Hi all,
Please note there will be no surprise Royal practice in June (due to a few reasons).
I will email out over the next few days about the July practice.
Regards,
Daniel Graham
Category Archives: Guild Surprise Royal Practice
CANCELLED – Surprise Royal Practice – 22nd April
Hi all,
Sadly due to lots of people being away this month I am going to have to cancel the planned surprise royal practice. There will be no practice in April.
I will make contact again soon regarding a possible May practice. The date would be 27th May.
If the May practice isn’t able to go ahead then I’ll have to review the situation as it may no longer be practical to have these practices sadly.
Thanks to those who are continuing to support the practices. Please watch this space.
Regards,
CANCELLED – Surprise Royal Practice – Next one April 22nd – RSVP
Hi all,
Due to a number of people being away, we are too short of people in March for a Surprise Royal practice to take place.
So to confirm – there will be NO PRACTICE in March.
Looking ahead to April things look slightly better, so please use the following link to let me know if you can make the April practice.
Sunday April 22nd – 14:00 – 15:30
https://doodle.com/poll/vpphxe73w83hvwah
I’ll update you in early April as to the likelihood of the practice going ahead.
Thanks,
Guild Surprise Royal Practice Sunday 25th Feb (parking update)
Hi all,
The next surprise royal practice is as below;
Sunday 25th February 14:00 – 15:30
St Mary’s Southampton
Focus Methods are: Bristol and Superlative No2.
We will of course ring C/Y/N as required.
As I’ve slightly lost track of a few changes, CAN YOU PLEASE REPLY to this email to let me know if you are hoping to attend, so that I can ensure we have enough.
There is a large church car park which is Pay and Display. Make sure you enter your car registration correctly as the private company who run the car park have fined people for simple mistakes before (1 instead of i, 0 instead of O etc).
If you can attend the practice please do as we currently just have enough to make it viable.
Many Thanks!
Surprise Royal Practice Feb 25th
Thanks to those who attended the surprise royal practice this afternoon. We had enough people to attempt the Superlative a few times, along with some Yorkshire and some less successful 3 spliced. We could have done with 3 or 4 more people, but we managed ok with the number we had.
Next month the practice is scheduled for Sunday 25thFebruary.
People seemed to like not having to go into Southampton City Centre so I will try and find another suitable tower for the next practice.
Please let me know either via the previous doodle poll, or via email if you are hoping to make the Feb practice!
Many Thanks,
Guild Surprise Royal Practice Sunday 28th Jan 2pm
Hi all,
To confirm the next surprise Royal practice is taking place as below;
Sunday 28th January
14:00-15:30
North Stoneham
Special method is Superlative No2.
We will also ring the standard CYN.
We are right on the borderline of having enough people to make it a viable practice so please do come and support it if you can! The practice will go ahead and hopefully lots of people will be able to make it.
Thanks,
Surprise Royal Practices in 2018 – Next one March 25th
Hi all,
Thanks to those who made it to the surprise royal practice this afternoon in Southampton. Kristian informs me it was a useful practice so thanks again to all who made it.
We won’t have a practice in December but will aim to restart again in January. I’ll send out a doodle vote with the next few months dates in a few weeks time. For information they are likely to be;
January 28th
February 25th
March 25th
April 22nd
May 27th
June 24th
Thanks again for supporting these practices.
Regards,
Surprise Royal Practice – Sunday 26th November at Bitterne Park – 14:00 -15:30
Hi all,
I am now finally able to confirm the location of the next Surprise Royal Practice.
Sunday 26th November 14:00 – 15:30 BITTERNE PARK, Southampton.
Methods as usual to include C/Y/N plus Bristol Royal. If enough we will try some 3 spliced.
I have tried a few other towers this time away from Southampton but they were all unavailable.
Look forward to seeing lots of you on a Sunday!
Cheers,
Daniel Graham
Surprise Royal Practice Southampton St Michael’s Sun 22nd Oct 2pm
Hi all,
To confirm the October surprise royal practice will be going ahead;
Sunday 22nd October = 14:00 – 15:30
PLEASE arrive for a 14:00 start, the last few practices we haven’t had 10 until close to half past
Methods: Bristol and C/Y/N spliced and single as required.
I look forward to seeing lots of you then!!
Cheers,
Southampton
Surprise Royal Practices continue – 4th Sunday of the Month – sign up here!
Hi all,
Firstly many thanks to all those who completed the feedback. It was very useful! What it did show was there was still a strong desire for practices to be continued, so after my summer off I am back to get things running again!
To make these practices as viable as possible, I am going to aim to start again in October, to allow people sufficient notice. I will advertise the next 4 practices, and using a Doodle poll, assess whether they are viable or not. All practices are on the 4th Sunday afternoon of the month. This still seems the best time for most people at present.
Please click the following link to indicate your availability;
The intention for locations would be;
22/10 – Bishopstoke
26/11 – North Stoneham
28/01 – St Mary’s, Southampton
25/02 – Hursley
I will update you towards the end of this month, so please now get signing up. Any comments/suggestion welcome, as always!
Thanks,
Southampton
Upcoming Surprise Royal Practices and the future…
Hi all,
Thank you to those who came to the last surprise royal practice. We were fairly thin on the ground, and struggled because of that, however we met and we rang so all was not lost.
