Grace" at Dunblane Cathedral. I hope you enjoy it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTGqcP1MM7w More tomorrow!

Day 6 - Windy, Rainy & Cold Edinburgh

2007-06-16T16:06:00.000-04:00

Advocate's Close - a small alley off the Royal Mile in Edinburgh St. Giles Cathedral - a group from the Bay Area was performing during our visit. One of the beautiful stained glass windows at St. Giles. The day began at 8:30 - weather 50 degrees (F), a light drizzle and a whipping wind. The group was meeting Robyn, our guide for the day, for a walking tour of Edinburgh. Robyn arrived in full Scottish regalia - kilt, jacket, knee socks and bagpipe included. The tour began with a walk up a long and winding hill, against the wind. The first stop was the Grassmarket, which was the site of public hangings of protestants who refused to renounce their faith. Next we moved on to St. Giles Cathedral, making several stops along the way to hear Robyn's colorful and verbose stories. St. Giles features stunning stained glass windows and a beautiful pipe organ. The walk continued down the Royal Mile - more wonderful stories from our guide and stops at the numerous alleys (closes & wynds) along the way. We then walked back up the Mile to Edinburgh Castle. If you are a fan of the Lord of the Rings - picture Minus Tirith - this is what comes to mind when I see Edinburgh Castle and the surrounding area. Winding lanes circling through the city center to the castle at the top. Edinburgh Castle plays host to the annual Tattoo - an amazing display of pipe and drum bands throughout the summer months. When we arrived, they were beginning to set up for this year's Tattoo. As the group left the Castle at the end of our tour, a white stretch limo pulled into the castle courtyard carrying a bride to her wedding reception taking place in the Castle's Great Hall. She and her bridal party were escorted to the reception by a major piper - a very grand vision. After the tour everyone was on their own for lunch and independent shopping & sightseeing. Many returned to the hotel to catch up on sleep. Here are some of the sights and experiences that group members have shared with me....

Several ringers bought mini bagpipes so they can begin learning to pipe
A group of women held a breast cancer walk. They all wore pink plaid caps with the theme "Moonwalk for Cancer". Barbara Wilson, on the tour with her daughter Tracy Peterson, was given one of the hats by a participant which she plans to give to a friend fighting breast cancer.
Several researched family history and discovered that they are part of a Scottish Clan.

We all came together again at the hotel for a group dinner to share our experiences for the day. During dinner, I've passed on the thoughts and good wishes from those of you that have posted comments - thank you - it is always good to have words from home.

Now - several of us are relaxing in the hotel bar - all helping me write today's installment. A small group has gone out to take the "Tour of the Dead" a ghost tour through Edinburgh's graveyards.

We leave Edinburgh tomorrow morning at 8:30 and head to York. We will be there two days before moving on to London.

Keep your comments coming - we love hearing from you. I'll post pictures soon - I'm working on getting some pics from others in the group and technology is getting in our way. Check back later for the visuals!

Day 5 - First day of Sightseeing & Concert 2

2007-06-15T20:11:00.000-04:00

Performing at Greyfriars Kirk Classic David Davidson

William Wallace Monument as seen from Stirling Castle Stirling Castle

Shannon - Our guide at Stirling Castle The group at the beginning of our tour

Finally the ringers get a break. We say goodbye to Dunblane and head to Stirling for a visit to Stirling Castle - the first opportunity for those of us ringing to do something other than ring, sleep or eat.

Stirling Castle is beautiful and a wonderful presentation. We have our own private tour guide - Shannon. A very Scottish girl with amazing enthusiasm for the history she shares with us. It is a cold and windy day (yes it's June - but we're bundled in jeans, sweatshirts and coats), and Shannon moves us through the castle grounds giving us the important highlights and pointing out the "must-see" features of the site. It is obvious that a great deal of work has been, and is still being done to present a top quality historical exhibit.

After the morning in Stirling, we head on to Edinburgh for a quick lunch in the Castle district (great fish and chips!) and then check in to our hotel (again very quickly) before we load into our second concert site - Greyfriar's Kirk. We have become much better at the load-in process - the bass train is well organized now! After load-in, we have a short rehearsal, addressing the mistakes of our first concert, then another quick meal and change to concert dress.

