Editorial
Spring is Springing!
As I write, slightly earlier than usual, Swavesey has snow flurries, hail storms and clear blue skies alternating, and the daffodils are making every effort to come out as well!
With this issue of Striking Features I am sending out this year's draw tickets. Please sell as many as you can, but a slight change this year; Rosemary Palmer has kindly agreed to receive your money and counterfoils as I shall have my hands full for a while!
Don't forget the Ely DA AGM on Monday May 2nd, the Cambridge District have invited us to their newly augmented tower at Linton, this is also when the annual reports get distributed.
No Spotlight on... this time, computer problems meant it would have arrived too late, but some pictures of the new bells arriving at Swavesey instead and what an exciting day that was, read all about it here.
Have you thought about the striking competition yet, you can find the details on page 3. Don't say that you aren't good enough, you never know until you try. There are two entry levels, rounds and call changes, and a method section.
If you attended either of the previous two years Association training conferences, you will probably be keen to know what's on offer this year. Read about it on page 6 and then make sure at least one person from your tower is going!
May I wish you all a Happy and Holy Easter. Caroline
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From your Diocesan Committee Representative
The diocesan committee met at Upwell church hall on Saturday 29th January 2005. All the association officers gave their reports for 2004 which members will be able to read in their annual reports, due at the AGM. The bell fund trustees had met for an hour previous to the meeting and asked that applications for grants are in to them at least a month before their meetings so they have time to read through the applications properly and consider them. As a result Ely’s application has been referred to the July meeting. Wilburton have been promised £500 towards their tower work and Swavesey would soon be asking for the grant promised to them.
The mobile bell project is still progressing, albeit slowly, the cost is a little more than the £2K the association initially agreed to pay, but the committee agreed to pay up to £4K as there is money available in the general fund. It is hoped that the mobile bell may be ready for the AGM in May. The mobile bell committee will meet to discuss insurance and other details.
The Dean of Ely Cathedral has replied saying the tower is not safe enough to accommodate a ring of bells, it was decided to leave this in the hands of the person who originally brought this matter up who has a relative on the committee of the Friends of Ely Cathedral who is still hopeful something may be done.
A request had come from Jean Sanderson that the Huntingdonshire Church Bell Restoration Society informs the Ely DA of the work it undertakes, perhaps in the annual report. It was agreed that as they are a separate body from the Ely DA, that all we can ask is that they inform the secretary who can make the information available to distribute if each district so wishes.
The sub committee working on the Ely DA history are making progress, the "box of bits" contained several unlabelled photographs and some members have been approached to identify people in them. Ringing Worlds have been researched for any articles relating to the Ely DA and Bill Ridgman has written a background to the history of the association and Roger Palmer will bring it up to date.
It was announced that the Ely DA training conference would be on the subject of conducting on Saturday 29th October. Richard Pargeter had planned to target this subject at basic level, but had a request for conducting surprise. He would like to hear from you as to what you would like. He would also like names of people who may be able to teach conducting, do you know anyone?
The details for the AGM were announced (details here), the Ely DA will be entering a team into the Ridgman 10 bell striking competition at Grantham on 4th June and the striking competition would be held in the Huntingdon district on 24th September.
Sheila George reported that she has been working on a master database of members; several hiccups have come up in all four districts, but the main points raised are that subs are due on the 1st January for that year, elections can be held at any time during the year but a sub must be paid for that year. A membership form should be completed before the election; this is essential when electing a junior member, as the parent’s signature is required. Forms are available from the district secretary or you can download them from the website.
The association striking competition rules were discussed. A Huntingdon district member had asked that the test piece be shortened from 240 rows to 120 as it was thought this too long, especially for call change bands. It was also agreed to lengthen the practice time to 5 minutes. The new rules will be printed in the annual report.
The Wisbech district secretary reported that she had sent out survey forms to each tower in her district to try and discover why people don’t attend meetings and how they could be encouraged. She will report back at the July meeting, this could be useful information for all districts. Caroline Stevens
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Ely District Striking Competitions - Saturday 4th June
This year’s competitions will be held at Haddenham, (6 bells, tenor 14 cwt in F) the draw for the order in which teams will ring will take place at 6 pm.
There is a competition for call change bands and a separate one for method bands.
All towers in the Ely district are eligible to enter and the rules can be found on the Ely DA website (www.elyda.org) or are available from the district secretary.
