Lots of ringing in April – Easter! We were really pleased to ring for the “Churches together in Swanage” Maundy Thursday Eucharist service. We also rang half muffled on Good Friday for the 3hour service. This seems to have become a custom over the past few years as has feeding the ringers with coffee and hot cross buns in St Mary’s Rooms first! A simple but nicely sociable thing to do. Ringers enjoy their food! I was away Easter Sunday and, feeling guilty, decided to leave the ringers an Easter cake to enjoy….needless to say most of it had gone by practice night.
The other event in April of course was the Royal Wedding. We were pleased to ring a Quarter Peal of Grandsire Triples at 2.15pm to celebrate the marriage of HRH Prince William with Miss Catherine Middleton. Tradition dictates that a peal is rung to celebrate such an event but unfortunately we were unable to get a band together to ring one. It is hoped that a peal will be rung in June or July. We also rang for the first Swanage wedding of the year on the 2nd.
21st April 2011
Yippee – my first quarter of (Cambridge) Surprise Minor tonight :o) Thanks to those who rang with me……here’s to Major!
Friday 13 May 2011
Sunday 1 May 2011
March 2011
March, like February, was a relatively quiet month up in the tower although we did ring a Quarter Peal for the Ash Wednesday Eucharist service as well as for the four Sunday Evensong services. On a personal front, in March I successfully rang my first quarter peals of Single Oxford Bob Triples and Little Bob Major which I was really chuffed about.
I hope you like the posters I have put up in the Church porch. I have also put up our Ringing Programme for the month for you information. Keep an eye on them – things might change!
I hope you like the posters I have put up in the Church porch. I have also put up our Ringing Programme for the month for you information. Keep an eye on them – things might change!
February 2011
Last week (2nd March) was the Bellringers AGM and I have to tell you that you have me as your Tower Captain for another year. Can you believe it has been a year already? I can’t! It has been a year of information overload – both from the point of view of actually continuing to learn to ring as well as the ins and out of running a tower. It’s amazing I haven’t gone grey!
We have been given permission to use one of the notice boards in the church entrance. It seems the first section on the left is ours – well if the old rather sad notice is anything to go by! I hope to revamp this section shortly with new displays. I will also put up our monthly ringing programme there so, if you are interested, you can see who is ringing what when!
We have been given permission to use one of the notice boards in the church entrance. It seems the first section on the left is ours – well if the old rather sad notice is anything to go by! I hope to revamp this section shortly with new displays. I will also put up our monthly ringing programme there so, if you are interested, you can see who is ringing what when!
January 2011
January has been one of those rare beasts; a relatively quiet month. Half way through the month our tail ends arrived which was a huge relief! I am now confident that we can continue ringing the bells until the new set of complete bell ropes arrive towards the end of the year.
I thought you might be interested to know more about the actual bells here at Swanage. Until 1888 St Mary’s had only four bells, the earliest of which dates from 1594 (however there is evidence of there being four bells in 1552), three of them by John Wallis of Salisbury and the fourth by Lester & Pack of Whitechapel. The present treble, second, third and tenor were added in 1888. At that time three of the old bells were re-tuned and one was replaced making the total up to eight. The cost of the new bells was met by George Burt in memory of his wife.
The present frame was also installed in 1888 and is of a high-sided “A” pattern which John Taylor & Co. had introduced and was using about this time.
The frame-sides are iron castings fixed between oak heads and sills; the foundation beams are also of oak. 1888 was some eight years before the introduction of systemic true-harmonic tuning so when the bells were restored in 1940 it was decided to replace the three lightest bells that had been cast in 1888. Also in 1940 the bells were re-hung on ball bearings and some other fittings were renewed.
On a personal front, I scored my first quarter peal of Grandsire Doubles this month…. what an exhausting method that is! Even when you get into the hunt you don’t stay there for more than a few blows – I can only liken it to being on a never-ending switch back ride.
I thought you might be interested to know more about the actual bells here at Swanage. Until 1888 St Mary’s had only four bells, the earliest of which dates from 1594 (however there is evidence of there being four bells in 1552), three of them by John Wallis of Salisbury and the fourth by Lester & Pack of Whitechapel. The present treble, second, third and tenor were added in 1888. At that time three of the old bells were re-tuned and one was replaced making the total up to eight. The cost of the new bells was met by George Burt in memory of his wife.
