Index

The evening of March 3^rd 2000 was a most enjoyable occasion for the 63 members and guests who attended the Annual Dinner which, this time, had been arranged by the Ilkeston District. It was held at the Ilkeston Co-op's Regency Banqueting Suite - very pleasant surroundings indeed. The meal was delicious.

This year, Robert Marchbank invited Mary Bartlett to be guest speaker. She is a ringer from Youlgreave, a lady accustomed to addressing large audiences, since she is also an authority on Medieval manuscripts, and travels widely in this regard. She was amusing and very entertaining, encouraging those ringers who could only regard themselves as moderately good as well as the splendid ringers amongst us, and she praised particularly those who teach young people to ring.

Further entertainment was provided by Clive Moore and Jean, two conjurors who worked in very different ways. Clive made a lot of noise, telling jokes and getting a lot of help from Eleanor and Teresa, while Jean was absolutely silent, pulling an amazing array of brightly coloured flowers, scarves and ribbons out of hats, bags and pockets.

This was a very relaxed and enjoyable evening. There was plenty of time and opportunity to move around and talk to friends, and the entertainment was just right for the occasion. Many thanks are due to John and Betty Marshall for their excellent planning and organisation.

Chris Willis.

Striking Competition

When the Junior group were first asked to ring in a striking competition, we just assumed that everybody else would be under 18 as well. We thought that the adult team were in a totally different competition. In the practices, although we made a lot of mistakes, we all felt quite confident, I think, although we were definitely not expecting to win. When we got to the tower, the other teams sounded flawless, but we weren't too worried because when they came out of the tower they were adults, which we thought meant that they were in a different competition to us. When it came to our turn, we still hadn't seen any under 18 groups go in, it was then, when we asked why this was the case, we found out that we were actually ringing in an adult's competition, and that there wasn't even one ringer in any team that was as young as us!!!
 

Of course, finding this out just before our turn didn't help our nerves and as we went in to the bell tower, we could barely ring rounds properly during the minute we had to practise. Once we had stood our bells, Laura, our treble, had to give the signal to the judge that we

were ready to start. The signal for this was ringing the treble on it's own for a handstroke and a backstroke. As all of us, Laura`s nerves were taut and she rang double this, but, as Graeme said, it didn't matter. We had another two minutes to ring rounds while we got used to the bells, and then we started with the call changes. The whole thing went very well and when we came out we were very pleased with it. We felt our striking had rivalled our practices and even our Sunday ringing. At the tea, after everybody had finished competing, we were promised a Mars Bar by a well-known local ringer we call "Ethel", if we achieved any result but last. As the judge called out the results and observations, our team got very confused, as there was a Belper team, and a St Peter's (Derby) team. We weren't sure which one was us, but when we found out we were the Belper team, we were very happy that we came joint 5th along with 2 other teams. We all decided this definitely

deserved a Mars Bar, but we thought that Ethel was trying to back out of the deal. However, when we arrived to ring for service the next day, we each found a Mars Bar waiting for us.
 

Jo Dwyer
 

The team was … treble Laura (12), 2nd Jo (14), 3rd Alastair (14), 4th Chris (13), 5th Becky (12) and the golden oldie Alec (25) called from the tenor.

CHRISTIANITY

Four months of the year have passed and at the time of writing, we are quite a way short of our target of ringing a peal and a quarter peal in every church which is in the diocese or affiliated to the Association to celebrate 2000 years of Christianity. Please can I urge those who agreed to arrange these peals and quarters to try to do so reasonably soon, or November and December will be very busy indeed!

By April 30th the following towers in the Derby District had rung peals and/or quarters:
 
 

Congratulations to

Rosemary Chesshire of Brailsford, Jane Latham of Sudbury and Chris Willis of Duffield who have all rung their first peal and also to Elizabeth Arnold, Janet Crossley and Steve Rowley, all from Ticknall, who have rung their first peal on ten bells.

Congratulations to

Ashbourne, Netherseal and Osmaston where both a peal and a quarter peal have been rung!

Puzzle

All the answers are place names.
 

