Dear all, there is a second menu for this event, attached

Diana Street has organised a ringing event for the afternoon of Sunday 17 September, with the added bonus of a Cream Tea at The Johnson Farm in Old Hurst. All are welcome. 

She has provided the following information (all now confirmed):

12:15pm (bells down) to 1pm Hemingford Abbots PE28 9AL 6 14 cwt in G# (toilet in kitchen area)

1:15pm to 2pm Hemingford Grey PE28 9DF 8 11-2-12 in G# (toilet in kitchen area)

2:15pm to 3pm St. Ives PE27 6DG 8 12-0-4 in G (Portaloo inside South Porch)

3:30pm Tea at Johnson’s Farm Old Hurst (off A141) Church St, Huntingdon PE28 3AF

I will leave a donation at each tower, so £3 each should cover this, please give it to me on the day.

The standard Cream Tea (scone with jam & cream plus tea/coffee) offered by the Tearoom is priced at £7.25, but if you want something more substantial, the whole Steakhouse Afternoon Tea offer is £27 per person, see menu below for other choices. They can cater for special requests and for nut allergy as long as it is stated with order, please. I did have to check out their home-made scones (scone and tea = cream tea) before I made the booking!!

PLEASE NOTE the order the will need to be placed, with me, by Tuesday 12^th September so I can collate and forward to them in one go please. (please include price to ensure I order correct items for you). Thank you.

Both ringing and non-ringing family members and friends are welcome to join us for afternoon tea at Johnson’s Farm at Old Hurst – we may have a function room to ourselves. 

For non-ringers there is the added bonus of the Farm, with its animals, birds and ‘safe distance’ crocodiles to look round for a £3 adult entry fee, including a children’s play park (please have sensible footwear, for the fields part, if there has been any rain), while the rest of us ring!

It should be a lovely afternoon for us all to enjoy together, with the added bonus of food after the ringing workout.  I look forward to seeing you all and there is the chance we will get to know each other better.  

Thank you and see you then if not before.

Take care, Diana diana_cherryfields@yahoo.co.uk

Please see Helen’s latest update, below:

It’s not reasonable to expect summer to last ALL summer, but it tipping down doesn’t make for nice wedding photos nor is it conducive to listening to the bells outside while at a striking contest. I know the garden needs it, but neither of my ringing events yesterday was improved by the weather! Hope it has not interfered too deeply with your weekend or ringing activities. 

Training opportunities

There are always training opportunities, these are a little further afield. A reminder that the Training fund can offer a contribution to attendance at training courses for learners. https://pdg.org.uk/homepage/content-2/training-fund

North West Ringing Course

Next month is the North West Ringing Course and they are still in need of more helpers for courses up to Stedman. The website gives more details https://nwringingcourse.uk. Helpers can stay (accommodation and meals incur costs) or on a daily basis.   

ART M1 course

There will be an ART M1 (Teaching Bell Handling) course at Kineton on Saturday the18th November. If you have ringers that are teaching and would like a refresher, some new tips, or are entirely new to teaching handling this well established course could suit them. Please contact Graham Nabb gnabb50@gmail.com or find out more via the website. https://bellringing.org/about-teaching/bell-handling/

Central Council items

President’s Blog from far flung places. https://cccbr.org.uk/2023/07/07/presidents-icelandic-blog-81/

At this year’s Central Council meeting in September, nominations are required for a number of posts. Some information about what is involved can be found on the CCCBR site. https://cccbr.org.uk/2023/07/02/presidents-interview/ and https://cccbr.org.uk/2023/07/10/deputy-president-interview/

Other bell news

Not about change ringing, but about bells and their place in religion in Africa, this may prove interesting. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct5j1s

Ashwell bells

In the last few weeks, work has been underway at Ashwell in Rutland. The fixtures and fittings were removed, then the bells lowered and removed to Taylors for work. The 2nd will be checked for cracks and retuned to better match te rest of the 6. Then the Treble will be rehung in the 2nd bell pit, 2nd going into the 3rd bell pit and then the 3rd rehung on its own independent tower frame above the other 5. 

https://pdg.org.uk/latest-news/ashwell-bells-rehang

Artworks for sale

The church at Weston Flavell has received a selection of water colour paintings, which are being offered for sale.

There are over 150 different paintings of churches across the area. They were painted by C Stephenson-Mole and have been offered to the church by the family after the death of the painter. The church are asking for £30 per painting and the funds raised will go towards the work identified as necessary in the most recent quinquennial inspection. The Churchwarden, Phil Norris, should be contacted with any queries. He has photographs of all the paintings and can provide these on request. https://pdg.org.uk/latest-news/watercolours-for-sale

Dates for the Diary

Not all branches have events in August, so it’s a slightly shorter list this time around. 

Guild 10 Bell Practice Saturday 9^th September. 10:30 Daventry

Guild Summer Festival Saturday 9^th September Contest 4:00 pm Towcester, for competition, tea, meeting a7 Evening ringing. Towers prior to be confirmed.  

