Had to share with everyone a video on Youtube that was uploaded just yesteray. It is a ringing inspired story brilliantly acted, narrated and filmed to a very high standard. Do please watch it, I am sure it is like nothing you have seen before. Highly recommended.

Lockdown blues? Nothing to do? Nowhere to go? Helen’s letter below is full of things to keep you occupied!

Best wishes

Sylvia

Message from Helen:

Hopefully this finds you safe and well. Lockdown at least is less of a surprise to us all this time around. Although it’s a little less fun in November’s not very cheery weather. 

Remembrance

After both World wars, the Central Council produced books of remembrance of ringers who had lost their lives. The pages selected contain names from the diocese. As WW1 predates the formation of the Guild, the names are listed against the precursor societies.  https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/192441939027871

WW2: Arthur Deacon, Owen Filler, Herbert HC Fry, Edward A Griffiths, Alfred G Humphrey, Robin (EG) Minney, Arthur S Morton, Richard J Smart. Also Hubert CG Partridge and Benjamin GA Wiseman, whose names were omitted.

During WW2, the Guild reports list those members who were serving in HM forces, with tower and, in some cases, branch of the services. Their names are listed by date first included in the report.  https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/191134219158643

The Guild was pleased to be able to provide a clip of some half muffled ringing to the Diocese for use in their online and recorded services. https://www.peterborough-diocese.org.uk/coronavirus/useful-resources

It’s usually around now that someone asks which side do you fit muffles… see here for all the practical information you don’t need this year.  http://jaharrison.me.uk/thb/9-6.html

Interesting items to catch up on.  

Something quite different, a project out in Australia to install a carillon approaches completion. https://www.facebook.com/abccentralwest/videos/3396484427139586

If you would like a new challenge during this second lockdown, how about making a bell?! https://youtu.be/RW2Vwq6qco0

The Ringing Isle: An introduction to bells in Britain from The Churches Conservation Trust’s lunchtime lecture series. Lecture by Gareth Davies, a ringer and postgrad researcher in Cambridge. https://youtu.be/lqw6E9zQjtU

Central Council updates

The President’s latest blog https://cccbr.org.uk/2020/11/10/presidents-blog-22/

Bellringing featured in a magazine for the younger generation. https://cccbr.org.uk/2020/11/07/the-week-junior/

And there are plans being prepared for how we might aim to come out of this situation. https://cccbr.org.uk/2020/11/13/whats-happening-after-the-pandemic/

Puzzles

Some more word ladders. You can change 1 letter – and rearrange them to make a proper word or words (using all the letters). Can you do this sequentially to get from the first word to the second? If only it was actually that easy to go from Minimus to Max! https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/192192952386103

Monday’s mind bender shouldn’t tax you too much, it’s a wordsearch of methods beginning with the letter K. And as one of them is KYNEBURGHA, there’s a picture taken from the church dedicated to that saint. https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/191307965807935

And finally

Is it too early to mention the “C” word? This year’s seasonal stamp collection features stained glass from within the diocese. Letters to Europe can take something of home with them. https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/193542168917848

Speaking of which, if you have a suitably seasonal picture of your church, or a bell ringing related Christmassy image, I’d love to see it, to be able to use on the Facebook page. 

Thanks and 

Helen Allton

Secretary: Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR

Website: http://www.pdg.btck.co.uk/

e-mail: secretary@pdg.org.uk

telephone: 01832 735266

Good morning everyone,

As Helen says below, oh dear here we go again, back into lockdown it seems….I always find November a rather gloomy miserable month & this one looks to be the worst ever.

I hope you are all keeping well and let’s hope that as the longer days and warmer weather begin to return our lives will also start to get back to normal. I’m going out to plant lots of bulbs now in the hope that by the time they are in flower I might be seeing my family, friends and even my church bells once more.

Best wishes

Sylvia

Helen’s message follows:

Oh dear. Back into deeper lockdown we all go. It is not entirely a surprise that it needs to happen, but I can’t say I’m looking forward to the prospect with great joy. We need to just make sure that we’re checking in on those who may be alone or vulnerable, making sure that they know someone is there for them. One last joyful ring this morning for us. I was getting a little more used to the odd combination of bells – although I still can’t tell when it’s about to come round!  