The present frame was also installed in 1888 and is of a high-sided “A” pattern which John Taylor & Co. had introduced and was using about this time.
The frame-sides are iron castings fixed between oak heads and sills; the foundation beams are also of oak. 1888 was some eight years before the introduction of systemic true-harmonic tuning so when the bells were restored in 1940 it was decided to replace the three lightest bells that had been cast in 1888. Also in 1940 the bells were re-hung on ball bearings and some other fittings were renewed.
On a personal front, I scored my first quarter peal of Grandsire Doubles this month…. what an exhausting method that is! Even when you get into the hunt you don’t stay there for more than a few blows – I can only liken it to being on a never-ending switch back ride.
January 12th 2011
Discussing the most boring books Swanage bellringers owned in the pub last night: 1st prize goes to Martin and his “World Guide of Screw Threads”.
December 2010
Great News! We have been granted the funding for a new set of bell ropes and the order has been placed. Thank you! Hopefully these will be with us in the Autumn.
Not such great news is the fact that we are still waiting for our 4 new tail ends. Despite being told when we placed the order in October that they would be with us “in weeks”, and then that they would definitely be with us by Christmas, we still haven’t got them. According to the manufacturers “snow and ‘flu” have contributed to the delay. I can understand how ‘flu can affect rope making, snow I have more difficulty with! Anyway, we continue to ring and, fingers crossed, the worst worn-out ropes will last until the new tail ends arrive.
As always, December was particularly busy up in the tower. Christmas sees us ringing for three services on Christmas Eve as well as Christmas morning in addition to our usual Sunday ringing. This year we were struck down with a lot of illness and there was a lot of “last minute” change of ringers. I was very pleased, and extremely appreciative of our dedicated band of ringers, that we still managed to ring all 8 bells for every service.
One of last year’s learners, Edward Clark (aged 13), rang his first Quarter Peal on Christmas Eve at a few hours notice! This was his first attempt at a Quarter Peal and he rang it excellently. Well done Ed!
We welcomed members of the youth groups “Juice” and “Refresh” up to the tower during the month. We showed them the bells and let them all have a go at ringing a bell. Sadly I don’t think any of them want to take up bell-ringing but it was fun having them – even if I had forgotten how noisy children can be!
So here we are - January. New year, new resolutions, new challenges, new aims but one constant: every Wednesday night and twice on Sundays a Band of Swanage Ringers will climb the 50 steps up to the tower and ring our wonderful peal of 8 bells.
Not such great news is the fact that we are still waiting for our 4 new tail ends. Despite being told when we placed the order in October that they would be with us “in weeks”, and then that they would definitely be with us by Christmas, we still haven’t got them. According to the manufacturers “snow and ‘flu” have contributed to the delay. I can understand how ‘flu can affect rope making, snow I have more difficulty with! Anyway, we continue to ring and, fingers crossed, the worst worn-out ropes will last until the new tail ends arrive.
As always, December was particularly busy up in the tower. Christmas sees us ringing for three services on Christmas Eve as well as Christmas morning in addition to our usual Sunday ringing. This year we were struck down with a lot of illness and there was a lot of “last minute” change of ringers. I was very pleased, and extremely appreciative of our dedicated band of ringers, that we still managed to ring all 8 bells for every service.
One of last year’s learners, Edward Clark (aged 13), rang his first Quarter Peal on Christmas Eve at a few hours notice! This was his first attempt at a Quarter Peal and he rang it excellently. Well done Ed!
We welcomed members of the youth groups “Juice” and “Refresh” up to the tower during the month. We showed them the bells and let them all have a go at ringing a bell. Sadly I don’t think any of them want to take up bell-ringing but it was fun having them – even if I had forgotten how noisy children can be!
So here we are - January. New year, new resolutions, new challenges, new aims but one constant: every Wednesday night and twice on Sundays a Band of Swanage Ringers will climb the 50 steps up to the tower and ring our wonderful peal of 8 bells.
November 2010
Brrrrr the tower is very cold! Luckily we do have two heaters and even though ringing warms you up last night’s practice (Dec 1st) saw us all ringing in jumpers.
