Chobham St Lawrence Handbell Ringers get all sorts of requests to ring at events around the South of England. Some requests are more unusual than others and entertaining the runners at the 2015 Bacchus Half Marathon held on Denbies Wine Estate in September was no exception. We were asked to entertain runners at one of the refreshment stations enroute which was visited by around 1300 runners of which 1200 were in fancy dress.

‘I wanted to say a huge thank you to Chobham Handbells for their performance at Bacchus Festival on Sunday.
I understand the performance was very well received and sparked a lot of interest with some runners stopping to cheer which is fantastic.
I hope you enjoyed the day and various costumes that went past?
The day was a huge success for the hospice and I’d like to say thank you again for supporting us with the event.’

Alison Clare Adams
Community & Events Fundraiser
Princess Alice Hospice

While the runners came by to take a cup of water or sample some of the wines supplied by Denbies we entertained them with music from The Barber of Seville, Memory by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Summertime, one of George Gershwin’s finest. The runners were very appreciative of our playing and some even had a go at ringing. We were certainly entertained by them too as they glided by in the sunshine dressed as nuns, butterflies, Mexicans and Roman Centurions to name but a few. A good day was had by all!