Our second concert is an improvement over the first ( a trend I hope we continue through Paris), but rainy weather has provided us a small audience. Tonight our audience includes some interesting listeners. Two traveled 300 miles just to hear us perform. One plays in what she tells us is the only Scottish bell choir not affiliated with a church. We also have friends of Jeanne Jessup - one of our group - Malcolm Robinson and his wife who have brought a friend fr0m India direct from the airport. Their Indian friend has never heard handbells and is entranced. Tonight we have an intermission (interval in Scotland) and several of the audience come into the choir asking questions and looking curiously at bells and music.

We are loaded and back at the hotel by 10:00 pm UK time. We are all looking forward to tomorrow - no ringing on the schedule. A free day after a short guided walking tour through Edinburgh. We are all in need of some rest and relaxation after 5 packed days.

Day 4 - Our first concert - Dunblane Cathedral

2007-06-15T19:45:00.000-04:00

Group shot at Dunblane Cathedral Our piper for Amazing Grace at Dunblane "backstage" at Dunblane Cathedral

Moving pews in the Cathedral to make room. Dunblane Cathedral - site of our first concert Loading in to the Cathedral

After more rehearsal and lunch at Queen Victoria School, all our equipment is packed up and moved to Dunblane Cathedral - the site of our first concert. Our hosts are Malcolm Wilson (his Amazing Grace is on our program) and Lisbeth Wilson.

We bid a sad farewell to Queen Victoria School. While we have been there less than two days, it feels comfortable and safe and we are on our way to that scary unknown of our first concert site. It is a massive undertaking, packing and loading 7 octaves plus 5 octaves of bells, and 7-octaves plus 3 octaves of chimes, and tables, foam, covers, etc. We all know we will get better as we go - but this first time is a bit frantic.

All equipment is moved to Dunblane Cathedral. An unexpected surprise - Carl Wiltse is waiting for us when we arrive. After moving several pews out of the way (people are always amazed by the willingness of handbell ringers to help!) - we rehearse more, break for afternoon tea (of course! - we're used to it now), more rehearsal, then back to the hotel for a very quick dinner and change into our concert. Everyone has an odd combination of jet-lag-induced fatigue and opening nite jitters. We are all wondering what effect this will have on our performance.

We are back at the Cathedral for a quick rehearsal with the bagpiper for Amazing Grace (WOW!!! He's Amazing!) and concert time arrives soon. We have a small, but enthralled, audience. Everyone in the group has the typical first-time mistakes that never happened in rehearsal. The one's where you think "where did that just come from?!" But we also have some wonderful moments. Our performances of Arnold Sherman's "Song of Peace" and Malcolm's "Amazing Grace" moves many in the audience (and a few in the choir) to tears. We still have a lot to work on - but overall - a success.

Concert one is under our belt - now we're really moving!

Day 3 - Rehearsals at Queen Victoria's School

2007-06-15T19:18:00.000-04:00

The library at the Queen Victoria School where tea and lunch were served daily Rehearsal

The rhododendrons outside the hotel in Dunblane

The past 3 days have been very busy. Thanks to all who have posted comments. It's great to see that you are reading the posts and following our trip.

After two days of travel troubles (Leslie Lewis, who joined our group a day late, was also delayed coming out of Newark, but only 4-hours this time), we settled into rehearsals. I must say - the people of Dunblane were so accommodating and gracious to us during our stay. Rehearsals took place at the Queen Victoria School - a boarding school for the children of Scottish soldiers stationed away from home. We spent about 2 1/2 days in their school auditorium rehearsing. During that time, they served us tea 3 times, lunch twice and showed us a wonderful video about the history of the school. Tea is my morning beverage of choice - and no one does tea like those in the UK! Of course, it's always served with wonderful biscuits - my favorites are the chocolate mint - wonderful! The school has been wonderful. Our only regret is not having the opportunity to play a concert for the students (or the chance to hear their acclaimed pipe and drum band).

While we were rehearsing, five of our non-ringing participants joined our bus driver (Graeme) and tour guide (Joyce) on a trip to Perth and a Scottish distillery. They tell me the trip there provided views of some stunning Scottish country-side and that Joyce & Graeme kept a running commentary providing details and tidbits about the area and its history. They have promised pictures which I will post soon.

Tomorrow is our first concert. Rehearsals have gone very well. David has spent much time on all those little musical details that are his specialty! I just hope we remember them all during the performance tomorrow!