The beginning of November was the Salisbury Diocesan Guild of Ringers Quarter Peal week. The aim of this week is not just to encourage quarter peal ringing in general but more specifically to encourage ringers to attempt to ring something they haven’t rung before. I organised six quarter peals during the week of which we got three and lost three. Martin got a quarter of Grandsire Doubles ringing the treble and I got my first quarter peal on handbells ringing Plain Bob Minimus and my first quarter ringing Plain Bob Caters on an inside bell. We’ll gloss over the ones we lost!
You will see from the above that method names, eg Plain Bob, are followed by words such as Doubles, Triples, Major etc . This indicates the number of bells involved in the method and are as follows:
Singles – 3 bells, Minimus - 4 bells, Doubles - 5 bells, Minor - 6 bells, Triples – 7 bells, Major – 8 bells, Caters – 9 bells, Royal – 10 bells, Cinques – 11 bells, Maximus - 12 bells, Sextuples – 13 bells, Fourteen – 14 bells and Septuples – 15. Methods with odd number bells often have another bell, the tenor, ringing constantly at the back.
November is also the month for half muffled ringing with Service ringing and two quarter peals on Remembrance Sunday. There is something very haunting yet beautiful about half muffled ringing. The only problem being that it is slightly soporific and tends to send the ringers off into a dream like trance taking them longer than normal to ring the quarter peal! I rang in both quarter peals on Remembrance Sunday and scored personal firsts in methods called Ashford Little Bob Triples and Middlesex Bob Triples.
On the 21st November the Swanage Ringers made a First in the history of quarter peals by ringing a quarter peal whilst wearing Pudsey Bear “ears” and in so doing, raised £32.50 for Children in Need. Of course we chose to ring Pudsey Surprise Major!
As the year comes to a close, I would like to thank you all for your support and encouragement since I took over as Tower Captain. One of the pleasures of taking over this post has been meeting you and getting to know you.
Finally all of us “up here” wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
The beginning of November was the Salisbury Diocesan Guild of Ringers Quarter Peal week. The aim of this week is not just to encourage quarter peal ringing in general but more specifically to encourage ringers to attempt to ring something they haven’t rung before. I organised six quarter peals during the week of which we got three and lost three. Martin got a quarter of Grandsire Doubles ringing the treble and I got my first quarter peal on handbells ringing Plain Bob Minimus and my first quarter ringing Plain Bob Caters on an inside bell. We’ll gloss over the ones we lost!
You will see from the above that method names, eg Plain Bob, are followed by words such as Doubles, Triples, Major etc . This indicates the number of bells involved in the method and are as follows:
Singles – 3 bells, Minimus - 4 bells, Doubles - 5 bells, Minor - 6 bells, Triples – 7 bells, Major – 8 bells, Caters – 9 bells, Royal – 10 bells, Cinques – 11 bells, Maximus - 12 bells, Sextuples – 13 bells, Fourteen – 14 bells and Septuples – 15. Methods with odd number bells often have another bell, the tenor, ringing constantly at the back.
November is also the month for half muffled ringing with Service ringing and two quarter peals on Remembrance Sunday. There is something very haunting yet beautiful about half muffled ringing. The only problem being that it is slightly soporific and tends to send the ringers off into a dream like trance taking them longer than normal to ring the quarter peal! I rang in both quarter peals on Remembrance Sunday and scored personal firsts in methods called Ashford Little Bob Triples and Middlesex Bob Triples.
On the 21st November the Swanage Ringers made a First in the history of quarter peals by ringing a quarter peal whilst wearing Pudsey Bear “ears” and in so doing, raised £32.50 for Children in Need. Of course we chose to ring Pudsey Surprise Major!
As the year comes to a close, I would like to thank you all for your support and encouragement since I took over as Tower Captain. One of the pleasures of taking over this post has been meeting you and getting to know you.
Finally all of us “up here” wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
October 2010
I’m going to tell you about Sallies and Tail-ends (the most important word there being the “and”!) as we have what almost amounts to a crisis up here in the Tower.
Bell ropes are basically made up of three main parts; the top end, the sally and tail end. The top end is the longest and the length of it depends on how high the bells are above you. It goes up through the ceiling and runs around the wheel and then through a hole in the wheel where it is tied round a centre pair of spokes. It is usually made of pre-stretched polyester rope which wears much better than natural fibre and doesn’t stretch. The top end is machine spliced into the bottom end a foot or two above the sally. The sally is the tufted wool area. The bottom end (sally and tail end) are made from natural fibres. The tail end is where the rope is doubled up, by tucking the rope back through itself, which makes it easier to grip. The length of the tail end can be adjusted by moving the tucks.