Culworth Branch 8 bell practice Saturday 29^th July 7:30 Aynho

Rutland Branch 8 bell practice Tuesday 1^st August 7:30 Oakham 

Peterborough Branch 8 bell Practice Friday 4^th August 7:30 Castor

Thrapston Branch Practice Friday 4^th August 7:30 Islip

Guilsborough Branch Practice Saturday 5^th August 3:00 Long Buckby, 6:00 Crick

Daventry Branch Meeting Saturday 19^th August 3:00 Everdon 6:30 Dodford (tbc)

Northampton Branch Practice Saturday 19^th August 7:00 Rothersthorpe

Culworth Branch Practice Saturday 19^th August 7:30 Woodford Halse

Hopefully summer will come back before you hear from me again. 

Helen Allton

Secretary: Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PDGCBR

Website: www.pdg.org.uk

e-mail: secretary@pdg.org.uk

Telephone: 01832 735 266

I am still one ringer short for the wedding at Lower Benefield on Saturday 15th July – 1:30pm meet, £25 per rope. Please let me know if you are able to ring (and have not responded already). Regards, Nick

With nowhere near enough ringers coming, the practice is CANCELLED.

Apologies to the person who said they would come 😂

James

This Friday there is a Castor village event that means open ringing will not be possible. I have tried unsuccessfully to get permission at another tower (Pboro St Mary’s, Thrapston and Stamford) but unfortunately they cannot accommodate us.

We can however ring at Castor using the simulator equipment.

Please let me know if you will be coming so I can reassure people that we are quorate.

Hopefully people will be happy to support this branch event and we will ring LITTLE BOB (rather than plain bob) if you are inexperienced on eight. In addition to the usual surprise major methods being available could my experienced helpers revise GLASGOW – and particularly 4th place bobs with the hope that we might ring a BOB COURSE.

Please let me know,

James

Dear all, here are the sessions for the next few months:

July 8^th 2023, 10:30 – 10-bell practice at Rothwell

An opportunity for ringers of all abilities to have a go at ringing on higher numbers.  We regularly ring a range of methods from Grandsire and Little Bob up to Surprise Royal.

This practice is open to all – no need to register

July 8^th 2023, 14:30 – Bell Maintenance at Great Oakley

This is aimed at those who are interested in the mechanics of the bells and would like to learn a bit more, especially about how to keep the bells and fittings in good working order.  It will be a mainly practical session held up in the belfry and would suit new recruits as well as existing ringers, it will also cover looking after ropes and stays; learning how to change a rope and stay, how to adjust the length of a tail-end, and how to splice a broken rope.

There are spaces available on this course – please contact Simon Dixon if interested (master@pdg.org.uk)

July 8^th 2023, 18:30 – Intermediate 8-bell practice at Weedon Bec

This is for the in-between methods on 7&8 i.e., not Plain Bob or Grandsire, or Surprise Major, but methods such as Little Bob, Kent Treble Bob, Single Oxford Bob Triples.

This practice is open to all – no need to register in advance, just turn up with a £1 fee towards tower donations

August 12^th, 15:00 – Running a good practice at Spratton

This will be run as a workshop that encourages sharing from the participants.  It will be suitable for anyone who currently (or aspires to) run ringing sessions at tower or branch level and wants to make them as successful as possible.  Individual ringing ability is not an issue, although there will be an opportunity to try out new ideas.  It is hoped that some people who have many years of experience will also come to share ideas.

There is no limit to the number of places available but an idea of numbers will be useful for planning purposes – please contact Simon Dixon (master@pdg.org.uk) if you want to come to participate.

August 12^th, 18:30 – Stedman practice at Irthlingborough

This session is for all those who want to practice ringing either Stedman Triples or Stedman Doubles – plain courses or touches.

This practice is open to all – no need to register in advance, just turn up with a £1 fee towards tower donations

September 9^th, 10:30 – 10-bell practice at Daventry

An opportunity for ringers of all abilities to have a go at ringing on higher numbers.  We regularly ring a range of methods from Grandsire and Little Bob up to Surprise Royal.

This practice is open to all – no need to register

October 14^th, 10:30 – Grandsire – location tbd

This will cover the structure of the plain course of Grandsire (Doubles, Triples and above).  It will also look at how bobs and singles affect the working bells with hints on how to ring touches in the method.  The practical session will focus on ringing touches of doubles and triples and will take place at a location that is most convenient for those who sign up.  The course will be suitable for any ringer who can either ring plain bob or treble to different plain methods competently.

If interested please contact Simon Dixon (master@pdg.org.uk)

October 14^th, 18:30 – Plain Bob Practice at Desborough

This session is for all those who want to practice Plain Bob from Doubles up to Major – plain courses or touches.

This practice is open to all – no need to register in advance, just turn up with a £1 fee towards tower donations

November 11^th, 10:30 – 10-bell practice at Higham Ferrers

An opportunity for ringers of all abilities to have a go at ringing on higher numbers.  We regularly ring a range of methods from Grandsire and Little Bob up to Surprise Royal.  We will be ringing half-muffled and there will be a period of silence around 11am.

