SHAUN KEAVENY ACHIEVES HIS RINGING CHALLENGE

To support BBC Music Day, BBC 6 Music’s breakfast presenter, Shaun Keaveny, joined the band at St. Mary Abbots, Kensington on 14th June to find out what the music of bells is all about.

Shaun took up the challenge put down by CCCBR’s new president, Christopher O’Mahony, to learn how to handle a bell in under an hour, so that he could join the St. Mary Abbots band.

Working on one of St. Mary Abbot’s six new dumbbells, Shaun quickly got the knack with some intensive training and turned into one of Christopher’s star pupils by the end of the session.

Then came his first public performance, ringing the back eight with the St. Mary Abbots band and his nerves began to show.  “I’m going to be playing to one of the biggest audiences I’ve ever played to, which is the whole of Kensington, so if I drop the ball, everybody’s going to know about it ….”

The resulting package was broadcast on Shaun’s show on BBC Music Day, 15th June.

To find out how he got on, listen at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p055yjt7.  Some photos from the day can be seen below.