My very first blog post:

Arlene and I just got back from a show in Rochester:

The Handbell Musicians of America National Seminar.

In case you didn’t know, this is a handbell:

It happens to be a single, “A2” handbell (manufactured in the US by Malmark), which will set you back $3,450 US (and, no, it’s not their most expensive bell). These are serious, finely-crafted instruments, and a multi-octave set of bells is a serious investment, indeed!

We were a bit concerned as, just a few days before we left for Rochester, over 70 people were arrested at yet another demonstration. But the show, itself, was gr8. And what we saw of the city was clean, safe and very inviting. As a bonus, Arlene and I have always found handbell people, overall, to be wonderfully kind, open and down to earth - very sweet souls!

Arlene managed to snap this photo of me with one of our neighbours (well, “neighbor”, actually) at the show:

Beside me (adorned with my new, scruffy beard), is Mr. Alan Hughs, director of the famous Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London, England. Whitechapel’s most well-known creations include “Big Ben” in London, and the “Liberty Bell” in Philadelphia. His family-owned business has been hand-casting bells since 1570 and, yes, the company is located in, and named after, the same Whitechapel district that Jack-the-Ripper made (in)famous, some 300 years later. Considered to be the “Rolls Royces” of handbells, not surprisingly, they’re far more costly than their American-made counter-parts.

Alan, a very bright and gentle man (as well as a customer of ours), graciously allowed me to hold one of his bells for our photo op. A perceptive man, Alan, he didn’t trust me to hold one of his larger (more expensive) bells.  :)