Category: Guild News

2025 Peal Recorder

After many years as Peal Recorder, Neil Bennett has regretfully had to step down due to his health. Neil has been working closely with Andrew Watkins recently to add all the Guild peals onto Bellboard; Andrew will step in as Acting Peal Recorder for the time being.

With effect from 04/01/2025, there is a new address to be used for all Peal Recorder enquiries, including arrangements for paying peal fees and the election of new Non Resident Life Members.

All emails should be sent to pealrecorder@hdgb.org

Kingsland Triples and Major Practice Saturday 30th November 2024

Following on from the popular learners practice sessions that have taken place in recent months we were very pleased to offer a practice session aimed at the next level of people’s ringing development. The session was held on the gloriously easy bells at Kingsland and our thanks go to Martin Harrisson for allowing us to ring there.

We were delighted to welcome a total of 22 ringers to the session and would like to express a very big thank you to all those came along and especially to all the experienced ringers who helped make the session a success. Below are two testimonials, thank you Isabel and Neil. Similar practice sessions are planned for the future and we hope to see many more of our ringers coming along to them.

Sue Robinson – Guild Master.

Isabel D’Avanzo

“The session was very well attended with ringers from different districts. Sue did a great job at welcoming everyone and catering the practice for both the experienced ringers and those who were ringing triples/major methods for the first time. The practice had a good pace to it and I got a lot out of it” 

 

Neil Toussaint:

“Turnout at our regular tower practice is pretty good. Our weekly agenda includes rounds and call changes, various doubles and minor methods.  Occasionally we ring Surprise Minor when visitors join us from other towers in the Ledbury District.  We have aspiring and capable triples and major ringers but not quite enough so ring Plain Bob and Grandsire Triples and Plain Bob Major rarely.

The Guild has recently discussed how to advance ringing across the Diocese and help with challenges Districts are struggling to solve on their own.  Hence, a two-hour Guild practice at Kingsland on 30th November for those “confident in ringing Plain Bob Doubles and Grandsire Doubles, who would like an opportunity to ring Plain Bob Triples and Grandsire Triples and Plain Bob Major.”

There were about 25 attendees.  During the rise the organisers asked attendees what they wanted to practice.  There was a mix of covering and treble to triples, some with imminent Grandsire Triples first quarter attempts hoping for a bit of extra practice and several people who know triples and major but rarely get chance to ring them. 

It seemed people had done their homework: everyone knew the line but needed practice to stay on it.  The practice moved along briskly without delays between the touches and post-mortems were conducted to one side.  The touches were quite long which I felt was a good thing. The rhythm became established, there was opportunity to reinforce the cues as to the next piece of work and time to work on making leads and dodges crisp.  There were sufficient standers-by to provide guidance and help was tuned to needs of their ringer: typically a nudge rather than a constant narrative.

The temptation to add methods not on the agenda was avoided.  I felt this was beneficial to those who came prepared “for an opportunity to ring Plain Bob Triples and Grandsire Triples and Plain Bob Major.”  That is exactly what they got.  The day delivered what it said on the tin and gave ringers something that perhaps their tower or District struggles to provide.  Thanks to Kingsland for their hospitality, accomplished ringers who supported the event and the Guild’s organisers for taking steps to rejuvenate ringing.  It was an inspiring, valuable and enjoyable afternoon” 

November practices at St Nicholas, Hereford

There are just two practices left at St Nicholas church, before the final services on Sunday 1 December 2024:

      • Wednesday 13th November 6:30 – 8:00
      • Wednesday 27th November 6:30 – 8:00

Parking is available on the Military Club car park on Friar Street.

Please message Ann on 07988 750673 if you would like to join us, as if numbers are low we will have to cancel.

 

 

Tower Open Day report

It was a surprisingly sunny Saturday for our Tower Open Day around North Herefordshire, with a couple of last minute changes due to the deluge a couple of days earlier, we kicked off the day at Tarrington. Twenty-two towers were open throughout the day, with thanks to Anne at All Saints, offering the bells last minute to replace Marden and Bodenham, both
which had been flooded the previous day.

The route took ringers through some of our county’s pretty black & white villages, towers varied, with ground floor ringing rooms, detached towers, an anti-clockwise ring, the recently rehung and those still on plain bearings, from the three bell tower of Brinsop to the 10 at Leominster. Refreshments were available at several churches, with a selection of
cake and some fabulous soup provided by the ringers at Burghill.

Visitors included those who were new to ringing, experiencing their first new towers outside of their district, to those who had ventured across the country. We had ringers that travelled from Essex, Suffolk, North Wales and further afield with one making the trip down from Dunblane in Scotland. Five ringers managed to ring at all 22 open towers during the day, a small prize awaited them at the final tower, Leominster.

We are delighted to say that over £1100 was raised for the Bell Restoration Fund. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who came along, whether as a visitor, a steward or to help out with refreshments, your support is greatly appreciated.

