For a few weeks, stretching over the interrupted practices of summer, I have been ringing bell number 2 at a plain course of bob doubles (with a tenor cover). Tonight I had a go at bob minor, where the interruptions to plain hunting are dodges at 3/4 down, then 5/6 down, 5/6 up, 3/4 up, and make 2nds. We did two courses — I pretty much kept my place throughout the first, and began to lose my place halfway through the second. That is, I knew where I was, but I was mis-remembering where to dodge. I knew I was doing this and also realized that if I carried on I would come to lead in the right place, which is indeed what happened. Fortunately the ringers around me knew pretty much what they were doing.
Earlier in the summer, another ‘landmark’ reached was supervising a less-experienced ringer ringing up — I did this on two separate occasions (for two different ringers), and each time I first helped them control the rope, and then more or less took over from them. Perhaps not the best thing for them, but good for my hand-eye co-ordination!
0 CommentsIn his website Future Shape of Church Edward Green, an ordinand at Westcott House, Cambridge, explores what it means to be Christian in a post-modern world. This developing website contains a number of interesting essays, including one on sexuality and another on the need for the existence of God: ‘religion,’ he writes, ‘is a thing of value that can exist independent of the actuality of a divine being’. The site also includes essays and sermons by others, including Dr Fraser Watts, Starbridge Lecturer in Theology and Science at Cambridge University.
0 CommentsYesterday and today, ACNS, the Anglican Communion News Service, has announced and given details of the murder of six members of the Melanesian Brotherhood, in the Solomon Islands.
The six were Brothers Robin Lindsay, Francis Tofi, Alfred Hilly, Ini Ini Partabatu, Patteson Gatu, and Tony. May they rest in peace.
They were taken hostage by rebels in April after they had gone to investigate the reported murder of another brother, Nathaniel Sado, and to retrieve his body.
We remember those who give their lives in the service of Christ and their fellows, praying for their families, for the Melanesian Brotherhood, and for the people of the Solomon Islands.
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On Sunday morning, 6 July 2003, at the Church of All Saints, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, a Quarter Peal of 1260 Doubles (Grandsire and Plain Bob) was rung in 52 minutes. |
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| Weight of Tenor: 12–0‑4 in G | |||
| *Susan Bates | Treble | Michael V White | 5 |
| Marianne Baker | 2 | Christoper R Armes | 6 |
| Richard C Smith | 3 | *Simon Kershaw | 7 |
| Harold S King | 4 | John Marlow | Tenor |
| Conducted by Michael V White | |||
| * First Quarter Peal. Rung with 7,6,8 covering. | |||
| Rung for the Confirmation and Sung Eucharist celebrated by Keith, Bishop of Richborough |
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Practice at H Grey. Amongst other things I plain-hunted on treble to: Plain Bob Triples (easy by numbers); Stedman Triples [Correction: I couldn’t have been plain hunting on the treble in Stedman Triples, because Stedman doesn’t have the treble plain hunting; probably I meant that I was ringing the tenor cover to this method — rather different! perhaps Grandsire Triples?]; and hardest of all, to St Simon’s Triples.
In St Simon’s the order of the bells is different coming down to the front from the order going up to the back, which means that I had to do it by ‘counting my place’ rather than by numbers. I more or less managed it (and didn’t lose my place), which must mean that my ‘rope sight’ in Triples is nearly there. Going up to the back is fairly easy (using the principle ‘follow the bell that followed you’). On the way down to the front I can see 7th place, 6th place (only one other rope left), just about see 5th place (two other ropes left), 2nd place (one rope gone down), and just about 3rd place (two ropes gone down) — and try and ring somewhere right for 4th place!
0 CommentsWe held another ringers’ meeting: Bob King was elected Tower Captain, and I was elected Tower Vice Captain. Sue Bates had earlier been chosen as Secretary so we now have a proper set of officers for our new band. Bob King was a member of the earlier band, so again, there is continuity with that band, as well as the necessary experience of these ringers. We would be hard pressed to ring without them.
0 CommentsMichael tried getting me to call some changes. First calling the treble up over each other bell (to 7th), then 2 over the others etc, until it comes back into rounds.
Later he had me try and call to ‘Queen’s’ (13572468) but I couldn’t get my head around this at the time.
As usual, a bit of thinking after the practice reveals that you need to call 6 up one place over 7, 4 up two places over 5 and 7, and 2 up 3 places over 3, 5 and 7; and then get them back of course.
0 CommentsThis month, for the first time we held a ringers’ meeting to formally change the signatories on the Tower bank account. Sue Bates and I became signatories. John Marlow remained as a signatory from the previous ringers, so that there is officially continuity with that band.
0 CommentsWith Sue Bates, and Caroline and Carrie-Anne Armes, I attended the AGM of the Huntingdon District of the Ely Diocesan Association of Church Bellringers. Sue, Jenny and I were elected members of the Association, which requires reasonable competency at ringing a bell.
0 CommentsNew Year’s Day: at 11.20am we rang the bells at St Ives to celebrate the New Year, followed by a lunch party for ringers from the area.
By this stage I could ring reasonably well in rounds on a number of bells, and could ring a tenor cover to a Triples method. I could also ring ‘called changes’, but not always correctly.
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