Traditionally the ropes were made from hemp, the plant you get cannabis from. Originally most of our hemp came from Russia, but when the First World War cut off supplies we changed to Italian hemp instead. Of course, the Second World War did for Italian hemp what the First World War did for Russian – and growing it became controlled in many places because of the drugs implications. So in the early 1960’s bell rope makers changed to flax(#1).
A rope’s construction does affect the way it wears. Natural fibre ropes take in considerable amounts of water from the atmosphere and therefore are much affected by damp. However most rope deterioration is to do with where the various fibres rub together – internal and external friction. It is important to make sure that the rope doesn’t wear where it hits the floor while being rung. We have a wool carpet on the floor in our ringing chamber and also woollen ringing mats which are for the ropes to land on rather than the ringers’ comfort and information (each of our mats has the bell number on it!).
Anyway, back to our crisis – our ropes are worn out! Despite great care being taken our ropes are nearing the end of their days, even though they are only 3 years old. We have spliced new sections of rope into the bottom ends until we have no more rope left! However what actually turned something urgent into a crisis was discovering that the (shortest) lead time for a new set of bell ropes is 9 months...and we haven’t started to secure the funding of them yet!
However, your world is not about to go silent…………we have ordered 4 new tail ends which will arrive in a matter of weeks and these should see us through until a new set of bell ropes arrive.
(#1) Steve Coleman: The Bellringers Early Companion
Bell ropes are basically made up of three main parts; the top end, the sally and tail end. The top end is the longest and the length of it depends on how high the bells are above you. It goes up through the ceiling and runs around the wheel and then through a hole in the wheel where it is tied round a centre pair of spokes. It is usually made of pre-stretched polyester rope which wears much better than natural fibre and doesn’t stretch. The top end is machine spliced into the bottom end a foot or two above the sally. The sally is the tufted wool area. The bottom end (sally and tail end) are made from natural fibres. The tail end is where the rope is doubled up, by tucking the rope back through itself, which makes it easier to grip. The length of the tail end can be adjusted by moving the tucks.
Traditionally the ropes were made from hemp, the plant you get cannabis from. Originally most of our hemp came from Russia, but when the First World War cut off supplies we changed to Italian hemp instead. Of course, the Second World War did for Italian hemp what the First World War did for Russian – and growing it became controlled in many places because of the drugs implications. So in the early 1960’s bell rope makers changed to flax(#1).
A rope’s construction does affect the way it wears. Natural fibre ropes take in considerable amounts of water from the atmosphere and therefore are much affected by damp. However most rope deterioration is to do with where the various fibres rub together – internal and external friction. It is important to make sure that the rope doesn’t wear where it hits the floor while being rung. We have a wool carpet on the floor in our ringing chamber and also woollen ringing mats which are for the ropes to land on rather than the ringers’ comfort and information (each of our mats has the bell number on it!).
Anyway, back to our crisis – our ropes are worn out! Despite great care being taken our ropes are nearing the end of their days, even though they are only 3 years old. We have spliced new sections of rope into the bottom ends until we have no more rope left! However what actually turned something urgent into a crisis was discovering that the (shortest) lead time for a new set of bell ropes is 9 months...and we haven’t started to secure the funding of them yet!
However, your world is not about to go silent…………we have ordered 4 new tail ends which will arrive in a matter of weeks and these should see us through until a new set of bell ropes arrive.
(#1) Steve Coleman: The Bellringers Early Companion
September 2010
I was going to start with “September, what a busy month!” however looking back I find I often start this way. It seems that our bellringers are always busy so I shan’t comment along those lines again unless it’s to tell you we’ve had a quiet month (I wish!). As well as our regular service ringing September saw us ringing for five weddings, welcoming two visiting bands and the start of our 2010 Autumn bellringing course. We also held our Summer BBQ.
It is now six months since I took over as Tower Captain. How am I getting on? If I am totally honest I can’t say that I have enjoyed it. I hadn’t really appreciated what an extremely busy Tower Swanage is or the amount of admin associated with running it. It’s akin to being a full time PA to an inanimate object; it doesn’t answer back but you find yourself hitting your head against a brick wall! I also feel that my own ringing has not progressed as much as it should have done since becoming tower captain, Oh well, we carry on………
This seems an appropriate juncture to tell you about the bellringing officers and their roles and to tell you who holds each post at Swanage.