Ringing – or lack thereof

The latest announcement from the government seems to have put an end to regular worship again, and ringing along with that. The CofE and Central Council have not yet updated their guidance pages, but I do not expect there to be anything substantially different. Obviously with Remembrance Sunday next weekend it may be that some incumbents will want a bell tolling or chiming. We request that you take all sensible precautions, if this is the case. 

Brain training

A word puzzle for you. Can you change 1 letter, and rearrange the letters, if necessary, to make a sequence of words to convert the top word into the bottom word. There’s a worked example to get you started, hand to back in 3 moves. How many do you need to solve the other puzzles? https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/189655655973166

We’re entering a timewarp; it’s Thursday night, where do you fancy going ringing? Any of these towers would have done the trick, can you get them to fit?

Ringing knowhow

How many changes can you name? https://www.ringing.info/named_rows.html

And a good looking example of a video produced to promote ringing. How would you promote ringing? Get thinking for when we can get out and put ideas into action. https://youtu.be/S5zZMfD34wg

Central Council updates

The President’s latest blog has been published. I wonder what the Guild’s “average” tower is. https://cccbr.org.uk/2020/10/27/presidents-blog-21/

Meet the President

Just to remind you that Daventry & Kettering branches are next up to meet the President next weekend. Starting at 6pm, you can access the sessions via the link: http://bit.ly/PDGPresident 

If there is anything you want to see, or have enjoyed, please get back to me. Or if you have an inventive streak that has been released in lockdown, I’m always happy to receive contributions. 

All the best

Helen

Helen Allton

Secretary: Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR

Website: http://www.pdg.btck.co.uk/

e-mail: secretary@pdg.org.uk

telephone: 01832 735266

Hopefully the clocks going back didn’t leave anyone standing outside their tower an hour early, feeling all alone. I felt like I spent quite a lot of my extra hour putting the clocks in the house right. Hope you made more of yours!

Guild News

The Guild newsletter is available online. Due to ongoing issues with distribution and ability to read it once in the tower, this edition will again be electronic only. http://btckstorage.blob.core.windows.net/site8108/GuildNewsletterOct20.pdf

The 2020 Guild Quiz is now available for the princely price of £1. 100 questions to amuse, bemuse and confuse. Submit your entry by the end of January for a chance to win one of 3 cash prizes for the most correct answers. Get one from your branch or direct from the Guild Secretary.  

Meet the President

As the new President can’t meet you at branch events and practices at the moment, he invites you to meet him via Zoom. Over the next 5 weekends there are sessions for each branch. Starting at 6pm, you can access the sessions via the link: http://bit.ly/PDGPresident  

Ringing in Tiers.

With the potential for some areas moving out of Tier 1 at some time in the future, the Guild has been in touch with the diocese on the subject. The Bishop’s office views service ringing as part of worship and are of the opinion that if the church concerned continues to have worship in person, then ringing can potentially continue at the church for the service. This is providing that ringing takes place in accordance with the updated risk assessment, that suitable measures (including distancing, face coverings and sanitiser) are applied and that the incumbent agrees that ringing can continue. Obviously different towers and churches are in different situations and a one-size-fits-all approach cannot necessarily be applied. Good communication between ringers and incumbents is key. Please get in touch should you need any support. 

In the last week, the Central Council has updated its opinion on ringing when an area is in Tiers 2 & 3. This is available on their website: https://cccbr.org.uk/2020/10/23/tiers-2-and-3-in-england-update/

Central Council updates

October’s category in the YouTube competition is for the most effective instructional video (could be handling, maintenance, rope splicing, etc). Details of how to enter are here: https://cccvgvbr.org.uk/youtube-competition/

The President published his 20^th blog: https://cccbr.org.uk/2020/10/13/presidents-blog-20/

Practical matters

It’s heading towards the time of year when tail ends get damp and stiff. The link below is instructions to make a rope warmer to reduce the effects of damp. https://www.ringing.info/odg_leaflet_5.pdf

When teaching people to ring it’s often better to have the bell silenced in the early stages to allow for one to one lessons without annoying the neighbours! There are various ways to silence bells, some easier and quicker to use than others.