Please enter a team if you can. There will be a short business meeting while the judges do their final arithmetic.
If your tower does not have enough available ringers, don’t let that stop you turning up, there are often enough people about to make up a "scratch team". This team is not eligible to win but does get "marked" by the judges. Caroline Stevens
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Interview with Susan Williams, Ely District Secretary
How old were you when you learnt to ring?
I was 13.
What made you interested in learning to ring?
I could hear the bells when we went to church at Stretham and Wilburton and thought it might be good to learn.
Where did you learn to ring?
St James, Stretham.
Who taught you to ring?
Robin Palmer from Sutton came along to teach in November 1970.
Where do you ring on Sundays?
Soham/Wicken and Wilburton.
Where do you ring during the week?
Monday Soham/Wicken, Thursday Fordham.
If you are on holiday, do you find somewhere to ring?
No, I prefer to listen to the bells when on holiday.
What is your favourite method?
I enjoy all method ringing, so I don't really have a favourite method.
What do you enjoy most about a ringer's tea?
I enjoy the social side of bell ringing teas.
How many peals have you rung?
24 Peals.
How many quarter peals have you rung?
I don't know I didn't keep records in the 1970s, but well into the 100s.
Do you keep a record of towers visited, if so how many?
No.
Do you have a favourite ringers' hymn or poem about ringing?
Sir John Betjeman; Christmas and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; Christmas Bells.
How many ringing associations are you a member of, and which ones?
Just Ely DA.
What would you like to see happening in the district?
I would like to see a lot more well struck 6 and 8 bell ringing, also I would like to see special methods learnt for monthly District Meetings.
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New Bells Arrive at Swavesey
On Wednesday 23rd February, a cold bright morning, about fifteen people gathered at the Church, not to view the latest traffic calming improvements or even to watch the plastic recycling lorry collect another load but to welcome the arrival of two new bells to the village. The last occasion when bells came to Swavesey was in 1755, two hundred and fifty years ago.
The arrival of the truck brought the two new bells, four pieces of bell frames, a steel girder, two bell wheels, two clappers, lifting tackle & the bell hanger's tooling. All were unloaded into the church with the great help of Robert Smart and his forklift tractor.
Two holes in the tower wall were made the previous week to allow the 17½ foot RSJ to be placed into position to support the new frame pieces on which the bells will be hung.
After lunch, the primary school children visited to see, hear and strike the new bells.
The two old trebles were moved from their spaces to the two new pits to allow the ropes to fall in a circle with the bells being rung in order.
The two new bells were raised slowly up the tower on Thursday afternoon and placed into their positions. This was done by a manual hoist and took over an hour to complete. Andrew Stevens
| St George, Thriplow, Cambridgeshire |
| Saturday 22nd January | 1320 Norwich Surprise Minor |
| 1. | Helen F Barker | 4. | Janet C Garnett |
| 2. | Philip D Bailey | 5. | Roderick M Johnstone |
| 3. | Marion A Robinson | 6. | Edith M Robinson (C) |
| Rung to celebrate the 30th Birthday of Philip Bailey. |
|
| St Mary and St Andrew, Whittlesford, Cambridgeshire |
| Saturday 22nd January | 1260 Grandsire Doubles |
| 1. | Helen F Barker | 4. | Marion A Robinson |
| 2. | Edith M Robinson | 5. | Philip D Bailey (C) |
| 3. | Janet C Garnett | 6. | Zoe Wild |
| Rung to celebrate the 30th Birthday of Philip Bailey. |
|
| All Saints, Harston, Cambridgeshire |
| Saturday 22nd January | 1296 Cambridge Surprise Minor |
| 1. | Helen F Barker | 4. | Janet C Garnett |
| 2. | Dee F Smith | 5. | Edith M Robinson |
| 3. | Marion A Robinson | 6. | Philip D Bailey (C) |
| Rung to celebrate the 30th Birthday of Philip Bailey. |
|
| St Peter, Barton, Cambridgeshire |
| Saturday 22nd January | 1260 Doubles (6 Methods) |
| 1. | Helen F Barker | 4. | Janet C Garnett |
| 2. | Edith M Robinson | 5. | Philip D Bailey (C) |
| 3. | Marion A Robinson | 6. | Zoe Wild |
| Rung to celebrate the 30th Birthday of Philip Bailey. |
|
| St Mary the Virgin, Over, Cambridgeshire |
| Sunday 23rd January | 1260 Plain Bob Doubles |
| 1. | Zoe Wild | 4. | John A Causer |
| 2. | Marion A Robinson | 5. | Edith M Robinson (C) |
| 3. | Helen F Barker | 6. | Janet C Garnett |
| Rung to celebrate the 30th Birthday of Philip Bailey. |
|
| St Andrew, Oakington, Cambridgeshire |
| Friday 28th January | 1296 Cambridge Surprise Minor |
| 1. | Ruth E Ogden | 4. | Edith M Robinson |
| 2. | Marion A Robinson | 5. | Paul S Seaman |
| 3. | Dee F Smith | 6. | Philip D Bailey (C) |
| Rung to celebrate the 30th Birthday of Philip Bailey. |
Ely DA Training Conference 2005
2005 Association Training Conference
This will hosted by the Ely District at Swaffham Prior on Saturday 29th October 2005 and will be on the subject of conducting.