A few important points going forward;
For the next few months I am extremely busy, with amongst other things my own wedding! For these reasons I am not in a place to be able to attend a surprise royal practice now myself until September. I am quite happy to organise them if someone else is happy to volunteer to lead them.
Secondly as with any new initiative it is good to regularly stop an assess the progress being made and reassess whether there is still a need for such an initiative. I have no problem in working hard to organise these practices, but if there isn’t the demand for them it is somewhat of a waste. The practice attendance does seem to fluctuate month to month, but more often then not we are on the lighter side of comfortable. However when we are more well attended good progress is often made. It is a difficult place to be in where there is still obviously some desire for such a practice, however the attendance doesn’t always make it a viable idea.
I’ve produced a short survey that I would be grateful if you could complete, it takes just a few minutes – it is a series of questions with two purposes. Firstly to gauge whether there are enough people around for a July/August practice, and secondly to gather some more general feedback to aid in my decision about whether to push on with it, or to shelve it. All feedback is gratefully received, and I will feedback the results in a few weeks time. Note you can answer this survey without being identified if you wish to.
I have opted for a survey like this as it makes keeping all the information together in one place much easier. If the practice is to continue I will start using this to see if enough people are around each month.
Once I’ve had a decent reply to the survey I’ll send out an update regarding July/August and the future of the practice.
Thanks,
2017 WP GUILD REPORT – PEAL RECORDER’S REPORT
There were 219 peals rung for the Guild during 2016, which is a slight fall compared to 2015; however this total is still significantly higher than any year other than 2015 since the early 1980’s. I said in my report last year that I hoped the Guild would maintain its peal ringing activity and I am pleased to say that we have achieved that. Keep it going!
I must thank Andrew Craddock for sharing the statistics generated by PealBase, allowing me to cross-check the Guild’s records. Finally I would like to thank all those conductors and organisers who submit details, compositions and fees within the one month deadline specified by the Guild rules. Please may I also remind conductors that we do require all compositions in full whether or not they have been rung for the Guild previously. I am also pleased to announce that I can now take peal fees electronically; I would request that conductors email me FIRST for a reference and the necessary account details, even if you already have them, to allow me to monitor what I have and have not received.
Tower Bell Peals
There were 142 tower bell peals rung for the Guild in 2016, 14 fewer than the previous year but comparable to 2014. What is of greater concern is the number of ringers taking part in a tower bell peal continued the decreasing trend witha fall to 200, this is 24 fewer than 2016 and 46 fewer than 2013.
Six ringers rang their first peal in a W&P peal during 2016 and the Guild Officers would like to extend their congratulations to Will Stoddart, Martin Willson, Helen Rolf, Janice Firth, Rob Gorton and Gemma Loweth. The latter three actually achieved their first peal in a handbell peal but are included here for completeness. To add to this list Aileen Wilson also scored her first tower bell peal.
Following the ‘First Peal 2015’ initiative it is good to see that the Guild is still introducing ringers to peal ringing and I would encourage all members to think whether you or somebody else in your tower would be interested in attempting a peal. It would be brilliant if we can increase both the numbers of new peal ringers and ringers taking part in peals in general to stem the falling trend.
Malcolm Powell heads the list of prolific peal ringers for 2016 pushing last year’s leader, Edd Colliss, into second. John Dodd and Kathryne Arkless also remain near the top with Gareth Higgs, Jim Twiney and Graham Nobbs joining the list of people to ring 40 or more peals for the Guild in 2016.
The list of prolific conductors remains largely unchanged with Edd Colliss still heading the list with Toby Arkless and Ben Carey exchanging places behind. Once again, like the total number of ringers the total number of conductors is also down 3 on 2015 to 29.
St Agatha, Portsmouth heads the list of the leading towers again with a similar number to 2015 representing over a third of the Guild’s 2016 total. It is also worth noting that no other tower rang more than 9 peals, the first time this has happened for 9 years.
The first peal on the augmented ring at All Saints Basingstoke was completed with a peal of Bristol Surprise Royal in April.
There were a number of personal footnotes during 2016 and I congratulate Paul Young on his 1200th, Martin Daniels 500th, Graham Nobbs 400th, David Mattingley 300th, Colin Butler 250th and Kieran Downer 25th. Toby Arkless and Edd Colliss scored their 250th as Conductor. Several ringers also reached a milestone for the Guild; Malcolm Powell and Jim Hodkin 500, and Andrew Howes 100.
Roy LeMarechal passed two significant milestones during 2016, ringing his 2000th peal for the Guild with a peal of Cambridge Royal at Bishopstoke in February and his 3000th peal some three weeks later, also Cambridge Royal at Bishopstoke. Roy is only the 49th person to achieve this total.
Peals were rung by the Sunday service band of Vale, Guernsey, who rang a peal of 7 Doubles in January, and Bishopstoke, who rang a peal of Double Norwich in December. I would also like to mention the 7 members of the Catherington Sunday service band who scored a peal of 13 Spliced Surprise Major in January and it was my pleasure to ring the treble for you.
In February a peal of Yorkshire Surprise Maximus was rung at Hursley by a ladies band; this is believed to be the first twelve bell peal rung by a ladies band for the W&P.
