Origins
The group was set-up as a 'self-help' group by a small nucleus of amateur concertina enthusiasts to service the counties of Beds, Bucks and Herts. The groups name, 'The Chiltinas', resulted from a competition to find a name for the group and was derived from a combination of the name Chilterns (a line of small hills running through the 3 counties) and concertina ('tina). The group has gone from strength to strength and now has more than 25 members, some who travel large distances to attend meetings. They now cover areas outside the 3 counties from Ipswich in Suffolk, to Ely in Cambridgeshire and up to Stanford in Lincolnshire, across to Stratford-upon-Avon and down to Guildford in Surrey. We even have a couple of long distance members in the USA!
The group caters for all concertinas systems - English, Anglo and Duet and for all abilities, from beginners to advanced. The group meet once a month on a Sunday afternoon in St. Mary's Church Hall in the village of Maulden in Bedfordshire, playing from 2.00 p.m. until 6.00 p.m. with an interval for refreshments at half-time. On the last meeting in the year, the group give a Carol concert to the residents of a local Nursing Home.
The members currently contribute £36 a year (and also £2 a meeting for refreshments) to pay for the hire of the hall and towards the cost of concertina experts presenting workshops, and also for receiving the groups occasional journal,'The Chiltina Clarion'. Members who do not think they can attend all meetings, may opt to pay £3 a meeting (including refreshments), but will be required to pay an additional £8 a year to receive the journal. An additional small charge is levied for workshops. The journal comprises of articles on all matters concerning the concertina, including record and book reviews, concert and meeting reviews, favourite pieces of music, notices of events, letters etc. which generally, are all contributions from the membership.