First there is the Tower Captain (Sally Jenkins): The tower boss he - or she - normally runs the ringing and runs the ringers too. Decisions on, and the organisation of, service ringing, practice nights, weddings, quarter peals and learners etc are entirely his/hers.
Ringing Master (Matthew Pike): The person who runs the ringing on practice nights. Many towers don’t have a ringing master because the tower captain usually performs this duty. However, here at Swanage we have just re-introduced this role to enable me to concentrate more on my own ringing (thanks Matt!)
Steeple Keeper (Martin Wickham): This person looks after the bells, frames, stays, ropes etc. This is an important job which involves a lot of time but is often a thankless task.
Secretary/Tower Correspondent (Julian Newman): The person who receives and answers letters about the tower, the bells, requests from visiting bands etc.
Treasurer (Rachael Rutter): The person who looks after the wedding money and donations from visitors. Payments might also be among the responsibilities.
This is though, just a list of “officers”. Bellringing is a team activity and every ringer has an important part to play as without each other we can’t ring! At Swanage we are extremely lucky to have many talented ringers who each bring their own unique and valuable contribution to the band. So now you know who we are and who does what!
It is now six months since I took over as Tower Captain. How am I getting on? If I am totally honest I can’t say that I have enjoyed it. I hadn’t really appreciated what an extremely busy Tower Swanage is or the amount of admin associated with running it. It’s akin to being a full time PA to an inanimate object; it doesn’t answer back but you find yourself hitting your head against a brick wall! I also feel that my own ringing has not progressed as much as it should have done since becoming tower captain, Oh well, we carry on………
This seems an appropriate juncture to tell you about the bellringing officers and their roles and to tell you who holds each post at Swanage.
First there is the Tower Captain (Sally Jenkins): The tower boss he - or she - normally runs the ringing and runs the ringers too. Decisions on, and the organisation of, service ringing, practice nights, weddings, quarter peals and learners etc are entirely his/hers.
Ringing Master (Matthew Pike): The person who runs the ringing on practice nights. Many towers don’t have a ringing master because the tower captain usually performs this duty. However, here at Swanage we have just re-introduced this role to enable me to concentrate more on my own ringing (thanks Matt!)
Steeple Keeper (Martin Wickham): This person looks after the bells, frames, stays, ropes etc. This is an important job which involves a lot of time but is often a thankless task.
Secretary/Tower Correspondent (Julian Newman): The person who receives and answers letters about the tower, the bells, requests from visiting bands etc.
Treasurer (Rachael Rutter): The person who looks after the wedding money and donations from visitors. Payments might also be among the responsibilities.
This is though, just a list of “officers”. Bellringing is a team activity and every ringer has an important part to play as without each other we can’t ring! At Swanage we are extremely lucky to have many talented ringers who each bring their own unique and valuable contribution to the band. So now you know who we are and who does what!
18th September 2010
Valuable Lesson Learnt 2: Never wear a strapless dress when bell ringing, let alone when ringing a quarter peal. (NB It wasn't me!)
4th September 2010
Highlight of my day – I discover I have a regular reader of this blog! (Hello Mary)
August 2010
August: What a month! So much happened it’s difficult to know where to start but I’m going to go with the event that, to me personally, was the highlight: The Festival of Flowers. What an amazing display of flowers so beautifully and cleverly arranged – the church looked magnificent. I was in seventh heaven! Congratulations to all those involved. We were thrilled to be asked by Bill Brown if we would ring as part of the Flower Festival celebrations, something we were delighted to do.