Peals were rung in memory of Guild Member and former A&P district Chairman Andrew Barnsdale.
Several peals were rung to celebrate the 90th Birthday (both actual and official) of HM Queen Elizabeth II. Peals were also rung on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland and as part of the Bell Ringers Strike Back Against Blood Cancer campaign.
| Leading Ringers | |
| Malcolm M Powell | 66 |
| Edward P D Colliss | 64 |
| John A Dodd | 56 |
| Kathryne R Arkless | 46 |
| E C Gareth Higgs | 42 |
| Graham A Nobbs | 40 |
| James W G Twiney | 40 |
| 3 ringers | 36 |
| 3 ringers | 30-35 |
| 2 ringers | 20-29 |
| 10 ringers | 19-Oct |
| 23 ringers | 9-May |
| 64 ringers | 4-Feb |
| 88 ringers | 1 |
| Total Ringers | 200 |
| Leading Conductors | |
| Edward P D Colliss | 42 |
| Toby Arkless | 21 |
| Benjamin J Carey | 17 |
| Roy LeMarechal | 17 |
| James W G Twiney | 6 |
| Benjamin D Constant | 4 |
| 4 conductors | 3 |
| 3 conductors | 2 |
| 16 conductors | 1 |
| Total Conductors | 29 |
| Leading Towers | |
| Portsmouth, St Agatha | 49 |
| Bishopstoke, | 9 |
| Awbridge | 8 |
| Holybourne | 5 |
| Portsmouth Cathedral | 5 |
| Basingstoke, All Saints | 4 |
| Winchester Cathedral | 3 |
| 8 towers | 2 |
| 43 towers | 1 |
| Total Towers | 58 |
| Minimus | 1 |
| Kent Block* | 1 |
| Doubles | 7 |
| 12m | 2 |
| 3m | 2 |
| 42v | 1 |
| 7m | 1 |
| 4m | 1 |
| Doubles & Minor | 1 |
| 6m | 1 |
| Minor | 24 |
| Plain Bob | 5 |
| Spliced TD (8m) | 4 |
| 7m S | 4 |
| Spliced S (8m) | 2 |
| Cambridge S | 1 |
| Spliced S (41m) | 1 |
| Spliced S (24m) | 1 |
| Spliced S (7m) | 1 |
| 7m | 1 |
| 5m | 1 |
| 4m | 1 |
| 3m | 1 |
| 2m P | 1 |
| Triples | 3 |
| Grandsire | 3 |
| Major | 83 |
| Bristol S | 9 |
| Superlative S | 4 |
| Yorkshire | 4 |
| Spliced S (8m) | 3 |
| Cambridge S | 2 |
| Double Norwich CB | 2 |
| Rutland S | 2 |
| Spliced S (23m) | 2 |
| Spliced S (19m)# | 2 |
| Spliced S (10m) | 2 |
| Baltic Wharf S# | 1 |
| Basingstoke S | 1 |
| Belfast S | 1 |
| Berkelium S# | 1 |
| Booth S# | 1 |
| Deva S | 1 |
| Devonshire S# | 1 |
| Dodd Fell D# | 1 |
| Ealing S | 1 |
| Falmouth S | 1 |
| Flerovium S# | 1 |
| Four Score S# | 1 |
| Griffin S# | 1 |
| Guernsey S | 1 |
| Hunters Bar S# | 1 |
| Jersey S | 1 |
| Jonah S# | 1 |
| Kenninghall S | 1 |
| Lessness S | 1 |
| Lincolnshire S | 1 |
| London S | 1 |
| Lye D# | 1 |
| Majestic S# | 1 |
| Muppet Show S# | 1 |
| No. 5029 Nunney Castle S# | 1 |
| No Hope D# | 1 |
| Norwich S# | 1 |
| November S | 1 |
| Once Brewed D# | 1 |
| Peterstone Wentloog S# | 1 |
| Plain B | 1 |
| Portsmouth S | 1 |
| Preston S# | 1 |
| Revolver D | 1 |
| Ruthenium S | 1 |
| Spliced S (21m)# | 1 |
| Spliced S (17m) | 1 |
| Spliced S (15m) | 1 |
| Spliced S (14m) | 1 |
| Spliced S (13m) | 1 |
| Spliced S (6m) | 1 |
| 1 | |
| St Agatha S# | 1 |
| Tavistock S | 1 |
| Thropton S# | 1 |
| Uxbridge S | 1 |
| Wales S# | 1 |
| Watford S | 1 |
| Wedding D# | 1 |
| Winchester B | 1 |
| Xavier S# | 1 |
| Caters | 4 |
| Grandsire | 3 |
| Erin | 1 |
| Caters & Royal | 1 |
| Spliced (4m) | 1 |
| Royal | 9 |
| Cambridge S | 4 |
| Bristol S | 2 |
| Henleaze S# | 1 |
| Spliced S (2m) | 1 |
| Yorkshire S | 1 |
| Cinques | 1 |
| Grandsire | 1 |
| Maximus | 7 |
| Bristol S | 2 |
| Yorkshire S | 2 |
| Zanussi S | 2 |
| Riverhead# | 1 |
| Spliced S (2m) | |
| Fourteen | 1 |
| Spliced (2m)# | 1 |
(* first peal in the method, # first for the Guild)
Handbell Peals
The strength of handbell ringing within the Guild continues with a slight increase on the 2015 total to 77, again a new record as far as I can ascertain. The numbers of ringers and conductors participating in a Guild handbell peal remained broadly similar to 2015, both being only one fewer in 2016.