Every tower needs a conductor. On that basis, every practising tower in the Association should send someone - either with experience, to share ideas, or to take on the important task of conducting.
I believe that the primary need is to get people started, so that there is some conducting capability in most if not all towers. I am wary of too much theory and coursing orders, but rather am aware that a lot can be done by just having a grasp of how methods work.
An essential skill which is needed in every tower is conducting. We are not all born conductors, with minds like computers, who can transpose coursing orders in our heads and keep everyone right all the way through a complicated peal of surprise. In fact, very few of us are! Nevertheless, with a few hints and guidelines, most ringers who can ring confidently inside to a touch can help keep people right, and learn how to call a touch.
In addition to those who have never tried conducting, however, there are many ‘bob callers’ who have never dared call a quarter peal. Apart from anything else, quarters are an excellent training aid, and another objective of the course will be to enable ‘basic’ conductors to progress to calling quarters. I anticipate that the emphasis will be on 6 bell conducting, at a very basic level, and at a level that will enable those with some prior experience to have a go at calling quarter peals.
Registration forms will be distributed with the annual reports and will also be available from the website. Lunch and refreshments during the day will be provided. Richard Pargeter
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Learn Bob Doubles in Just One Morning!
Primarily, as a novice ringer, of only a years experience, I would like to apologise for any incorrect terminology used in this piece. My mind is still coming to terms with the enormous, and often bizarre, vocabulary of the ringing fraternity.
As an enthusiastic, but somewhat challenged, ringer I would like to thank Roger Palmer, on behalf of the Swavesey Ringers, for an extremely comprehensive and well managed Bob Doubles training morning held at St Andrews, Swavesey on 5th February. I think that the results achieved spoke for themselves, with even the more novice amongst us really developing a sound understanding of the method, even if the practical application warrants a little polishing!
The morning started at Over Road for the theory session, where we were kindly hosted by Andrew and Caroline Stevens (and entertained by young Daniel). The eager pupils in attendance being Caroline and Catherine Looper, David Mottram, Sheila Titmarsh, Diane and Sarah-Jayne Herrington and myself. Roger led us through the evolution from Plain Hunt to Bob Doubles, why the bobs were introduced, where they fell and how the overall cycle worked. (By this stage I for one was feeling that I had bitten off more that I could chew and should therefore probably resign myself to the fact that my ringing career would be limited to improving my striking, call changes and plain hunting.) Roger then led us through the features which would act as indicators to us within the method, most particularly where you were passing the treble, and also reassured us by pointing out that the 2,4,5,3 sequence of bells remained throughout.
We then had a quick break for coffee, cake and biscuits (thanks to all those who contributed) and were joined by our more experienced ringers (Norman Norris, Naomi Laredo and Jon Reed) who were going to fill in the other inside bells during our practical session.
And so on to St Andrews to put into practice the plethora of information that our brains were by now trying to assimilate. Owing to the dedication of our Coach and our ringing colleagues we were each allowed time to repeat the method again and again, with Roger there on our shoulders coaching us through it and quietly and patiently drumming the method into our sub consciousnesses.
I personally would like once again to thank Roger, and also our more experienced ringers, for this opportunity. As a result of their help all of we pupils now have Bob Doubles deeply engrained within us. Now all we have to do is get out and practice! Mark Campbell
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