Traditionally bellringers have an annual outing and the Swanage bellringers are no exception. This year our annual outing, “The Glorious Guildford Getaway”, took place on Saturday 14th August and, as the name suggests, was to Guildford! Over twenty of us set off very early in the morning. We started our ringing at St Mary’s which is an anti-clockwise ring of 6 bells (usually bells are rung clockwise). This was followed by the 8 bells of Holy Trinity and then the 10 bells of St Nicholas’. A long lunch at a nearby hostelry was then enjoyed by all. St Johns at Stoke-next-Guildford was our next port of call followed by the highlight of the outing; The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit with its magnificent ring of 12 bells. Guildford Cathedral has to be, in my mind, one of the ugliest cathedrals, however ringing there has to be one of the highlights of my year. The climb up to the ringing chamber is long, very long – to the point where you get “muscle burn” in your legs and wonder if you are ever going to make it to the top! When rested you can then climb another couple of flights of spiral steps up to the actual bell chamber. You can walk round the bells and you can also climb higher again to a gallery where you look down into the mouths of the bells and can watch as they are being rung. Fabulous! There’s a load of photos of the outing on the website – why don’t you have a look? Well done and many thanks to Eleanor Wallace for organising it all.
We ran a taster course “Learning Bellringing” on the four Wednesday evenings of the month. Seven recruits signed up for this and by the end of it all of them were able to ring both handstrokes and backstrokes. More importantly they got an insight into what bellringing entails and the commitment needed, not only to learning but to being available to ring for the church services.
Due to the success of the taster course a continuation course follows from mid-September to the end of October. We have a couple of spaces if anyone wants to join us? If so please give me a ring on 422435.
I had two personal firsts in August: A quarter peal of Plain Bob Major and my first quarter peal of treble bobbing on 8 bells. Although pleased to have scored these it has made me realise that my ‘major’ ringing still has a long way to go.
Traditionally bellringers have an annual outing and the Swanage bellringers are no exception. This year our annual outing, “The Glorious Guildford Getaway”, took place on Saturday 14th August and, as the name suggests, was to Guildford! Over twenty of us set off very early in the morning. We started our ringing at St Mary’s which is an anti-clockwise ring of 6 bells (usually bells are rung clockwise). This was followed by the 8 bells of Holy Trinity and then the 10 bells of St Nicholas’. A long lunch at a nearby hostelry was then enjoyed by all. St Johns at Stoke-next-Guildford was our next port of call followed by the highlight of the outing; The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit with its magnificent ring of 12 bells. Guildford Cathedral has to be, in my mind, one of the ugliest cathedrals, however ringing there has to be one of the highlights of my year. The climb up to the ringing chamber is long, very long – to the point where you get “muscle burn” in your legs and wonder if you are ever going to make it to the top! When rested you can then climb another couple of flights of spiral steps up to the actual bell chamber. You can walk round the bells and you can also climb higher again to a gallery where you look down into the mouths of the bells and can watch as they are being rung. Fabulous! There’s a load of photos of the outing on the website – why don’t you have a look? Well done and many thanks to Eleanor Wallace for organising it all.
We ran a taster course “Learning Bellringing” on the four Wednesday evenings of the month. Seven recruits signed up for this and by the end of it all of them were able to ring both handstrokes and backstrokes. More importantly they got an insight into what bellringing entails and the commitment needed, not only to learning but to being available to ring for the church services.
Due to the success of the taster course a continuation course follows from mid-September to the end of October. We have a couple of spaces if anyone wants to join us? If so please give me a ring on 422435.
I had two personal firsts in August: A quarter peal of Plain Bob Major and my first quarter peal of treble bobbing on 8 bells. Although pleased to have scored these it has made me realise that my ‘major’ ringing still has a long way to go.
July 2010
What a great Parish Fete! Up in the tower we were kept very busy with over 100 people coming up to see us and having a go at ringing. We thought we might just open the tower from 12 to 2.15 (when we had been asked to stop so as not to drown out the Belvedere Singers!) but such was the interest we re-opened at 2.45 and had to start turning people away at 4.15pm! Actually it was jolly nice to have the half hour break as it meant I could have a wander round the fete – and very good it was too. I was particularly pleased to “win” a cuddly cat and mouse - the cat is now the Tower mascot and has been aptly named Thomas Tower by Max and Alfie Pike. (I think the male ringers are slightly worried that scatter cushions might appear up in the tower next!)
We are always looking to recruit new ringers and I’m absolutely delighted that at the Parish Fete 9 people signed up for the August “Learning Bellringing” Course that we are running. It looks almost certain that a further/continuation course will now take place in the Autumn (the format of which is yet to be decided). This is good news for Swanage Bellringing! If anyone else is interested in learning then please contact me (422435) as we still might be able to accommodate you onto a course.