Ian Redway and Frank Morton were once again the leading ringer and conductor of Guild handbell peals. Whilst the lists of prolific ringers and conductors look very similar to previous years one name appears much higher than before with Duncan Loweth conducting 14 handbell peals for the guild.
In August John Croft scored his 1000th peal in hand and also reached his 200th peal as conductor in a handbell peal. John Dodd rang his 1000th peal for Guild in a handbell peal in May. Martin Daniels and Trish Spink achieved their 250th and 50th peals in hand respectively.
| Leading Ringers (Handbell Peals) | |
| Ian Redway | 41 |
| Martin J E Daniels | 35 |
| John A Dodd | 25 |
| Frank R Morton | 23 |
| E C Gareth Higgs | 22 |
| Brian J Woodruffe | 18 |
| John S Croft | 17 |
| Patricia D Spink | 17 |
| 3 ringers | 14-Oct |
| 4 ringers | 9-May |
| 9 ringers | 4-Feb |
| 10 ringers | 1 |
| Total Ringers | 34 |
| Leading Conductors (Handbell Peals) | |
| Frank R Morton | 23 |
| Brian J Woodruffe | 17 |
| John S Croft | 12 |
| Duncan Loweth | 12 |
| Andrew G Craddock | 4 |
| E C Gareth Higgs | 3 |
| Benjamin J Carey | 2 |
| Martin J E Daniels | 2 |
| Thomas J Hinks | 1 |
| E John Wells | 1 |
| Venues (Handbell Peals) | |
| Awbridge, The Clock House | 20 |
| Whiteparish, Anchorsholme | 17 |
| New Alresford, Jubilee | 11 |
| Guernsey, San Baronto | 7 |
| New Milton, Milton Grove | 5 |
| Micheldever, 37 Northbrook | 4 |
| Chandler’s Ford, 2 Rosemoor Grove | 3 |
| Dibden Purlieu, 30 Heatherstone Avenue | 2 |
| 8 venues | 1 |
| Total Venues | 16 |
St George’s Day Ringing in Southampton
The Southampton City Ringers and friends marked St George’s day today with two quarter peals successfully scored in the city.
1282 Cambridge Surprise Royal was rung at St Michael’s first followed by 1280 Bristol Surprise Royal at St Mary’s afterwards.
Both quarter peals can be viewed on BellBoard;
St Michael’s – http://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=1169932
St Mary’s – http://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=1169898
This news was originally posted by Daniel Graham on the Southampton City Ringers Website
Confirmed – Guild Surprise Royal Practice 30th April 2pm
Dear all,
The April surprise royal practice will go ahead.
Sunday 30th April, 14:00 – 15:30 at St Mike’s Southampton
Methods will include Cambridge, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and new for this month PUDSEY.
(We may also ring Bristol and London if enough people attend but the focus method is Pudsey)
I look forward to hopefully seeing lots of you there!
Thanks,
Dan
Guild Surprise Royal Practice 30th April 2pm – only a few more people needed
Hi all,
We are close to having enough support for this to go ahead on 30th April 2017 14:00 – 15:30.
If you haven’t yet replied and are available please let me know – you might make the difference!
Those who have replied and are available I have listed below, so you all know I have received your emails.
Thanks, Dan
Guild Surprise Royal Practice 30th April – UPDATE
Hi all,
Thanks to all those who have already replied. We currently have only 6 people who have said they are available on the next suggestion date, 30th April 2017 14:00 – 15:30.
Please let me know ASAP if you are free on that date and would be likely to attend a practice. As previously we need to hit a minimum number of around 15 for it to be viable.
Thanks,
The next Guild Surprise is planned for Sunday 30th April 2pm-3.30 **RSVP**
Hi all,
There will be no March surprise royal practice due to low numbers.
It would be really good to get it going again, so lets all try extra hard to support an April practice.
The date for that would be SUNDAY 30th APRIL 14:00 – 15:30.
If you are available and hope to attend please let me know. If enough people are available then a practice shall go ahead.
Thanks,
Dan
Surprise Royal Practice – Sunday 26th February
Hi all,
The next suggested Surprise Royal practice would be on Sunday 26th February.
Once again this will only go ahead if enough people are around to support it. Please let me know ASAP if you would be able to attend a practice 14:00 – 15:30.
Many Thanks,
Daniel
Southampton
- Contact Daniel Graham
Email:Use Form
CHRISTCHURCH PRIORY RINGERS – TOWER CAPTAINS REPORT 2016/17
I am pleased to report another successful year for the Band which has seen further progress and consolidation. My report reviews the activities since our last AGM in early 2016 to date.
Starting first with our most important activity which is ringing for services, we have maintained our record of ringing Sunday by Sunday throughout the year. Unlike the Choir we take no holidays! Support for Sunday morning ringing is very strong and it is now the exception if we don’t ring all 12. The logistics of raising all the bells on Sunday morning does mean we need to work harder on our ringing up skills and I would remind people that ringing starts promptly at 8.45 and the more people who arrive on time the more likely we are to be able to raise the bells in good order.
