Final Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.