The Bell Ringers from St Marys and Dr John Harrison gave the Tenby and District Arts Club a wonderful evening of entertainment and education. Enhancing the excellent discipline, timing, and ethereal sound that bell ringing gives the listener. John Harrison gave an entertaining and informative talk in between the bell ringers tunes which gave us new insight into the music and the history of composers of many well-known pieces of music. John began by talking of primitive people who in order to communicate over distance would have used loud calls or banging on rocks. Eventually over thousands of years there evolved words and music. And numerous musical instruments including bells.

Part of Handel’s, royal fireworks piece was played, and John reminded us that this was played at the opening of the games when the Queen jumped out of a helicopter with 007.

Part of Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, part of Elgar’s Enigma variations with Pomp and Circumstance followed by part of Holst’s Planet suite, Jupiter.

Moving forward in time John talked of Jazz music and British Folk songs and Vaughan Williams. the Bell ringers played the Gypsy Rover and Aura Lee. Followed by the tune made famous by Elvis Presley ‘Love me Tender’ to which we all sang. Then we joined in with the ‘Fa la la la’s in ‘Deck the Hall with boughs of holly’ and ‘we wish you a merry Christmas’

An excellent evening was enjoyed by all, and the first meeting of the new year will be in St Johns Church Hall at 7pm on Friday, January 13.

However, this Friday is the last meeting for this term of the Arts Club, and they will be hosting the ‘Belle Voce’ concert to be held in St Mary’s Church Tenby at 7pm. this will be a brilliant finale to this years session of evenings by the Tenby and District Arts club, which as you know embraces talks by people from all the Arts. Please do join us.