On a cold dull afternoon in February, fourteen young ringers from the Old North Berks Branch, nine adults and two younger brothers converged on Brightwell to ring the recently renovated bells.  The ringing mostly consisted of rounds and call changes, but there was some plain hunt too.  And while the tower bells were being rung,  we also rang rounds and plain hunt on handbells in the church room. Much amusement was had over the instruction that before each hand stroke lead there should be not only a gap, but a loud sniff from all those ringing the handbells!

To ensure that our magician could arrive and set himself up in comparative privacy, the young ringers were arranged in teams for a treasure hunt:  A sheet of questions about the village of Brightwell was given to each team together with a time limit and the promise that cake and soft drinks would await them on their return.

Susan Read – Magician’s Assistant!

The teams returned and hopefully knew a little more about Brightwell as a result of the quiz.  After the promised cake and soft drinks, provided by Daphne, everyone took seats at the rear of the church and Mike Green delivered a fascinating magic show including an intriguing card trick, colour-changing silk handkerchiefs,  a rope that appeared to reassemble itself despite being cut with scissors, and an attempt to sever my hand with a small guillotine!  Truly amazing and very enjoyable!