We have fewer ringers for Evensong, however we do always ring and sometimes we ring quarter peals.
In addition we have supplied bands to ring for numerous weddings during the year, for additional services such as Civic Service and Remembrance Day. This year we rang half muffled for Remembrance and received many favourable comments. We also rang for the Radio Solent Carol service in December and our normal Easter marathon of four services. We are sourcing some new muffles for the whole 12 because the existing set are very worn.
Our band continues to grow as we have continued the tradition, long maintained at the Priory of being a teaching tower. In the last year Graham Green and Jack Brooke have joined our Sunday service band and we currently have four learners receiving one to one training so we hope that some or all of them will join the band in due course. I strongly believe that when we train ringers it is for the benefit of the whole Exercise and I am always keen for new ringers to take their place in the wider ringing community and not see their activities as confined to the Priory. Our band remain strong supporters of District activities with ringers from Christchurch often making up a sizeable proportion of those present. Ringers from the Priory also regularly support the Hordle practice night, Sunday ringing at Sacred Heart and St Peters Bournemouth, the Ringwood Surprise Practice, the Sopley minor practice, the Lymington Doubles and Minor practice and the Guild Surprise Royal practice the District Youth Practice, the District Quarter Peal club and the Guild Education events.
Many ringers in the band continue to develop their skills and in particular we should congratulate Helen Penny on her first quarter, Nicola and Luke on their first quarter inside tonTriples and Luke for conducting his first quarter at Hordle. Another highlight this year was the Guild entering a team into the National Youth Striking Competion with the involvement of three ringers from the Priory, Nicola, Luke and Helen. A long but exciting day out in London saw the ringers enjoy a variety of London towers and take part in the competition on the Royal Jubilee bells at Garlickhythe in the City.
In terms of abilities we have continued to develop our Triples ringing and new ringers are also coming up through plain hunt and into doubles. We have made good progress with some minor methods this year including Kent, Double Court, Plain and Little Bob. This builds skills and provides interest for those progressing up the ladder. We took 6 people to the Double Norwich course in the autumn, 4 students and 2 helpers and our students made very good progress with this historic and these days rather neglected method.
I am keen to develop more ringers into potential ringing masters and this year so there may be some occasions when other people are running the ringing and I’m sure you will support them.
I would like to thank all those who have supported me in leading the Tower this year including the office holders, Ian and Rosemary as Deputy Captains, Richard as Treasurer, John as Steeplekeeper and Ros as Secretary/ PR officer. Finally to all of you who support the ringing I thank you for your undiminished commitment and enthusiasm for the Band and your ringing week by week which is appreciated by so many in the Town.
Tim Martin
January 2017
Cancelled – Surprise Royal Practice – Sunday 29th January
Dear all,
Despite a positive initial reply, sadly it seems that not quite enough people are around this month for a viable Surprise Royal practice. Therefore the practice is CANCELLED.
I did have around 10 replies though, so will contact those people to see if a quarter peal would be of interest.
The next practice is proposed for Sunday 26th February and would be in Southampton. Feel free to indicate availability for this now, however I will email again towards the start of February.
Thanks,
Daniel
Southampton
Quarter Peal at Kingston in memory of Christopher Smithies (Bournemouth Sacred Heart)
Rung open in memory of Christopher P K Smithies, former branch assistant ringing master, and great friend to many. Chris passed away aged 62 after a long and brave battle with cancer on December 30th 2016. The method was chosen to produce the maximum amount of firsts (9!) to give thanks for all the firsts Chris achieved and helped countless others achieve, not just here in the Salisbury Guild, but with the Winchester and Portsmouth Guild and nationally with the Guild of St Agatha.
Chris is survived by his wife, Joan, who was outside listening to the quarter peal and is pictured with the band above
Salisbury Diocesan Guild
Kingston, Dorset
St James
Friday, 13 January 2017 in 1h 01m (26–3–16 in D)
1440 Swindon Surprise Royal
Arranged by Jack R Pease (no. 29)
1 Katie L Child
2 Linda D E Jasper
3 Andrew G Smith
4 Thomas R Garrett
5 Graham A Duke
6 Tim M Martin
7 Jack R Pease (C)
8 Matthew Pike
9 Angie M E Jasper
10 Eleanor G W Wallace
First in the method for all except 5. First on 10: 1
WP Surprise Royal Practice – Sunday 29th January 2016 *CANCELLED
Dear all,
I have had a good number of replies regarding the possible January surprise royal practice, but have not yet had quite enough to make it viable. I need around another 5 people to say they are likely to attend before I can confirm it.
If you can make Sunday 29th January please let me know ASAP – I will make a final decision in a few days time.
Dan
Surprise Royal Practice -Sun 29th Jan – RSVP
Dear all,
I hope you all had an enjoyable festive break and wish you all a Happy New Year! I hope you are all recharged for more Surprise Royal ringing!
The next date for the Surprise Royal practice is Sunday 29th January 2017. As usual this will only go ahead if enough people say they are free to attend.
Please let me know if you would be able to make this date and time.
