On the evening of 27th September, six Bicester Branch ringers including Ringing Master Jeremy Adams, Teresa Carter, Kathryn Grant, Vice President and Secretary, plus Anne and Graham, met up at Souldern Church, probably expecting a larger turnout and to take the opportunity to reflect with others on the life of our recently departed Branch President, Willie Haynes.
Kathryn and Teresa had brought two bags of books, photos and papers to sort through, which we did for 20 minutes or so, while waiting for others to arrive.
As we stayed at the magic number six, it was suggested we might attempt a Quarter Peal of Grandsire Doubles in Willie’s memory, which we duly did. We had heard of an appropriate number attending a practice and ringing a Quarter Peal, but never had the actual experience.
After one restart at the first 60, the team achieved a nicely-struck Quarter Peal in 45 minutes. The feat is now on Bellboard and is associated with Willie’s In memoriam record. We hope to add more Quarters and maybe longer lengths to his memory in the next few weeks.
