The Bells Ring out for Houghton Regis Three
February 28, 2011 4:17 pm | by admin | Posted in Luton District
Three members of the Bell Ringing Team from All Saints Church in Houghton Regis have been selected to represent Bedfordshire in a national competition for young bell ringers. The Bedfordshire Eight, all of whom are under 18 years of age, will compete against teams from all over the country in a competition being held to celebrate the centenary of “The Ringing World”, the main publication for bell ringers. The event is being held on Saturday 26th March 2011 at St Saviour’s Church in Pimlico, London.
The Houghton Regis Trio, Courtney Spoerer aged 16, Aaron Keers aged 17, and Cameron White-Spunner aged 10, are active members of the bell ringing team at All Saints Church in Houghton Regis and are part of a very successful “youth policy” promoted by Delroy Grey, the Tower Captain at Houghton Regis.
Bell ringing is a centuries old skill and The Bedfordshire Association of Church Bell Ringers is keen to promote this skill amongst young people and holds many events to achieve this aim. For Houghton Regis to be able to provide three members of an eight people team shows that Delroy is being very successful in recruiting, and keeping, young bell ringers.
Apart from being a physically demanding skill, bell ringing is a very social activity, providing the opportunity to meet people from many backgrounds. bell ringers can also expect to earn a small amount of money for ringing at weddings. A young bell ringer can earn around £10 per wedding, a welcome boost to their pocket money!
Anyone interested in trying out bell ringing can do so by coming along to All Saints, Houghton Regis at 7.30pm on a Thursday evening, and speaking to Delroy Grey.