This practice is open to all – no need to register

November 11^th, 15:00 – Leading Up and Down in Peal at Grafton Underwood

This will cover the additional skills needed to allow a band to raise and lower the bells safely and tunefully.  It should be of particular interest to those who get called upon to carry out this task but are uncertain about how to make it work.

If interested please contact Simon Dixon (master@pdg.org.uk)

December 9^th, 15:00 – Ringing Up and Down in Peal at Isham

With advice and practice for either one of these activities, this would suit ringers who are members of bands that regularly lower and raise their bells but do not have enough ringers who can do so in peal. 

If interested please contact Simon Dixon (master@pdg.org.uk)

We ask that if anyone is interested in any of these sessions or have suggestions of their own to put forward, that they contact Simon Dixon (master@pdg.org.uk)  or Cathy Dixon (pro@pdg.org.uk) to let us know and we’ll be in touch with more details.  Please note that there will be a small fee of £3 per student for the training sessions to go towards a tower donation, and a request for £1 from each ringer at one of the open practice sessions.

Two more ringers required please for a wedding at Lower Benefield on Saturday 15th July. Wedding service starts at 1:00pm, ringing afterwards only, meet time is 1:30pm. £25 paid to each ringer.

Nick Elks – nick.elks@gmail – tel 07961 916819

It’s been a busy couple of weeks, and the surprisingly good weather continues, although the spots of rain last weekend did worry us as the start of the Ridgman trophy contest.

Contest reports

The last few weeks have seen striking contests locally and nationally. The Ridgman Trophy is organised for guilds & association that border the Ely diocese (roughly) and is held in rotation. The Peterborough Guild last hosted in 2016, so it was probably approaching our turn again. This year it was decided to host at Towcester, on the back 10, 7 teams entered, and Essex emerged victorious. Fuller report available on the Guild website, the Ridgman Trophy site has not yet been updated with band or winners’ photos. . https://pdg.org.uk/latest-news/ridgman-trophy-day

Wellingborough branch held their branch striking contest, which was held at Wilby and won by Rushden. Striking contests happen at all scales of activity.

And the weekend just gone saw the National 12 bell striking contest held in Sheffield. It was also live streamed for those unable to make it, or who want to listen to the test pieces again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIPuta5XCuQ Birmingham rang first and were awarded the Taylor trophy. They start at ~1:08 into the live stream. Its interesting to watch the bells through the touch as well as listen to it.

Other news

The Churches Conservation Trust has launched its annual awards for churches. It’s an opportunity to celebrate churches and their importance to community. Nominations need to be in by the 23^rd July and more details can be found on their website. https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/impact/awards/awards2023

In 2014, Ropley church, in Hampshire, was badly damaged by fire. The Alton & Petersfield District in the Winchester & Portsmouth Guild are organising a Fundraising Open Day on the 30^th September to help raise funds to restore the bells.

If a tower grabbing day is your thing, they would be very grateful for your help!

https://www.wpbells.org/open-day-for-ropley/

Guild AGM

For those that are interested, I have deciphered my scribblings and the minutes of the Guild AGM are available on the website. Any comments or corrections to me please. https://pdg.org.uk/latest-news/agm-2023-minutes

Also announced at the AGM was the calendar of events for the Guild’s 100^th anniversary. These are listed on the Guild website. https://pdg.org.uk/pdg-100 We’ll be asking for expressions of interest and advance bookings for some events, so get these in your diaries soonest.

Dates for the Diary

Guild 10 Bell Practice Saturday 8^th July. 10:30 Rothwell.

Guild Intermediate Practice Saturday 8^th July 7:30 Weedon Bec

Peterborough Social Surprise Minor Practice Wednesday 28^th June 7:30 Bulwick

Guilsborough Branch Practice Saturday 1^st July 3:00 Great Oxendon, 6:00 East Farndon

Rutland Branch 6 bell practice Wednesday 5^th July 7:30 Braunston Focus Surprise

Peterborough Branch 8 bell Practice Friday 7^th July 7:30 Castor

Wellingborough Surprise Practice Saturday 15^th July 10:30 Irthlingborough

Wellingborough Branch Practice Saturday 15^th July 2:30 Wollaston

Culworth Branch Half yearly meeting Saturday 15^th July 3:00 Charwelton

Daventry Branch Meeting Saturday 15^th July 3:00 Newnham

Kettering Branch Practice Saturday 15^th July 3:30 Burton Latimer

Rutland Branch 8 bell practice Thursday 20^th July 7:30 Uppingham

Towcester Branch Striking contest with North Bucks Saturday 22^nd July Time & location tbc

Northampton Branch Practice Saturday 22^nd July 7:00 Collingtree

There, that’s enough for this week. With the longest day past, it’s the start of the run into Christmas and 2024. What a cheery thought!

Thanks

Helen