1) Distribute the playing cards	13) Find a bargain here
2) It comes out of a bottle	14) The hiss under the earth
3) Money or silver maybe	15) Fast Forest
4) Snoopy's feathered friend	16) What the robber said to the bank clerk
5) More than six trees	17) Ancient Barron
6) Dark Water	18) Gardener's push chair
7) Something to wear	19) You don't walk here
8) Get your water here	20) Not Football
9) Where you get milk on the Isle of Wight	21) Changing things about
10) Gorge yourself on cheese	22) The director's order to the striking cast
11) Mum's better now	23) One of the Bronte characters
12) Noel cowards spirit	24) Outlaw's Horse

Ringing Terminology - C
 

Call Changes
A system of ringing in which pairs of adjacent bells are instructed by a conductor to change places with each other.

Calling Position
A point in a piece of ringing, usually at a lead end, at which bobs and singles can be called and named after where the tenor ends up as a result of the call. Calling positions include:
 

	Name	Abbreviation
	Home/Right	H/R
	Wrong	W
	Middle	M
	Fifths	V or 5ths
	Fourths	4ths
	In	I
	Out/Before	O/B
	Thirds	3rds

plus any others, which are named after the position the tenor rings in.

Caters
Changes on 9 bells.

Change
A particular order in which bells are rung.

Change Ringing
A system of ringing in which the ringer learns predetermined sets of positions in which to ring the bell. Ringers change places at each pull of the rope.

Chime
To operate a bell so that either it is only swinging through part of a circle (swing chime) or it is hit by a hammer (clock chime).

Cinques
Changes on 11 bells.

Clapper
The hammer which swings inside a bell and strikes the soundbow.

Clock Chime
To sound a bell with a hammer, as in clock chimes.

Closed
A style of ringing in which each change runs straight on from the previous one without any gap.

Composition
A set of calls and methods changes to produce a touch, quarter peal or peal or the act of producing such a thing.

Course Head
The first row of any course of a method. The tenor may or may not be in last place.

Cover
When ringing a method for an odd number of bells, an additional bell which rings last in each change is added. This is the cover bell.

Cross Section
In treble bob methods, when the treble moves from one dodging place to the next this is a cross section.

Crown
The top of a bell.

Crown Staple
The device from which the clapper is suspended within a bell. The crown staple is fixed by a bolt which passes through the crown.

YE ANNUAL BEAUREPEYR CRUSADE

As in previous years the now nationally feared four-day raid of distant towers was organised impeccably by that prominent duo of Beaurepeyr, the de Hughes family. Their chosen target this year was the area surrounding a settlement on the south coast at the mouth of the River Bourne. A motley band of villeins, bordars and serfs was conscripted, mainly resident in the great Royal Forest of Duffield Frith, but including some outsiders who claimed common rights of the exercise in Frith towers. Having great influence, the de Hughes requisitioned the Beaurepeyr folks wagen and commanded the Frith members to board at the town centre. Thus the de Hughes had at their disposal John "Eagle" Booth, Sally "Steambelle" Bramson, Alec "Postman" Hetherington and Paul "Charioteer" de Bradlei. The party travelled beyond the Frith boundary to collect Mike "Bodger" Willis, Chris "Play-it-again" Willis, Mike "Keeper-of-the-Keys" Banks and that well-known soothsayer Alec the Barbarian. The journey continued onwards to pick up Irene "Boudicca" Clarke, well regarded for her horsemanship on "Harley Davison". To find the one remaining member we travelled south to a settlement famed for its brewing. Knowing that all he touches turns to cobalt blue we looked for a blue house with matching wagen in the drive. Since few shared this taste in colour schemes, his house was quickly found and Blue John joined the band to complete the dirty dozen. With the raiding party complete we set off, our mission being to strike hard and well with every method at our disposal (except, at the insistence of Blue John, Little Bob).

We broke our journey at Lyndhurst in the New Forest. Being well steeped in forest customs, the band made straight for the Fox and Hounds for refreshment and here the ladies of the group were later seen fondling glasses of "Dirty Dick" Ale. An advance party was despatched to the church and by playing extracts of Mozart, Chopin and Beethoven on the church piano put the locals on their guard. The locals then fled following a few leads of Bob Major played with all of his fingers by Alec "The Postman"! With the way now clear, the main party took the 8-bell tower and we rang for one hour. Swaying of the tower proved a challenge to accurate striking.