One of the nice things about the fete was getting some feedback about these monthly articles. I was greeted with “Are you the lady that writes the column” on more than one occasion – and then asked such things as: Could you include A Glossary of Terms, What is a Quarter Peal, What does Grandsire mean?
So this month I am going to try and explain what a Quarter Peal is. Firstly you need to know that a “change” is when all the bells are rung once eg 12345678. A Peal is about 5,040 changes and a Quarter Peal (literally a quarter of a peal) is about 1,260 changes and both must be rung without repetition of any of the changes. To qualify as a Quarter Peal, or Peal, the ringing must also meet a number of key criteria – for example each bell must be rung continuously by the same person, the ringing must be done entirely from memory and the conductor (who must be one of the ringers) cannot have a written reminder of the composition. Quarter peals take about 45 minutes to ring (a Peal taking about 3 hours) and here at Swanage we attempt a Quarter Peal every Sunday for Evensong. They are physically and mentally challenging – and when you first start ringing them you get very sore hands! I was thrilled when I “scored” my first “quarter” and proudly told my children of my achievement to which they both replied “Oh Mum, what have you done now, why have you had a court appeal” Result: Rapid Ego Deflation!
Thomas Tower and friend
We are always looking to recruit new ringers and I’m absolutely delighted that at the Parish Fete 9 people signed up for the August “Learning Bellringing” Course that we are running. It looks almost certain that a further/continuation course will now take place in the Autumn (the format of which is yet to be decided). This is good news for Swanage Bellringing! If anyone else is interested in learning then please contact me (422435) as we still might be able to accommodate you onto a course.
One of the nice things about the fete was getting some feedback about these monthly articles. I was greeted with “Are you the lady that writes the column” on more than one occasion – and then asked such things as: Could you include A Glossary of Terms, What is a Quarter Peal, What does Grandsire mean?
So this month I am going to try and explain what a Quarter Peal is. Firstly you need to know that a “change” is when all the bells are rung once eg 12345678. A Peal is about 5,040 changes and a Quarter Peal (literally a quarter of a peal) is about 1,260 changes and both must be rung without repetition of any of the changes. To qualify as a Quarter Peal, or Peal, the ringing must also meet a number of key criteria – for example each bell must be rung continuously by the same person, the ringing must be done entirely from memory and the conductor (who must be one of the ringers) cannot have a written reminder of the composition. Quarter peals take about 45 minutes to ring (a Peal taking about 3 hours) and here at Swanage we attempt a Quarter Peal every Sunday for Evensong. They are physically and mentally challenging – and when you first start ringing them you get very sore hands! I was thrilled when I “scored” my first “quarter” and proudly told my children of my achievement to which they both replied “Oh Mum, what have you done now, why have you had a court appeal” Result: Rapid Ego Deflation!
Thomas Tower and friend
4th July 2010:
I was “googling” St Nicholas’, Studland at the weekend to see if there was any information about their bells when I ventured on to the Studland OPC website as I recalled a great aunt of mine was married there. How I wish I hadn’t as there, before my very eyes, was obviously yet another of great-granddaddy’s illegitimate children by yet another (probably servant) girl. If you have any relatives from the 1850’s and 1860’s in the locality with the names Robert Wilson Wright let me know - we are probably related! I hang my head in shame!
June 2010
June didn’t start too well for me as I had a rap on the knuckles from the Rector! We had attempted, but lost, a Quarter Peal of Grandsire on the last Sunday of May and had decided at short notice to have another go before practice on the Wednesday. However someone (me) didn’t realise she needed to ask permission and someone (me) didn’t think about the neighbours trying to enjoy their G&T’s in the garden on a lovely summer’s evening. So to all those whose quiet evening I interrupted…….I’m sorry!
We had one first in June – a quarter peal of Hawkhurst Bob Triples which was a first in method for all who rang in it. I attempted a quarter of Plain Bob Major which we didn’t get. Even though I had rung a touch perfectly at practice a couple of times I was rubbish on the night though I had just got into the “swing of it” when it was miscalled – which is hardly surprising as I think the conductor was so amazed the coursing order was still correct!
