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