Tower Open Day – * URGENT UPDATE 2 *

Due to some very wet weather a couple of days ago we have had to make a couple of changes to the towers tomorrow.
The first tower will now be Tarrington 9:00-10:00.
Unfortunately both Marden and Bodenham churches have flooded in the past 8 hours, we have however arranged for Hereford, All Saints to be open 10:30 – 11:30.

We hope this doesn’t dampen your excitement too much and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Our Events Team has also been out and about checking the route, we still have a couple of roads flooded that we hope will have subsided by Saturday. We will update if an alternate route is necessary

We look forward to meeting you on Saturday!

On Saturday 19th October, join us to enjoy a day in north Herefordshire visiting our famous black & white villages, ringing at 23 towers, from 3 bells at the recently rehung Brinsop, to 10 bells in the market town of Leominster.

As the Guild has not held a Tower Open Day for over 30 years, you might not be sure what a Tower Open Day entails or what to expect. A Tower Open Day is similar to our AGM days, or a ringing outing in reverse, we open our towers for an advertised time and ringers will come along to ring. Open Days are a popular way for ringers to experience ringing at new towers in different parts of the country.  They are very social and friendly events and are an excellent way of raising money.  Any profits we make from the day will be donated to the Hereford Diocesan Guild Bell Restoration Fund (charity number 508531) so we hope as many local ringers as possible will support the event.

Towers will be open for one hour from the time shown (see list of towers below). Local ringers and stewards will be at each tower to help the day run smoothly. Some towers will also be providing refreshments for a small donation.

Tickets

Earlybird tickets £20, tickets on the day £25, or £2 per tower. Cash only – no card facilities on the day.

Earlybird tickets are available to book from 15th September to 13th October, email Nicky at peo@hdgb.org

Day tickets, allowing access to all towers open on the day will be available from the first five towers.

Download a poster of the tower list with lots of information about the towers here:

All towers will be open for 1 hour from the time shown, stewards and local ringers will be at each to to help the day run smoothly.

All funds raised will go to the Hereford Diocesan Guild of Bellringers Bell Restoration Fund, Charity No. 508531.

Stewards- can you help?

We are looking for people to help out on the day as tower stewards. If you would like to volunteer either by yourself or as a small group, please let us know, email eventsteam@hdgb.org. We will need 3 or 4 people for each tower, don’t worry if you’re not sure what’s involved, everything is explained here!

More information

We will be keeping tower captains and steward volunteers informed in the run up to the event, but if you would like any more information about how the day will work at any time please get in touch – email eventsteam@hdgb.org.

We hope that you will be able to support the event and look forward to seeing you somewhere on the day.

HDGB Events Team

Nicky Aubrey, Richard Bracher, Tim Hollinghurst, Fran Watkins

Towers

Time Place Bells
09:00 Tarrington 6
09:25 Withington 6
09:50 Sutton St Nicholas 6
10:30 Hereford, All Saints 8
11:05 Wellington 6
11:30 Canon Pyon 6
11:50 Kings Pyon 5
12:15 Weobley  6
12:40 Brinsop 3
13:00 Burghill 8
13:25 Pipe cum Lyde 6
13:45 Holmer 6
14:15 Norton Canon 6
14:40 Almeley 6
15:05 Eardisley 6
15:30 Dilwyn 6
15:55 Pembridge (tbc) 5
16:20 Staunton on Arrow  6
16:45 Eardisland 8
17:10 Kingsland 8
17:35 Eye 6
18:00 Leominster 10

Leominster Priory Church

 

Opportunities on 26th October 2024

We have vacancies on two Guild-organised events, both of which are being held on 26th October. To ensure that participants get the most out of the sessions numbers are limited, but if you are interested in either event please do get in touch.  If the events are over-subscribed we can arrange further sessions.

Guild Learners Session

 Saturday 26th October 10am – 1pm at Presteigne LD8 2BS. 

Bell Maintenance Training Session

 Saturday 26th October 10.30am – 3pm at Fownhope, HR1 4PS.

Guild Learners Session

Saturday 26th October 10am – 1pm at Presteigne LD8 2BS.

These sessions are aimed at those people who would like support to improve bell handling, ringing rounds, called changes, plain hunting and even moving towards methods like Plain Bob and are an opportunity to meet and make friends with other ringers from around the Guild.

A voluntary donation of £3 per person is welcomed for this session.

As there are a limited number of spaces available, if you would like to attend this session, please could you let Kris know either by email: master_elect@hdgb.org or on WhatsApp: 07400 322002.

Bell Maintenance Training Session

Saturday 26th October 10.30am – 3pm at Fownhope, HR1 4PS

This session is being run by Ashley Fortey, the Guild Belfries Officer and was initially organised on behalf of the Hereford District. There are still some spaces left, so we thought we would open the invitation to the rest of the Guild.

If you a new or experienced steeple keeper and would like to learn some new skills, or brush up existing ones, or even if you just have an interest in bell maintenance and engineering – this session is for you.

£5 per person. Bring your own lunch.

Only 6 places available!

To book a place, contact Kris by email: hfd_education@hdgb.org or Tel/message: 07400 322002.