Brain training

This will get your logic muscles working. It’s a nonogram. This is a logic puzzle where the numbers next to each row (or column) indicate the number of coloured squares in that row (or column). Where there are two numbers, there are two blocks of coloured squares, with the blocks comprising of the number given and must have at least 1 empty cell between them. A little example, and solution, before you launch onto the larger puzzle.

This word search includes methods starting with one of the higher scoring letters, it’s J for JUMP! https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/186298512975547

Get the brain moving with a word, number and logic puzzles from past editions of The Ringing World.

And finally a bit of light relief, courtesy of Isabelle, who has a troublesome band… https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/185229953082403

Helen Allton

Secretary: Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR

Website: http://www.pdg.btck.co.uk/

e-mail: secretary@pdg.org.uk

telephone: 01832 735266

Ringing in Tiers.

The introduction of Tiers with different permissions across England raises the question of what to do should an area be put into Tier 2 or 3. The Central Council’s opinion is available on their website: https://cccbr.org.uk/2020/10/16/england-tier-2-and-tier-3-restrictions/. 

In some diocese, ringing is being viewed as part of worship, and has been considered acceptable to continue while in a Tier 2 area. In which case it might be that some towers may decide, in conjunction with the incumbent, that they can continue to ring. This would be contingent on always taking appropriate care and updating the risk assessment to capture the latest situation. The Guild would remind you that ringing is always to take place with the incumbent’s permission. 

Guild Newsletter

The Autumn edition of the Guild newsletter is now available. This will, again, be a purely electronic edition. This is due to the ongoing issues relating to distribution and the lack of opportunity to read the newsletter in the tower. If there is a need for a limited number of printed copies, please get in touch and we’ll do what we can to assist. 

The usual update will follow next week. 

Thanks

Helen

Hello everyone

Wasn’t it lovely when the sun came out this morning. Walking down to Warmington church and seeing it outlined against a deep blue sky was a very cheering sight, only bettered in the happiness stakes by having my first ring of the bells in 7 months!

I hope you are all keeping well. Helen’s update from the Guild follows.

Best wishes

Sylvia

Not sure who has turned winter on all of a sudden! The heating might need to go on soon. The chill in the air could almost make me pleased not to be having to attend a cold, draughty tower – almost, but not quite. 

Return to Ringing

An update on the situation with respect to ringing was published in the Ringing World this week. It can be read here: https://cccbr.org.uk/2020/10/09/further-development-of-coronavirus-guidance-the-path-ahead/

The more towards localised risk assessment, taking into account a more rounded review of risk than simply distance between ropes, is to be welcomed. The Guild has resources to aid towers in performing and documenting a risk assessment, which can be found here: http://www.pdg.btck.co.uk/LATESTGUILDNEWS#ANCHORC19restart

If you’re at all uncertain, please get in touch and the Guild will do what it can to help. 

Puzzle time

These towers would all practice on a Monday, can you grab them in turn and slot them into the grid? https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/182354970036568

One for the wordsmiths and scrabble fiends. How many words (of 3 letters or more) can you make from Peterborough? What’s your highest scoring word?? The most fun word to say???

A cross word with no words this time. The answers to all the clues are numbers, and they fit into the grid as indicated. https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/183987023206696

A word puzzle for you. Can you change 1 letter, and rearrange the letters, if necessary, to make a sequence of words to convert the top word into the bottom word. There’s a worked example to get you started, hand to back in 3 moves. How many do you need to solve the other puzzles? https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/185571289714936

Training to ring

Have you ever seen an unusual apparatus in a tower and wondered what it was? Click on the link to see it in action! https://youtu.be/qBAN6Pgx3VY Maybe even see if yours can be got going safely?