I will email again in around a weeks time with an update on the plan.
Thanks,
Southampton
Bold Plans for the Ten Kingston Bells (Isle of Purbeck) SDGR
Whilst occurring outside our Guild, this may be of interest to people wondering “how can I restart ringing at an under-used tower?” RM
Eleanor Wallace Writes:
As some of you may know, I have been working with Mike Pitman recently to try and formulate a plan to get the practices and quarter peal nights up and running at Kingston again. They are such a beautiful ring of bells, and being a Kingston ringer myself for years I hate to see them not being rung as much as they should and going to waste.
As I have finally finished university and returned to the area I now have time to dedicate myself to re-establishing a regular practice night. However, I need as much support from everyone as I can and am asking for your help. Mike and I have come up with a concept of having two practice nights and two quarters a month on a friday so that the bells are rung every week, and we hope that it at least one night a month may appeal to all ringers of any standard, so that people don’t feel pressurised to dedicate themselves every single week.
The below is the monthly structure which I am trying to introduce, and I would love to hear what you guys think, advice etc as have never done anything like this before.
The Plan
From Friday 3rd March practice nights and quarter peal nights will be resuming at Kingston from 7:30 – 9:00 pm, and we would really love for you to join us. We have a lovely sounding and very easy-going ring of ten bells (tenor 26-3-16) and we want to get them ringing regularly again with the long-term aim
of becoming a supportive teaching tower. We are aiming to create a monthly structure that caters for ringers of all abilities; whether you are a called change ringer or a surprise ringer we hope to provide something for everyone.
1st Friday of the Month – Open Practice Night
Any ringer of any ability who is interested in getting practice at ten bell ringing is more than welcome. Ringing will range from Rounds and Called Changes to Plain Caters and Royal, as well as any six to eight bell ringing if its requested. Whatever you’re learning, come along! Any more advanced ringers who can help out will also be very much appreciated too.
2nd Friday – Advanced Ten Bell Practice
For ringers who want to challenge themselves learning Surprise Royal or just want to keep the cobwebs off. We will be practicing the Standard Eight Surprise Royal methods (and others as time goes on) with a special method to focus on every week.
3rd Friday – Open Quarter Peal
Whatever the method or number of bells, if you fancy ringing a quarter peal then let us know and we will try to organise it for you. This night is aimed at giving people of all standards quarter peal practice and achieving firsts in method etc. Just pop an email to Eleanor Wallace (form below)
4th Friday – Advanced Quarter Peal
We will be working through the Standard Eight Surprise Royal (and others afterwards) quarter peals. If you’re interested in getting involved, achieving firsts in Surprise Royal etc. just send an email to Eleanor:
- Contact the Guild Master (Rachael Barber)
Address: 24 Rushfield Road, Liss, Hants. GU33 7LW
Mobile: 07714 325059
- Guild Insurance Webinar – Recording Now Available
A webinar was held on Saturday 18th June 2022 with a presentation given by Marcus Booth from Ecclesiastical Insurance (and a bell ringer) to provide an overview of the Guild Insurance cover and what this means for our members including, public liability, personal accident cover and insurance for bell maintenance.
For those unable to attend, a recording of the presentation is available to watch below. If you are on a slow connection, you may need to download the recording before you start to watch it.
The slides from the presentation that Marcus went through are also available to download.
- 200 Club June 2022 draw held at the Guild AGM – Saturday 11th June
The latest draw for the W&P 200 Club took place immediately after the AGM in St Laurence church hall, Alton, on Saturday 11th June. The results were as follows:
Draw date: 11th June 2022
Draw for April to July money
Prize Prize Accumulation £46.00 Winning
NumbersWinners First 50% £23.00 19 Roy & Anne LeMarechal Second 20% £9.20 7 Jan Allnutt Third 10% £4.60 15 Viv Nobbs Fourth 10% £4.60 36 Roger Booth Fifth 5% £2.30 16 Graham Nobbs Sixth 5% £2.30 32 Piers Armstrong 1 £46 will go to the Training and Development Fund from this draw. More members would be most welcome – the more members, the greater the prizes and the more money for Guild training and development.