Our journey to the south coast was continued and we set up base in a small bordar's house close to the mouth of the River Bourne. That evening we worked up an appetite in the 6-bell tower at Sopley before eating in the Woolpack opposite the church. Tactics for the coming three days were discussed openly, but in code, lest the locals thought to oppose our plans. We will " ****** above the treble and ****** below the treble with Shipway places" had them (and most of the band) utterly confused. Attention from the waiter waned noticeably and when desserts time arrived, emergency action was needed. Blue John stepped in, noted everyone's requirements, collected the cash and with the power of a bulk order behind him boldly got us our true deserts. We returned to base where the reversing skills of Steambelle Bramson drew gasps of admiration from a normally critical bunch of passengers.

At breakfast the following day a small section of the band was keen to discuss the intricacies of method construction. With only two six-seater tables allocated the remaining eleven members rushed unsuccessfully to occupy the other table.

The ringing day started with a one-hour warm-up at Corfe Mullen on their 12 cwt 6. We then travelled to Spetisbury to ring their 17 cwt ring of 6. Our reputation had clearly preceded us since we were denied entry, the vicar had changed the lock on the door! Succumbing to threats of a quarter peal on hand bells being rung in the south porch, the churchwarden soon returned with the correct key and we were let in for 45 minutes of ringing. With adrenaline levels now raised high we moved on to tackle the 19 cwt 8 at Blandford Forum. The thought of lunch and a ½ pint glass of cider caused one member of the band (renowned for frequenting three bell towers) to inadvertently ring spliced Little Bob and Plain Bob. He pleaded that this aberration should go unreported. After one hour of ringing, pangs of hunger sent us to the restaurant at the Crown and Anchor. A familiar pattern emerged, for as the conversation turned to the technical niceties of campanology, the delivery of food from the baffled waitress slowed perceptibly. Idle hands tested the flow characteristics of the vinegar bottles while waiting for lunch and a plastic frog croaked at customers coming through the door. Taking a cue from the frog, food had to be gulped down in one in order to reach our next tower at Milbourne St Andrew on time.

This 8 cwt ring of 6 saw the band ring a plain course of "Milbourne St Andrew Treble Bob Minor" during 45 minutes of general ringing. A copy was pinned to the notice board to record our triumph and we moved on to the 11 cwt 6 at Wool. Here there was some confusion as to which was the treble and which the tenor, but the ringing survived and we continued to Lytchett Minster. During one hour of general ringing a plain course of "Lytchett Alliance Minor" was rung on this 10 cwt peal of 6 bells. The geography of the ringing room placed the 5^th rope part way up a flight of stairs for added spice or very short ringers.

Dinner was eaten at The Barley Mow Colehill. We were tucked away at the end of the restaurant to avoid upsetting the other customers. Above our table was a sign announcing "Ill disciplined children will be clamped at their parent's expense and sold as slaves", a clear warning that they had the measure of visting ringing bands. We ate a good meal and returned quietly to our base.

The following day was the 231st birthday of our military hero The Duke of Wellington. It is standard practice for some members of the band to ring in wellington boots on this day but somehow this had been overlooked. Our respects were paid by ringing Wellington Doubles, Delight Minor, Triples or Major as appropriate at each of the towers visited during the day. These towers were at Ringwood, Wimbourne St Giles, Witchampton, Canford Magnor and Bournemouth Sacred Heart (RC). Battle fatigue began to set in during the afternoon when our navigator commanded the driver to turn left / no right / no left / no right on approaching a large stone wall. By the evening a slip of concentration saw us ring a touch of Little Bob for evening service on the light ring of 6 (3cwt) at Bournemouth Sacred heart. Dinner was eaten at The Avon Causeway, Hurn. On return to base tongues wagged when two brazen ladies ambushed an offguard male member of the band and were seen slinking off to a bedroom. They reappeared triumphantly claiming they had done it in half an hour, and the handbells were replaced in their case.

The last day dawned and John "Eagle" Booth found he was one year older prompting much sympathy from his fellow ringers. We rang for morning service on the 8 bells of St Peters in Bournemouth and then the journey back to civilisation took us through Cirencester where we stopped for an appetising lunch at "The Slug and Lettuce". Travelling northwards we rang for the evening service at Studley on the recently restored 11 cwt 8 before arriving back in the Frith elated but clappered.

Signed Keeper-of-the-Keys, Shakesdon Manor, Merchiaun.