An excellent video to introduce ringing in general and Ringing Room in particular. https://youtu.be/l0mYK8QQx8w

How do you keep your concentration when ringing a touch, a quarter or a peal? Maybe this will help….. https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/how-to-improve-concentration#brain-training

Ringing in art and news 

1^st October was national poetry month. I picked Myfanwy by John Betjeman for mentioning bells. Which is your favourite poem mentioning bells? https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/183326273272771

I’m sure a lot of us could relate to the emotion in this article. https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/bring-back-westminster-abbeys-bells

Central Council

The President released his 19^th Blog. https://cccbr.org.uk/2020/09/29/presidents-blog-19/

That’s it for this time, stay safe, keep your spirits up and we’ll be in touch again soon.

Helen

Helen Allton

Secretary: Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR

Website: http://www.pdg.btck.co.uk/

e-mail: secretary@pdg.org.uk

telephone: 01832 735266

The Central council have been in talks with the Church of England Recovery Group about moving forward plans to relax the quite stringent current guidelines for ringing. The result is that we can look forward to more ringing with slightly fewer restrictions – but not quite yet.Click on the link below to see an article about this…

Further development of Coronavirus guidance – the Path Ahead

I’ve been trying to get out as many Guild reports as possible but still have a few towers that I haven’t been able to deliver to. If you are still waiting for your copy my apologies – it has been a bit difficult this year. I will now post some and will of course slip a few copies of this year’s Guild quiz in the envelope in the hopes that you can buy / sell a few.

The committee have been discussing the Branch AGM and have decided it will be held via Zoom on January 16 th at 2 pm. Details about how to join will be sent out nearer the time.

Best wishes to you all

Sylvia

Seems like autumn has arrived all of a sudden this week, although there’s less in the way of change to report in ringing. The introduction of the “Rule of Six” has been determined to have little impact on ringing, with very few towers being able to ring more than 6 at present with the current distance requirements. Latest information can be found from the Central Council website. https://cccbr.org.uk/coronavirus/

Guild news

The Guild AGM went off surprisingly well, using the Zoom platform and webinar add on. Geoff stood down as President and Alistair Donaldson was elected. You can find more about Alistair on the Guild website, http://btckstorage.blob.core.windows.net/site8108/AGM%20Alistair%20Donaldson%20CV%20(2).pdf. There were 2 nominations for Life Honorary Membership, with Sue Jones and Richard Yates both being approved by the meeting. Congratulations to both of them. A summary of the meeting can be found here: http://www.pdg.btck.co.uk/LATESTGUILDNEWS#ANCHORAGM2020

Having completed the Guild AGM, thoughts turn to Branch AGMs. According to the Guild’s rules, all branches have to hold an AGM in January. Each branch will be working through the process by which they’ll plan to achieve this, look out for news locally. 

Central Council News

The President presented his latest blog. https://cccbr.org.uk/2020/09/16/presidents-blog-18/

You have just a few more days to enter September’s YouTube contest (Best showcase of school or university ringing) while October’s theme is Most effective instructional video (could be handling, maintenance, rope splicing, etc). More details on past winners and how to enter can be found here: https://cccbr.org.uk/youtube-competition/

Presenting Ringing

Bells on Sunday this week is something a bit different – a news report from my old home tower about the return to ringing and the difficulties that exist. It’s a good piece, have a look and share to your communities to explain what we’re up against. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-nottinghamshire-54191120

Training showcase

How much do you know about bell tuning? Read on to learn more…. http://www.hibberts.co.uk/tuning.htm

A “well I never” moment today, courtesy of the National Churches Trust, featuring Brixworth as their church of the week. https://www.facebook.com/nationalchurchestrust/posts/5126884547337008

Bell ringing and maths, a bit of light reading! https://plus.maths.org/content/ringing-changes

Brain teasers

Towcester tower has been having a Zoom get together and quiz in lieu of practice night. It had to happen, finally someone produced a quiz about ringing. See if you do any better than we did! https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/179212487017483

I spy with my little eye, something beginning with I. In this case a lot of methods beginning with I are hidden in the wordsearch. Can you spy them out?https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/181902826748449

Picture Post

A picture of the band that rang the first quarter on the new 10 at All Saints, Northampton. 14 years ago this week. While you’re not ringing, how about plotting your dream project – then go and make it happen! https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=55033  https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/181608680111197

Our last in the current series of how well do you know your guild features some elder statesmen when they were a little less elder… Who can you identify? https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/179965420275523

And just to let you know that the Guild quiz for 2020 will start being circulated through the branches and will be available direct from me on request. Cost a whole £1 as usual. 

