The Bicester Branch are sad to announce the death of one of its long-standing and much loved members, Cliff East, whose funeral was held on Wednesday 3 July.\u00a0 At his funeral Jill Bailey read a poem written by John Harris, also a long-standing Branch member and Vice President, during the late 80s and we reproduce it here (with kind permission from his family):<\/p>\n
OLD CLIFFORD AND HIS MERRY BAND<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Old Clifford and his merry band On Friday nights they do their best Let’s “go again” the captain shouts Come on you kids, it’s your turn now There’s time left now for one more touch The Stedman finds its way back round It’s 90 minutes of real good fun Composed by John Harris in the late 1980s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Bicester Branch are sad to announce the death of one of its long-standing and much loved members, Cliff East, whose funeral was held on Wednesday 3 July.\u00a0 At his funeral Jill Bailey read a poem written by John Harris, also a long-standing Branch member and Vice President, during the late 80s and we reproduce … <\/p>\n
\nare the best of ringers in the land
\nthey ring with pride, they ring with care,
\nsometimes they ring beyond compare!<\/p>\n
\nwhile poor old Clifford takes his rest
\nthe calls are made, the bells do sound
\nthough sometimes they will not come round.<\/p>\n
\nbut try and leave those clashes out
\nbob and single he cries in heed
\ntwo bells to go, now treble lead!<\/p>\n
\nyou have a go, I\u2019ll wipe my brow
\nplease put that chewing gum away
\n\u2018cos mucky gum won’t mend that stay!<\/p>\n
\nbut what we ring won’t matter much
\nlet’s ring some Stedman captain please
\nshouts Les who\u2019s nearly on his knees.<\/p>\n
\nwith one or two familiar sounds
\nnow gently down the treble calls
\nand perfectly, in rounds, they fall<\/p>\n
\nbefore old Clifford’s work is done
\nto ringers dwelling in this land
\nI recommend old Clifford’s band.<\/p>\n