Eleven ringers came to today’s Ringing up and down course at Bletchingdon, with five students and six helpers, giving us scope to form strong teams around our students as well as standers for those in the band.
We started in teams of four, with Christine, Ala Sue, David and Judith getting practice raising and lowering following an experienced ringer.
We had a strong band of helpers, including Emma and Laurence, Celia, Alison and Hugh, some of whom stood with our students and explained in helpful ways.
We also took refreshments of tea, coffee, squash, homemade cake and biscuits, thank you to Sue, Hugh and Judith for providing these.
We built up to ringing five and six in peal, with all our students making real progress, whether keeping in time with the other ringers or gaining insights on handling tips and techniques.
Celia gained her first experience of leading up and down in peal, with Sue also practicing leading up and down a peal of six, with a stander.
Our helpers also got a chance to ring a plain course of Cambridge Minor before the final lower and obligatory team photo.
A really productive practice, with everyone making good progress. A big thank you to our superb helpers and to Sue for hosting us again!
I guess we’ll need to hold another such practice later this year for those who couldn’t come to today’s session.