Thanks

Helen

Helen Allton

Secretary: Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR

Website: http://www.pdg.btck.co.uk/

e-mail: secretary@pdg.org.uk

telephone: 01832 735266

Quite a lot to get through this time, so I’ll crack on.

Guild news

Reminder that the Guild AGM takes place at 6 pm next Saturday, 19^th September. With the recent restriction on gatherings the decision to go virtual is looking like a sensible move! You can find the meeting papers here: http://www.pdg.btck.co.uk/AGM2020 and you can register here: https://bit.ly/PDGAGM2020

We do have an attendance limit of 100, so make sure you get in early… J

The Guild has also decided to postpone the deadline for the Autumn edition of the newsletter to the end of September. Make sure you get your stories of how you’ve kept your bands together in lockdown and how you’ve found returning to ringing to your branch PRO or the newsletter editor. 

Return to Ringing

The restriction on gathering to no more than 6 has been determined not to apply, in general, to churches. It is far to say that things are still being worked through. There are also the current local situations to consider. While that in Northampton seems to have improved, that in Corby & Wellingborough has not. Any bands that have bene or are planning on ringing should remain in touch with their incumbent. 

The Central Council guidance has not yet changed to allow closer distancing while ringing, although that remains under consideration. The interval between s=ringing sessions has been reduced from 72 to 48 hours. Information is updated weekly and is available here: https://cccbr.org.uk/coronavirus/  

Central Council news

The Central Council held its annual meeting last weekend via Zoom. The Guild’s representatives will provide an update at the AGM. The President wrote an addition blog, the view from the Captain’s chair. https://cccbr.org.uk/2020/09/11/captains-blog-supplemental-agm-sketch-from-the-chair/

There is also the regular fortnightly blog number 17. https://cccbr.org.uk/2020/09/01/presidents-blog-17/

The winner of the August YouTube contest was announced, this was judged by a non-ringer with mathematical and musical experience, which makes her remarks interesting. https://cccbr.org.uk/2020/09/09/august-youtube-winner/

September’s YouTube contest is looking for the best showcase of school or university ringing. More details can be found here: https://cccbr.org.uk/youtube-competition/

The other item of interest is the investigation of gender in ringing. Any experiences, both positive and negative, can be shared via the webpage that has been set up. You can choose to contribute but not to publish your experiences to the website. https://www.womeninringing.info/

Training showcase

Do you know what coursing order is and how it helps in bell ringing? The attached article may help. http://allsaintswokinghambells.org.uk/methods/CoursingOrder.pdf

My favourite method is Stedman, it’s just beautiful. So let’s see if this can convert you to the cause. https://youtu.be/Ebhxt_fltmY

Brain teasers

The wordsearch features methods beginning with H. https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/175733457365386

A crossword puzzle from a past edition of The Ringing World. Don’t let the crossword make you cross. https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/176734127265319

Stretching the brain with a word, number and logic puzzles from past editions of The Ringing World. https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/177455237193208

These are all visual clues to method names. The first one is easy, they get more, um, random from there. https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/178388050433260

We continue our series of how well do you know your Guild with three long serving ladies of the Guild. https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/176266167312115

And finally, some good news. The Kettering branch cyclists successfully completed their ride around Rutland water last weekend. It’s not too late to sponsor them for the BRF. Well done guys. https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR/posts/178082950463770

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the AGM next week. Until that’s done I will have my fingers firmly crossed that all goes to plan! 

Thanks

Helen

Helen Allton

Secretary: Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PDGCBR

Website: http://www.pdg.btck.co.uk/

e-mail: secretary@pdg.org.uk

telephone: 01832 735266