St. Michael’s Middle School Handbell Ringers

This remarkable group of young and enthusiastic hand bell ringers hails from Colehill, Wimborne.

Despite most of them being only 10 or 11 years old and having played for just 1 or 2 years, they have grown quite confident and enjoy performing for audiences.

Ruth Atkins, a retired teacher from the school, approached our Companion, Corinne Wareham, to enquire if our residents would be interested in hearing these talented young musicians play.

Knowing how much our Bourne residents appreciate live performances and music, Corinne was certain this would be a hit. Originally scheduled for December, the performance unfortunately had to be postponed.

However, on March 21st, we finally had the pleasure of gathering in the spacious and delightful venue of The Sandbanks lounge at Bourne View. Twenty residents and a few family members assembled to watch the six children perform around 10 musical pieces they had been practicing. Some of the numbers included “London’s Burning,” “Ode to Joy,” “Edelweiss,” and “Cockles and Mussels.” Before we knew it, the residents were joyfully singing along, and we were delighted to hear harmonies emerging from the back row.

The feedback we received from the residents was absolutely wonderful. Pam Pamphilon exclaimed, “Will you come back again?” and John Whitwell, one of our harmonizers, remarked, “Weren’t the bells a beautiful tone!” Overall, there was a palpable sense of happiness and upliftment throughout the home after the school departed.

If only we could capture that feeling in a bottle!