St Laurence Ludlow Guild’s Scottish Odyssey

As with most ideas in ringing – good and bad – it started with a conversation in the pub. Post one quarter peal, the conversation turned from ringing on 10 bells to ringing on 12. The Hereford Guild does not have a ring of 12 bells within its boundaries so if we want to ring on higher numbers, it means a trip to Kidderminster, Worcester, or Shrewsbury. A little voice inside my head said, ‘why not go to Tulloch?’ but that little voice didn’t stay inside my head …. and the half-expected responses of ‘it’s a bit far’ came back as ‘now that’s a great idea’!

The Highlands Ringing Centre is a forward-thinking, purpose-built ringing training facility. It is the inspiration of its owners, Peter Bevis and Helen McGregor. Based at Tulloch Farm in the Scottish Highlands and backing on to the Nevis Range (yes, that is Ben Nevis over there …) it is in a very scenic location. There are two rings of bells – 12 (07-2-04) and 8 (03.0.21) alongside a simulator bell. All the bells are very easy and pleasant to ring. The ring of 8 was only installed in April of this year (replacing a lighter ring). There is plenty of self-catering accommodation on the farm as well as a kitchen and self-catering rooms in the ringing centre itself. It is ideal for groups to gather and ring whatever – the bells are practically inaudible outside (not that there are any neighbours to annoy).

Fast forward 12 months and a group of ringers who regularly ring at Ludlow headed north for our Scottish Odyssey.

The Ludlow band has changed somewhat in the last few years with several ringers moving into the area. So, in addition to ringing, this was an opportunity for the group to socialise and get to know each other better than we have been able to up to now.

From the ringing perspective our aim was to practice ringing, striking and rhythm on higher numbers. The week was divided into practice sessions (for all abilities) alongside quarter peal attempts and focus practices. Some made use of the simulator to practice methods and striking and, of course, there were handbells. Trips to ring at Inverness Cathedral and the majestic 10 bells at Inveraray were also arranged, enabling us to ring on different bells and experience the stunning Highlands scenery. Some of the more intrepid ventured further east of Inverness to ring on the Forres mini ringing.

We scored 12 quarter peals in the week – and lost a few more (which will give us food for thought as to how to improve) with several ‘firsts’ being recorded. The highlight was undoubtedly the quarter peal of Little Bob Maximus, which for a band that does not ring on 12 bells, was an excellent piece of ringing – a performance to be very proud of. Details of all the performances can be seen on Bellboard.

The week was a resounding success, with many wanting to know when we plan to return. It was particularly pleasing to see people develop their skills as well as seeing the group gel – with banter aplenty and the occasional dram of the amber nectar – as the week progressed. We now need to think about how we take our ringing forward – but a trip back to the Highlands is very much on the cards!

The Ringing Centre is available to anyone, however experienced you or your band may be. It’s well worth the visit!

Paul Wells

ART Course Report

Susannah from Burghill attended a recent Association of Ringing Teachers M1 course. Here is her report …

As August drifted its way into September and my mind was beginning to fill up with thoughts of algebra and teenagers, and how to make the latter learn the former, I found myself with one last challenge left for the summer holidays: the ART M1 course.

I am a Teacher by trade, and a bellringer by hobby, but I hadn’t really expected to bring these two things together until our tower captain at Burghill proposed that several of us should do an ART course. So, setting aside all thoughts of algebra for the day, I popped my soup into a thermos and headed out to church on Saturday to learn how to teach bellringing.

Our group was made up of a wide range of people – from those of us who have only been ringing a couple of years ourselves, to those who have been ringing and teaching for years or even decades. This definitely made for a very interesting course as the wisdom and advice from the course leaders Paul and Frank were complemented by stories, experiences and techniques from those on the course. Learning alongside such a range of ringers made it very easy to ask lots of questions to really deepen our understanding and the course leaders were great at taking on board what we were asking and explaining a technique in more detail, or talking us through the reasoning behind various choices that the ART scheme has made.

The course combined theory and practical, helping us to really get to grips with what Frank and Paul were recommending, and to realise the aspects of teaching that might be most challenging (such as remembering not to catch the sally if you’ve told the learner to catch it – the muscle memory was not easy to unlearn!)

It was clear by the end of the day that all of us were feeling reassured, equipped, and enthused to go away and teach more people how to ring bells, and we have already started to organise a follow up session between ourselves to help us practice some of the exercises and techniques that we’ve learnt so that we can be even more confident and comfortable when we use them on our new learners.

I expected to get quite a lot out of this course, but I have to say that the day surpassed my expectations, and I am very much looking forward to making the most of my learning and doing my bit to encourage more people to ring, and teach them to do so!

Norman Mattingley – funeral arrangements

From Norman’s family …

With sadness we announce the death of Norman Mattingley, who died on 25th August 2024. The family invite you to join us in celebrating his life at his funeral service at Kenwyn Church, 27th September at 11am. We plan for there to be open ringing before the service.

Following the funeral, please join the family to celebrate Norman’s life at The Alverton in Truro.

All are welcome to join. If you can, please let Helena (helena.j.mattingley@googlemail.com / 07814254942) know if you intend to be with us in person, and if there are any access or dietary requirements.