PRACTICE NIGHT AT ST JOHN'S NEWHALL

Practice night it's here again
Oh why do I have to struggle?
These call changes not easy at all
They leave you in a muddle

Its 1 to 2 or 2 to 3 or was it 4 to 5
They really turn you inside out
It's a wonder we're still alive

Hold on to the tail end, don't let it go
Or you're really in for trouble
Both hands on the sally dear
Pull it now don't struggle
Co's if you miss the blooming thing
You'll think you're seeing double

Practice night is over
Time to put the bells to bed
I've leant a little more tonight
But I must keep it in my head

Got to keep on going
To miss would be a sin
RINGING MASTER SHOUTS GOODNIGHT ALL
AND THANKS FOR THE TROUBLE YOU'VE BIN
I've learnt a little more tonight

Joy Durrow from Newhall

Obituary

Phillip Warrington, aged 60, Ringing Master at St. John the Baptist Mayfield Staffordshire died on Friday 17^th March 2000, in the Intensive Therapy Unit at Derby City Hospital six weeks after major surgery for cancer.

Apart from army service in REME Phillip lived all his life in Mayfield. He was taught to ring in 1953 at the age of 14 by the late Joe Alcock and Joe Parker. Phillip had met Joe Alcock one evening as Joe was going to bellringing practice and was persuaded to go along and give it a try. Thus started Phillip's connection with Mayfield belfry which continued for 47 years, during the latter part of which he was ringing master. In his working life Phillip was employed for 37 years as an electrician and textile fitter at the local textile factory. He was proud of the fact in all that time he only had nine days off sick.

For at least the last 30 years Phillip has been a regular attender at Derby Cathedral Tuesday evening practice. He came more for the social side in the pub after ringing than for the ringing itself and he made many friends this way. He was quite capable of ringing Grandsire and Stedman Caters and the simpler Surprise methods and could have advanced further had he really pushed himself. In addition to ringing, Phillip was a very keen pigeon fancier and also took great pride in his garden.

He joined the Derby Diocese Association of Church Bell Ringers in 1968. In total he rang 18 peals for the DDA, the last one Cambridge Surprise Minor at his home tower, in January of this year, just a very few weeks before he was taken ill. It was clear to most of us in the peal band that Phillip was not at all well, but he passed it off as a touch of flu. It is fitting that his last peal was rung to celebrate 2000 years of Christianity as part of the DDA ambition to ring a peal in every tower in the Diocese and other towers affiliated to the association. The framed certificate recording event will soon hang in Mayfield belfry and will be a permanent reminder of Phillip's services to Mayfield ringing.

Mayfield church was filled to capacity on the day of his funeral with a good contingent of his ringing friends present. A half muffled quarter peal of Grandsire Caters was rung at Derby Cathedral on the morning of his funeral and a quarter peal of Cambridge Surprise Minor rung open on Mayfield bells immediately after the service. Appropriately the band included Michael and Kate Richardson who had learned much of their ringing at Mayfield, returned from afar.

We extend our sympathy to Phillip's wife, Jenny, to whom he had been married for over 30 years, and the rest of his family.

Gordon and Pat Halls.
 

Derby Cathedral 1259 Grandsire Caters  1 Gordon Halls  2 Brian Tomlinson  3 Jackie Burns  4 Philip Dundedale  5 Philip Hudson  6 Andrew Burns  7 John Heaton (c)  8 Pam Timms  9 Roy Meads 10 Cheryl Hamby In memoriam Phillip Warrington. Rung on the morning of his funeral by some of his friends.

Mayfield 1296 Cambridge S Minor 1 Kate Richardson  2 Pat Halls 3 Gordon Halls 4 Roger Laswson 5 Michael Richardson 6 Ray Daw (c) In memoriam Phillip Warrington, tower captain of this church. Rung immediately after his funeral service.

Forthcoming events / Method of the Month

10^th June - Afternoon ringing at Egginton (3) 4.30-5.15pm and at St.Pauls, Burton on Trent (10) from 5.30-7.00pm. Beer and skittles at the Burton Bridge inn at 7.30 which should be excellent fun. Supper is available (and good beer too!)

1^st July - Summer meeting and 8 bell striking contest - Chesterfield district.

8^th July - Walk and ring (details to follow)

12^th August - Treasure Hunt (details to follow)

9^th September - Evening ringing at Belper (8) 7.00-9.00 pm. The focus of this event will be easier triples methods (Plain Bob, Grandsire etc.). Come and have a go if you want to gain experience on eight.

Brailsford 6 bell Practices continue on the third Monday of each month (7.30 pm)