of the Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers
Our Branch Outing, arranged by Richard Haseldine, took us to five towers in Northamptonshire – Staverton, Badby, Newnham, Flore and Greens Norton.
All were chosen for their easy going – and two with ground-floor rings (much appreciated).
Nineteen ringers, including two visiting ringers from Faringdon and Hanslope, from six Branch towers came – with two non-ringers and three dogs.
Again, there was something for everyone and we all enjoyed the ringing and each other’s company.
Held in St Mary’s Church, Kirtlington, on Saturday 17th February 2024
On Thursday 12 September at 7.30pm, at Islip Village Hall, come and hear the Launton Handbell Ringers (drawn from Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire & Northamptonshire) who have given recitals in cathedrals, civic centres, theatres as well as on radio and television. Their repertoire includes traditional and folk music, popular classics, children’s nursery rhymes as well as secular music.
45-50 minutes of music and time for questions with the opportunity to have ‘a go’ at ringing 4 in hand!
Donations by cash or card – refreshments available too!
More details from Teresa Carter or Kathryn Grant
At last night’s BP twelve ringers from nine towers (including two visitors) came to ring at Ambrosden where a number of newer ringers are practising regularly on a Tuesday morning – contact Steve Walker for more details or Jill Colyer (Churchwarden jill.colyer12@gmail.com).
We rang a remarkable number of methods mostly on all 8 bells – Rounds and Plain Hunt, followed by Bob Major, Stedman Triples (tenor ably rung by Marcus) and the piece de resistance a touch of Reverse Canterbury Doubles when, teenagers, Marcus rung the 5th and William rang the treble! How good it is to see such enthusiasm and encouragement from the Branch for our youthful ringers.
Thank you to all who came and especially to Richard and Jeremy (suffering a bad back) for a great evening.
Kathryn
Eight members from five towers came – Cheryl was the only local ringer but was persuaded to revive former skills. We rang call changes, plain hunt and Grandsire Doubles – which was good practice for those who ring more regularly with the tenor behind. Ringing down we finished in Weasels!
Apparently there are two or three people in the village who would like to learn and, hearing the bells rung (the first time since Morwen Ashton’s funeral in June) might increase that number. With learners at nearby Ambrosden, being taught by Steve Walker, perhaps putative Piddington ringers might join there and revive ringing in time at their home tower
Kathryn Grant
The ODG held the 10-bell striking competition at Bicester on Saturday 25 November, when five teams took part ; the test piece was 288 Little Bob Royal.
Tower Captain Steve Walker was in charge of the arrangements, and the event received print and TV publicity.
Well done to all involved – we await news of the winning team!
Eighteen ringers came to the Branch Practice in Islip on Tuesday 17 October – including three visitors from Sutton Coldfield who were most welcome and enabled us all to ring Plain Hunt on six, a touch of Plain Bob Doubles, Grandsire and rounds/call changes for all.
We are lucky in Islip to have three teenage boys who are becoming valuable members of the team (and came second in the recent striking competition), and who enhance the enjoyment of the evening too!
So, something for everyone. However we missed Richard and Jan Haseldine, whose intention to come was thwarted by coping with a wasp sting to their puppy (happily recovering).
Kathryn Grant
The Bicester Branch is now the proud possessor of a model bell, made by Robin Noble, in memory of Willie Haynes, our past President.
The bell will be used to show recruits and those interested in ringing how bells are hung and rung. Anyone who would like to borrow it should contact the Branch secretary for its current whereabouts!
On the case and model are two plaques, which were engraved by Keith Thomas. One is worded The Willie Haynes Memorial Bell, while the other is In Memory of Willie Haynes, President Bicester Branch, ODG 2001 – 2022.
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Congratulations to the Ludgershall Team who won this year’s competition when 7 teams took part.
We were immensely grateful to Chris and James Mundy who came to judge and gave us useful comments (see below) to ponder. The teams were:
Thanks for a very pleasant late afternoon. We enjoyed all the ringing and it was all very respectable. Thank you all for taking part.
As a general comment, we noted how important leading is to the whole change. If the leading is good the whole change tends to flow well whereas if the leading is a little out, it tends to rock the whole row and accumulate faults. This is especially the case if the leading is late.
In terms of marking, we scored 1 fault for a minor clip or irregular rhythm and 2 faults where 2 bells hit together with a maximum of 4 faults per row. In many striking competitions a minor clip attracts 1⁄2 fault and a major “hit” attracts 1 fault. We had intended to do this – but we forgot to halve the numbers when we announced the results – hence the faults might seem high!
Team 1 (149 faults)
The band rang call changes. This was generally a consistent piece of ringing. There were one or two specific changes which accumulated a high proportion of the faults, and this was particularly around the leading where some of backstroke leading was early and before the end of the previous change. The treble led well in this band.
Team 2 (90 faults)
This band rang call changes. This was a good piece of ringing. It started strongly and the rounds at the start were very good and accumulated very few faults. There were also lots of clear rows in the call changes which did not accumulate any faults. The main faults accumulated with slow leading and this was most prevalent at specific changes in the test piece where the majority of the faults were picked up. On the whole a very good piece of ringing.
Team 3 (165 faults)
The band rang call changes. The rounds at the beginning were rung well and did not accumulate many faults. There were certain changes which tended to accumulate the faults and many of these were caused by inconsistent leading. There were a number of late backstrokes which caused the change to pile up. The band accumulated lots of faults towards the end where perhaps nerves overcame them.
Team 4 (didn’t finish)
This band rang call changes. The band seemed to struggle with the bells a bit and did not finish. Many of the faults accumulated because some bells held up and then the ones behind crashed into them and this accumulated the faults. The tenor rang well in this band and we were sorry they didn’t finish.
Team 5 (94 faults)
The band rang Grandsire Doubles This was a good piece of ringing. The rounds were struck very well and picked up only a few minor faults. There were many clear rows within the changes and just a few rushed leads occasionally upset the rhythm. A number of faults arose half way through the 3rd course and then in the last couple of leads of the test piece – and this is where most of the faults accumulated.
Team 6 (85 faults)
This team left us in suspense as they only rang rounds for their practice! We thought the test piece was Reverse Canterbury. This was a very good and confident piece of ringing. The rounds were excellent and hardly picked up any faults. The ringing was generally good and consistent – the faults accumulated evenly throughout and no specific part seemed to cause particular challenge.
Team 7 (123 faults)
This team rang plain hunt, The rounds were good and accumulated only a few minor faults. The start of the changes seemed to cause some difficulty and a number of faults accumulated in the first couple of leads but then the ringing settled down and there were a large number of clear rows. The last lead caused some challenge and accumulated quite a few faults here which was a shame as some of the ringing had been very good. Generally the leading had been good throughout.