Author: Steve Vickars

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Special Practice 19th June 2019 at Bletchingdon

Eleven ringers from seven towers came to last night’s special practice at Bletchingdon, with Plain Hunt and Grandsire Doubles on the agenda.
We kicked off with Plain Hunt on 5 for Mandy, Gus and Andy, helped by Jeremy, Judith, Sue, Rosemarie, Anne and Fay.
Next we tried Churchyard Bob with Sally on Treble, giving a gentle introduction to hunting over all the heavier bells in turn.

Turning to Grandsire, we rang a 120 Change touch with Judith, Fay and Anne inside and also some plain courses with Sue on 3 and Rosemarie on 5.

We had Sally in again ringing treble to Plain Hunt on 5, Judith helping, which was her best effort to-date, making great progress. I think Sally was quite pleased afterwards. Well done, Sally!

During a break in Ringing we presented Mandy and Rosemarie with their ART LtR Level 1 and 3 certificates, respectively, and Rosemarie received a card and mounted photos of favourite towers and ringing moments, as she will be sadly leaving us for Germany shortly.

Back to Grandsire, another first was achieved, this time Andy trebling with increasing confidence to some plain courses. Well done to Andy.

Gus was inside again, consolidating no. 3 to Plain Hunt.

Finally, we rang a different 120 Change touch of Grandsire, showing Rosemarie work at bobs and singles, before ringing down.

A really good practice. Well done to all and thank you to Jeremy, Fay and Anne for leading and helping us.

Rosemary receiving her ART certificate

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Branch Practice 3rd June 2019 at Kirtlington

St Mary's, Kirtlington

Ten ringers came to last night’s Branch Practice at Kirtlington, led by Richard, joint ringing master.
Before we started the main practice, Mandy from Weston came for some ringing up and down practice, helped by Andy.

In the main session, we rang call changes on 8 bells, followed by plain courses of Grandsire Doubles, Sue , Judith and Anne inside, helped by Jan, Kathryn and Katie Lane, Guild Master, making a very welcome appearance.

Next up another touch of Grandsire Doubles, with Judith affected inside and Charlie on covering tenor.

We then gave Charlie a go ringing 3 inside to plain courses of Bob Doubles, doing very well.
For Sue we rang a touch of Grandsire Doubles, observation, Judith trebling, followed by Plain Hunt on 7 then Bob Minor with Charlie trebling and Bastow Little Court Minor, where we brought Sally into the team.

Finally we rang some nice rounds on 8 before ringing down sort of in peal.

A very nice practice. Thank you all. Two upcoming events to note are ringing before and after the Lamb Ale service at Kirtlington from 10 am on 16th June – all welcome – and also Special Practice at Bletchingdon on 19th June. Hope to see lots of you there.

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Quarter Peal in Memoriam Stephen Cameron 29th May 2019

A team of six ringers from our Bicester Branch, including Gareth from Charlton, gathered at Charlton on Otmoor to ring a Quarter Peal of Grandsire Doubles in memory of Stephen Cameron, Tower Captain, who very sadly passed away last month.

Thank you to Kathryn, Jeremy, Teresa, and Gareth for ringing a very nicely struck Quarter and thanks to Richard for conducting so assuredly. Big congratulations to Gareth for steady covering on his first Quarter! The first of many more, I’m sure!

The Bellboard entry is at:

https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=1287828

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Special Practice 21st May 2019 at Bicester

Eleven ringers from six towers and two branches attended tonight’s special practice, led by Richard and Jeremy, including a warm welcome to Chris Moxon from South Leigh. Islip was well represented with Teresa, Kathryn and Sally, as well as a good turnout of Bicester ringers, led by Steve W.

On the agenda were Little Bob Minor and Grandsire Triples, both of which we achieved, ringing plain courses as well as touches called by Richard.  Ian and Teresa had turns inside to touches of Little Bob and Grandsire, respectively, while Sally and Fay rang treble and two.

Encouraged by our success, we attempted Plain Bob Triples, Plain Bob Major (a first inside for Teresa) and even a nicely struck plain course of Kent Minor at Kathryn’s request – dare I imagine that the Branch could attempt a Quarter of Kent in the near future, I wonder?

After a final Plain course of Grandsire Triples we rang the back eight down (ish) in peal. Objectives satisfied, I think.

Six branch members will gather at Charlton on 29th May to attempt a Quarter Peal in memory of Steve Cameron, then the next Branch Practice is at Kirtlington on 3rd June. Hope to see lots of you there!

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Bicester Branch focussed practice 19th May 2019

Four Bicester Branch ringers from three towers plus Kathryn helping, attended this afternoon’s focussed practice at Bletchingdon, giving Sue M, Sally, Sue C and Judith  valuable practice at trebling and inside to Doubles methods.

They were joined by a very experienced team of helpers from Bicester, Oxford City and Witney & Woodstock branches: Kathryn, Alison , Ron, Malcolm, Clare, Sue, Jane and Colin, who provided such strong support to the students.
Our helpers enjoyed tea, coffee and homemade cake in return.

Sue M and Sally rang plain courses of Grandsire, followed by observation then fully affected on 3. Well done, both!

Sue C trebled to touches of Grandsire, then to plain courses and touches of St Simon’s Bob Doubles. Some really nice striking was achieved.

Judith rang 4 to Grandsire Doubles affected, including a full 120 change touch with 9 bobs and singles.