I've included some pics of the wonderful hotel in Dunblane - it has the look of an old Scottish castle. It was once a spa. The rhododendrons surrounding the property are in full bloom and provide wonderful scenery for morning walks.

More about our first concert in the next post...

Day 2 - Glasgow & Dunblane

2007-06-12T17:31:00.000-04:00

The view from our Hotel in Dunblane Setting up the rehearsal space We finally landed in Glasgow shortly after 1:00 pm today (that's 8:00 AM EDT) - very tired, with a long day still ahead. After passing through customs and gathering the group and our baggage together, we met our tour manager and bus driver - Joyce & Graeme. And - surprise - the 8 who missed our flight were already in Glasgow waiting for us to arrive - two minus their luggage. We soon loaded the bus, made arrangements for missing luggage to be delivered to the hotel in Dunblane, and hit the road around 2:30 PM. We made a quick stop for a snack and pulled into our hotel in Dunblane about 4:20 PM. But, no time for rest yet, we had a rehearsal in 40 minutes! Everyone checked into their rooms, grabbed music, mallets and gloves from suitcases and got back on the bus to head to the school that will be our rehearsal home for the next two days. By the time we set up all the tables, bells, and other equipment, it was almost 6:00 PM. David showed some mercy and didn't work us too hard - we read through about 1/2 of our music in the next hour and returned to the hotel by 7:15 PM for dinner. The rehearsal went very well - considering what we had all been through in the past day. But, the hard work starts tomorrow - rehearsals from 9:00 AM - 8:30 PM with breaks for lunch and dinner. We have much to do with our first concert only 2 days away! I'll post more after we are out of rehearsals and seeing the sites. Feel free to post your own comments or send questions for the group.