Robin Milford
- All About Rachael Barber – new Guild Master
I learnt to ring together with my Dad when I was 13. My home Tower was a steady 19cwt ring of 8 bells in the Guildford Diocesan Guild, and despite it not being the most ‘trendy’ activity amongst school kids in the 1980’s, I loved ringing! It was a great thing to do with a parent, we would drive to Practices testing each other’s knowledge of the circle of work of Plain Bob Doubles and it was all great fun! Eventually my Mum started ringing too…she figured if she was going to wait in the car for me to ring on Sunday mornings, she might as well join us, and so ringing became very much a family activity. Whilst at University in Norwich, I rang with the local band at St Giles on the Hill. The ringers here made me very welcome, despite being slightly unconventional for a bellringer in black ‘gothic’ attire at that time! I would give the elderly ex-Tower Captain a lift to ringing on Sunday mornings, and he’d tell me tales about ringing as a lad, and the rivalry between ringers at St Giles and Mancroft. In 1993, I returned home and joined my parents ringing at a Tower just over the border in the Winchester & Portsmouth Guild, who needed help to establish a new band of ringers…….and this is where I got my first opportunity to teach. We taught quite a few ringers at this Tower, and always the sessions were filled with laughter and a sense of teamwork as we worked towards building the band and fundraising to restore the bells. As we were drawn into the wider ringing of the Alton & Petersfield District, I had the opportunity to help teach three youngsters to ring at Selborne. And this became my home Tower, and has remained so for the last 25 years. Teaching is the one thing I love most about bellringing, and it was great to become a regular Tutor on the W&P Education Days and then on the Crowthorne and Bradfield Ringing Courses. And perhaps linked to this, is the other most important thing to me about bellringing – the people! I’m fortunate to have a delightfully kind and friendly band at my home Tower, and to me it doesn’t matter what we ring, but that we’re ringing together. Ringing is a bridge between young and old, between people with different backgrounds and experiences. There’s more to being a member of a band than just ringing, I’m a great believer in finding space for every ringer whatever their skill level, and making Towers welcoming places that people want to return to each week. I’m not a prolific Peal ringer, only 35 to date, but personally quietly pleased with my Peal of 8-Spliced “all the work”! I’m a Tower Captain, Steeple Keeper, District Communications Officer, and have previously acted as District Ringing Master and Newsletter Editor. I’m happy to get up in the belfry to “hands-on” help with bell restoration work, and not bad at splicing ropes! I’m a Research Biologist by trade, working in pharmaceutical drug discovery. Ringing is such a diverse activity, and whatever your passion within the Exercise, I look forward to sharing the next three years with you all as Guild Master.
- Guild AGM 2022 – Detailed arrangements -Saturday 11th June
The Alton & Petersfield District warmly welcomes you to attend the Guild AGM on Saturday 11th June!
Here is an overview of the day, but please download thesee the document below using the ‘Download’ button for the detailed arrangements, including timings, locations, links and maps.
Guild AGM Schedule (Saturday 11th June):
10:00am – 12:00noon Inter-District striking competition at West Meon.
11:00am – 12:30pm General ringing at Bentworth.
11:30am – 1:00pm General ringing at Chawton.
Lunch (own arrangements)
2:00pm – 2:50pm General ringing at Holybourne.
3:00pm – 3:30pm Service at Holybourne.
4:15pm – 6:00pm Annual Guild Meeting at St Lawrence Church Hall, Alton.
6:15pm – 7:00pm Ringer’s Buffet Tea & Refreshments.
7:00pm – 8:00pm General ringing at St Lawrence, Alton.
To avoid disappointment, please book your place in the Hall for the Tea & Meeting as soon as possible (and before 10pm on Wednesday 8th June) using the following link:
You are welcome to attend any individual part(s) of the day, or the entire day, according to your preference/availability!
REMINDER: Please could District Ringing Masters notify Pete Jordan (Guild Master) of their intention to enter a District team(s) before the closing date of Saturday 28th May.
With best wishes, and look forward to seeing you on 11th June.
Rachael Barber
A&P District Communications Officer
- Guild Newsletter – Spring 2022
The Spring 2022 edition of the Guild Newsletter is now available! You can read it directly online below, or download a copy using the ‘download’ button.
Huge thanks to all who have contributed. Please feel free to send any future news articles to comms@wpbells.org.
Happy reading!
The Communications Committee
- Winchester District QDM – Saturday 14th May – Kings Somborne from 3pm (meeting starts at 4.30pm)
The next Winchester District QDM will be held on Saturday 14th May at St Peter & St Paul’s Church, Kings Somborne.
There will be open ringing from 3-4pm, a simple tea and then the business session will start at 4.30pm. After the meeting there will be more open ringing for those who would like to do so.
Please let Micki Nadal (Winchester District Secretary) for more details and to let her know if you intend to come along as this helps us with the catering arrangements.
AGENDA
- Chairman’s Welcome/prayers
- Apologies for absence
- Minutes of the previous meeting (ADM held on 12th February 2022)
- Matters arising from the minutes
- Loss of members through death
- Confirmation of belfry elections
- Election of new ringing members
- District Communications – ‘Given the duplication that arises through the District using multiple channels of communication, and the need to maximise engagement with members across the District, a survey to be carried out to establish District members preferences for different types of communication. The results of the survey and any recommendations for action arising therefrom to be reported to the next Quarterly District Meeting.’
- A proposal by R Booth to undertake a consultation exercise and report back with recommendations to a future meeting. Supporting documentation – please see attachment or the District Newsletter sent on 1/5/22 and to Tower Correspondents on 3/5/22
- Training needs/purchases and programme – ‘That the District allocates £150 from its funds to purchase a set of four roller banners to be used for PR purposes across the District’.
- A Proposal by Mrs C Knights-Whittome of the design and purchase of roller banners for PR displays. Supporting document from Mrs C Knights-Whittome attached.
- Programme of future events
- Younger ringers in the District
- Improvers’ practices (WIMPS)
- Jubilee ringing and Quarter Peal fortnight
- Trout ‘n About Stockbridge, Alresford and Romsey Shows
- Twyford and Ropley restoration projects – update
- Any other notified business
- Chairman to close meeting
- Guild AGM 2022 – Saturday 11th June – Alton
The Winchester & Portsmouth Diocesan Guild AGM 2022 will be held in St. Lawrence’s Church Hall, Alton, on Saturday 11th June at 4.15 p.m. This will be preceded by the Inter-District 8-bell Striking Competition at West Meon in the morning and a service at Holybourne at 3 p.m. (details to follow).