July heralds the annual Branch Striking competition… Good Luck to the Swanage team! Good striking is one of the most important aspects of bell ringing. Not only should the bells never “clash” by sounding at the same moment but they should sound to a perfect rhythm, tapping out a steady beat with equally spaced gaps between blows. Next time you hear us ringing why don’t you stop and pause a while and listen……
In August we are going to run a “Learning Bellringing” Course. The dates are every Wednesday in August (4th, 11th, 18th & 25th) from 6.30 – 7.30pm. The cost of the course will be £5. These first four beginner sessions are aimed to give potential ringers the opportunity to sample what is involved. If successful a further/continuation course will take place in the Autumn. Why not give it a go? We’d love for you to join us! Places will be limited so please telephone me to book a place.
We had one first in June – a quarter peal of Hawkhurst Bob Triples which was a first in method for all who rang in it. I attempted a quarter of Plain Bob Major which we didn’t get. Even though I had rung a touch perfectly at practice a couple of times I was rubbish on the night though I had just got into the “swing of it” when it was miscalled – which is hardly surprising as I think the conductor was so amazed the coursing order was still correct!
July heralds the annual Branch Striking competition… Good Luck to the Swanage team! Good striking is one of the most important aspects of bell ringing. Not only should the bells never “clash” by sounding at the same moment but they should sound to a perfect rhythm, tapping out a steady beat with equally spaced gaps between blows. Next time you hear us ringing why don’t you stop and pause a while and listen……
In August we are going to run a “Learning Bellringing” Course. The dates are every Wednesday in August (4th, 11th, 18th & 25th) from 6.30 – 7.30pm. The cost of the course will be £5. These first four beginner sessions are aimed to give potential ringers the opportunity to sample what is involved. If successful a further/continuation course will take place in the Autumn. Why not give it a go? We’d love for you to join us! Places will be limited so please telephone me to book a place.
Wednesday 16th June
61 years ago today Ron Pocklington started to learn bellringing. He still rings every Sunday with us and is the “father of the tower”. Congratulations Ron!
Valuable Lesson Learnt No 1: Don’t go bellringing wearing a top made of flimsy fabric and then stand next to the fan :oS
Valuable Lesson Learnt No 1: Don’t go bellringing wearing a top made of flimsy fabric and then stand next to the fan :oS
May 2010
Phew! May has been an extremely busy month. Not only was it a five Sunday month but there was Ascension Day, the Archdeacon’s visitation and three weddings to ring for too.
I really enjoy ringing for weddings – and not just because it’s the only time I get paid – it is just so joyous. Twice this month though we have arrived at the same time as the bride, one bride being over 25mins late. I wonder if they realise we are sitting around in the tower waiting?
I was really very sentimental the first time I rang for a wedding at Swanage as my great-grandparents were married at St Mary’s on 23rd March 1859 by the curate Lester Lester. I fondly imagined my great-grandmother walking down to the church from Church Hill, where she lived, to marry the man she loved. However, I’ve since discovered that my great-grandmother was 7 months pregnant when she married and was my great-grandfather’s servant. Having paid off another servant girl he got pregnant 2 years previously, he didn’t have enough money to pay my great-grandmother off too so he married her. The thought of her waddling 7 months pregnant down Church Hill doesn’t quite have the same romantic image!
We had one first this month; a quarter peal of Hever Little Bob Triples which was a first in method for all who rang in it. I had my first attempt at treble bobbing on 8 to a quarter of Yorkshire Surprise Major but didn’t get it – I will try again in July!
I really enjoy ringing for weddings – and not just because it’s the only time I get paid – it is just so joyous. Twice this month though we have arrived at the same time as the bride, one bride being over 25mins late. I wonder if they realise we are sitting around in the tower waiting?
I was really very sentimental the first time I rang for a wedding at Swanage as my great-grandparents were married at St Mary’s on 23rd March 1859 by the curate Lester Lester. I fondly imagined my great-grandmother walking down to the church from Church Hill, where she lived, to marry the man she loved. However, I’ve since discovered that my great-grandmother was 7 months pregnant when she married and was my great-grandfather’s servant. Having paid off another servant girl he got pregnant 2 years previously, he didn’t have enough money to pay my great-grandmother off too so he married her. The thought of her waddling 7 months pregnant down Church Hill doesn’t quite have the same romantic image!
We had one first this month; a quarter peal of Hever Little Bob Triples which was a first in method for all who rang in it. I had my first attempt at treble bobbing on 8 to a quarter of Yorkshire Surprise Major but didn’t get it – I will try again in July!
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