Day 1 – Getting There

2007-06-12T17:29:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Distinctly Bronze European Tour Travelblog. Through these writings I hope to bring you along on our adventures as 38 of us make our through Scotland, England, and France. Before I begin, I need to provide a little background about our trip. Our group of 38 includes 29 ringers, 1 director and 8 others along for the ride. The 29 ringers have been working independently these past several months on Distinctly Bronze repertoire. We will not ring together until we arrive in Dunblane, Scotland. Then, we will have about 2 days of rehearsal before our first concert. We will be ringing one 7-octave and one 5-octave set of bells, and one 7-octave and one 3-octave set of chimes. All but 3-octaves of chimes were procured for the group’s use through the amazing efforts of Keith Rowland. Keith also found us rehearsal space in a school in Dunblane. The 3-octave set of chimes comes from Greenhills Community Church Presbyterian in Cincinnati, OH, where I direct the bell choir. Day 1 started off with me hauling my luggage, which includes that 3-octave set of chimes packed in a 24x24x24 box weighing just under 50 lbs. Checking in bags went well – the agent did not charge me any additional fees for my box of chimes and I was on my way to security. Just as entered the back of what appeared to be very long line when I heard my name being called back to the Continental ticketing counter. SO, out of line, back up the long escalator to the agent who had checked my bags to find out she had made a mistake and additional fees were required. No problem – credit card was presented, fees paid, and I was headed back down that long escalator to find that the already long line had gotten even longer. Somehow I found myself in the middle of 25 teenage girls and their chaperones from a high school in Louisville, KY who were leaving on 9-day tour of Italy and Greece. The line moved quickly as I chatted with this group. As I told them about our trip, they were very excited to tell me that they have a bell choir at their school and they love the bells. Some around me even played in the choir. They did not know if their director is a member of AGEHR, but promised me they would find out. I arrived at my gate for my flight to Newark, where I would meet up with the rest of the group for our flight to Glasgow, to discover that the flight had been delayed one hour because our plane was late getting to Cincinnati from Newark. It is now 10:30 AM and I should have realized then just how long “getting there” was going to take. The flight to Newark departed as scheduled (actually re-scheduled) by noon and I arrived in Newark at 2:30. I made my way over to the international terminal and settled in for what should have been a 5-hour wait for the flight to Glasgow. One of my responsibilities in Newark was to make sure that everyone in the group made it on the flight. So, I had my check list ready and kept my eyes open for people who looked like bellringers and the few on the trip that I have already met, hoping they could help me identify the others. Slowly the group members started to gather, each recognizing someone else and calling them over to join us (me checking them off my list as they arrived). While this was happening, I was checking e-mail on by Treo phone and receiving phone calls from Brenda at Witte with updates. One of the updates was the news that our planned rehearsal for the next 3 days was not going to work with the school’s schedule. They needed us out by 4:00 PM each day and we had planned to rehearse in the evenings as well. So, I sent an e-mail to Sharon Schmidt and David Davidson who were already in Dunblane with Keith and Wendy Rowland, letting them know of this snag in our plans. I soon heard back from Sharon via a call to my cell phone that they were going to try to get to the school today and work something out. By 6:30 PM we had all but 9 of our group gathered at the gate for our flight that was supposed to depart by 7:45 PM. At this time, I received a phone call from Cindy at Witte travel informing me that all flights coming into Newark were being delayed and that 8 of the missing members would probably not make our flight. No worries though, there was another flight at 10:00 PM that they should be able to get and meet up with us in Scotland. The 9th would be coming a day later because she was still waiting for her passport to arrive by Fedex. 7:10 PM – boarding begins for Flight 16 to Glasgow. By 7:30 PM, everyone is boarded and the doors are shut. 7:35PM, the pilot greets us from the cockpit and tells us that he’s been hearing over the radio that there is some delay getting off the ground so he is going to wait at the gait until he knows more. 8:00 PM, we push back from the gate and seem to be on our way. 8:05 PM, we are sitting on the runway – the pilot comes on again and says we are going to be delayed about 30 minutes as a backlog of planes takes off. We aren’t moving. 8:30 PM, still sitting. Turns out the delay maybe a little longer than expected, they’ve moved us into an area called the “ball field” (because it used to be a baseball field) and we could be there for a long time – feel free to use the rest room, turn your cell phones back on (that is never a good sign). 8:35PM, change of plans, air traffic control has now told us to move to one of the runways – back in your seats. 9:15PM , still on the runway, no idea when we will move, but they’re going to turn off the engines to conserve fuel. They start the in-flight entertainment – “The New Adventures of Old Christine” – and tell us we can use the restroom if necessary. We get water and a small bag of peanuts. 10:00 PM, still no change, the pilot comes on and says he is going to start one engine to support the air conditioning. 10:30 PM – the engine won’t start, we are going to have to be moved somewhere that maintenance can take a look at it. I e-mail Sharon & Keith to let them know our status. 11:00 PM – we still haven’t moved – the pilot wanted to try starting the engine a few more times – still not working. We are going to return to the gate. 11:15PM – we arrive at the gate – but must stay on the plan while they try to determine what’s wrong with the engine. Everyone is up and walking up and down the aisles at this point. Our group is spread out all over – so we’re moving back and forth talking. Some are able to sleep through all this – but not many. 12:00 AM – they’ve found the problem – its fixed, Just 15 minutes to top off the fuel and we’ll be on our way. 12:15 AM – New York Port Authority has shut down ramp service because of lightening in the area – we can’t get fuel yet. But, the lightening now seems to have passed, so we should be moving soon – another 15 minutes. Someone behind me has a birthday – some of our group is singing happy birthday to them. Several minutes later, the flight crew all walk past me and sing happy birthday too. 12:30 AM – Still at the gate. By now everyone is back in their seats and more are sleeping. I’ve been able to confirm with the gate agent that our missing 8 made it on the 10:00 PM flight (which just took off – so they will end up beating us there). 12:45 AM – We push back from the gate again and get in the long line of planes still waiting to take off. No word from the cockpit about where we are in that line. 1:30 AM – 6 hours after boarding the plane – we finally take off and are on our way to Glasgow. 6:08 AM – I am typing this blog. We got some dinner at about 2:00 AM and most of the plane is asleep. They should be waking everyone soon for breakfast. The sun has been up outside the plane for a long time. Thoughts going through my head at this moment… Will the 8 on what was supposed to be the later flight, realize they have arrived before us and that they no longer have to take the train to Dunblane – they can ride the bus with us. Did Sharon & Keith get my e-mail about the delay? I didn’t have a chance to e-mail again – so they don’t know it was another 4 hours after that e-mail before we took off. How are we going to have a rehearsal tonight just 3 hours after we finally land in Glasgow? I hope the hotel has comfortable beds! I need to start thinking in Glasgow time which is 5 hours ahead. So it is now 11:17 AM. How much longer till we land?? More to come from the ground....