Finally, Sue M, Sally and Judith rang down in peal with the team, a nice finish.

It was evident to all concerned that everyone made huge progress over the two practices this month, helped by the close proximity of the 2nd practice, ensuring momentum was maintained.

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Branch Practice 8th May 2019 at Middleton Stoney

All Saints, Middleton Stoney

Thirteen ringers from seven towers and two branches attended last night’s Branch Practice at Middleton Stoney, including our joint ringing masters Jeremy and Richard and a welcome guest appearance from Charles and Joyce from Milton, Abingdon.

Local tower ringers Jen, Jane, Hilary, Rosemarie and Eric were also well represented and got several courses of Plain Hunt, Grandsire and Plain Bob Doubles supported by the other ringers.  Jean also managed a couple of touches of Grandsire Doubles with Jeremy helping. Anne rang in a plain course of Stedman, a touch of Bob Minor and trebled to a plain course of St Clements Minor.

The weather was actually better than earlier forecast, so an opportunity was taken to take a few scenic shots – see below.

The next practice is a Special Practice at Bicester with Little Bob Minor and Grandsire Triples on the menu. Hope to see you there!

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Focussed Practice at Kirtlington 4th May 2019

At Saturday’s focussed practice at Kirtlington there were five students from three towers and six helpers, to practice and reinforce methods which are already being learned, but little opportunity to practice regularly.

Sue , Judith , Sally , Sue  and Charlie were helped by Paul, Elizabeth, Jane, Sue and Julie.

Everyone made good progress, Charlie did some great striking trebling to a touch of Plain Bob Doubles, Sue C trebled to touches of Grandsire Doubles, Sue M and Sally practiced 3rd bell to Grandsire Doubles including touches as observation.

Judith practiced 4th bell to Grandsire touches including both observation and moving into and out of the Hunt.

Thank you to all our helpers who really made a difference and all the students for bringing tea, coffee and cake.

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ART comes to Bicester Branch!

ART M1 Course at Kirtlington 16th February 2019 On Saturday 16th February, Kirtlington hosted sixteen delegates and three senior members of  the Association of Ringing Teachers (ART), led by tutor Paul Lewis, who attended the teaching of bell handling course M1. Kirtlington was chosen through its proximity to Weston-on-the-Green, where an entirely new team of ringers was trained by instructors from the Oxford Guild (of which just over half had attended ART training) over three months in 2018. The course, sponsored by Oxford Diocesan Guild for guild members, formed part of the concluding activities of the Weston training and was arranged by ODG’s Susan Read and Lesley Belcher from ART, who with Branch Secretary Kathryn Grant co-ordinated the many training sessions at Weston and neighbouring towers. The delegates came from as far afield as Newbury, Milton Keynes and Berkhamstead and also locally from Bladon and Islip, bringing varied, but also substantial ringing and teaching experience.

After a welcoming introduction by Katie Lane, ODG Master,  the course combined theory and practical sessions, including how people learn (“learning styles”), how to break down teaching complex handling skills into manageable chunks, what makes a good teacher as well as follow-on activities after the course. The practical sessions introduced teaching handling from bell down, teaching separate strokes, putting the strokes together, raising and lowering, ringing style and how to intervene when needed. The course was well received by all delegates. Tea, coffee, biscuits, cake and lunch were provided and much appreciated. Many thanks to the team who contributed to a successful event! A follow-up assessment event is due to be scheduled for the delegates and their learners in the Autumn, also at Kirtlington.

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Branch Practice at Weston on the Green 7th February 2019

Eleven ringers from six towers attended last night’s Branch Practice at Weston on the Green, the first for several years. Amongst the team were four local ringers, Mandy, Gerald and Andrew being recruits from last year. Officers were also well represented, with both Ringing Masters, el Presidente Willie Haynes, Vice-President, Secretary and your correspondent.

We started off with rounds and call changes with Mandy, Gerald and Andrew, then a number of courses of Plain Hunt on 5 for Andrew and Gerald, who have just started learning it at other towers.

Next up was a nicely-struck touch of Grandsire Doubles, including Sally, Kathryn, Teresa, Richard, Steve and Jeremy, then another set of call changes for the Weston Ringers.

Feeling encouraged, we bravely attempted a couple of courses of Stedman Doubles, including Willie, however, Willie’s hands were suffering somewhat, so we had to abort.

After a final set of call changes, with improving striking, we rang down and a number of us went to the pub.

Please note that the Branch AGM is at Kirtlington at 6pm on 16th February. Hope to see lots of you there!

Steve Vickars

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Branch Quarter Peal at Islip Wed 16th January 2019

Another Quarter Peal was successfully completed last Wednesday at Islip, this time in Plain Bob Triples, excellently conducted by Richard Haseldine.

Several firsts were achieved for this event, including first inside to Triples for Ellie and Kathryn, and first inside to method for Ellie, Kathryn , Jeremy and Steve.

We are most grateful for the assistance of Andrew Goldthorpe, who stepped in at short notice to ring treble.  Jan Haseldine and Michael McArthur made up the band.

It was also a bitter-sweet moment as this was Ellie’s final Branch Quarter Peal before she moves up to York to a new job. Very best wishes to you, Ellie, we will surely miss you!

The bellboard record is at:

https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=1267464

The Bob Triples QP band