Attached are the agenda, minutes of the last meeting, and officer and committee reports for 2021 . The document is also available at http://www.methods.org.uk/files/220611.bulk.pdf and will be kept up-to-date with any additional agenda items or supporting papers.
Web versions of the papers are at http://www.methods.org.uk/wparch/agm2022a.htm and will also be kept up-to-date.
If anyone has apologies for absence, items of Any other business, or comments or questions on any Agenda item, please send them to me in advance so that the meeting can run as smoothly as possible.
Many thanks and best wishes, Tony Smith.
Guild Minute Secretary.
- Guild Inter-Tower Striking Competitions – REMINDER
REMINDER
The Guild Intertower 6 and 8 bell Striking competition closing date for entries is the 8th May. If your tower has not thought about entering a team yet why not come along, have some fun and give it a go. Even if you only ring Rounds and Call changes you can enter a band.
Let’s make the return to ringing after Covid a success!
If you have any questions please contact Pete Jordan for more details.
Pete Jordan
Master – Winchester & Portsmouth Guild of Church Bell Ringers.
- Guild PRO Message – April 2022
Happy Easter!
Hopefully we’ll all be able to enjoy some ringing over this special weekend.PLEASE LET ME KNOW OF YOUR RINGING ACTIVITIES and ACHIEVIEMENTS for potential inclusion in a PRESS RELEASE!
We hear how much ringing is missed by our communities when towers cannot ring for whatever reason. It would be good to reach out again and remind folk that we are still here for them. It would be great to build on the wonderful recruitment ‘green shoots’ we are seeing across the Guild this year so, it is my hope to issue another Guild Press Release in the next few weeks.
We have some special opportunities coming up to showcase our ringing:
17 April Easter Sunday 21 April Queen Elizabeth’s (actual) birthday 23 April St. George’s Day Patron Saint of England 18 May St. Dunstan’s Day. Patron Saint of Bell Ringers,
Archbishop of Canterbury 960 – 98826 May Ascension Day 2-3 June Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday 25 June National 12-bell competition (Guildford Cathedral) 2 July Ringing World National Youth Contest
https://rwnyc.ringingworld.co.uk/28 July – 8 August Commonwealth Games (Birmingham UK) 9 – 18 September Heritage Open Days
Theme for 2022 ‘Astounding Inventions’
Registering available now: https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/If you wish to see more there is a list here –https://cccbr.org.uk/bellringing/things-to-ring-for/
I’m very much looking forward to hearing your exciting ringing news.
Thank you.
Viv Nobbs
Public Relations Officer
wp.public.relations.officer@gmail.com14 April 2022
BBC Bells on Sunday January 8th 2017 featured Hurstbourne Priors – Listen again if you missed it.
Bells on Sunday for January 2017.
1st. Denton, Manchester. Grandsire Doubles.
8th. Hurstbourne Priors, Hants. Plain Bob Major.
15th. Maidstone, Kent. Plain & Little Bob Royal.
22nd. Woodchurch, Wirral. Cambridge Surprise Major.
29th. Barnoldswick, Lancs. Barnoldswick T B Minor.
Bells Ring in Shorwell to commemorate WW1 Fallen
A quarter peal was rung to remember with gratitude, and to honour, those Island ringers who died during WW1.
Winchester & Portsmouth Diocesan Guild
Shorwell, Isle of Wight
St Peter
Wednesday, 21 December 2016 in 45 mins. (9–0–5 in G)
1296 Cambridge Surprise Minor
1 Viv Nobbs
2 Graham Nobbs
3 Steve Lutener
4 Mike Winterbourne
5 Lynne Jordan
6 Pete Jordan (C)
Rung in memory of Isle of Wight ringers who died during WW1:
Private F.J. Chiverton 27633, 2nd Bn.,
Hampshire Regiment – died 30th November 1917
aged 34.
Rifleman H.S. Denness 330597, 1st/8th Bn.,
Hampshire Regiment – died 19th April 1917 aged 22.
Private A.J. Hale, 81, 48th Regt., Canadian Militia –
died 29th June 1915 aged 26.
2nd Corporal W.J.C. Millgate 16495, 36th Coy.,
Royal Engineers – died 2nd September 1918 aged 29.
Private C.G. Petchey 202479, 2nd/4th Bn.,
Hampshire Regiment – died 11th May 1918 aged 29.
1st surprise minor 3.
Bookings Open for the Hereford Ringing Course (20th-23rd April). *** Deadline 31st Jan
The groups this year range from Rounds to Surprise Royal. You are advised to apply as soon as possible as places are in great demand on this excellent residential course.
Taken from the Hereford Ringing Course Website:
- Applications for the 2017 Course are now open. Please ensure your application reaches us by the closing date of 31st January 2017.
- Download the 2017 student application pack containing the application form and notes to help you fill in the form here.
- Download the 2017 Course Programme: a version optimised for printing here; or a version for reading on screen here.
- Cheques should be made payable to HEREFORD RINGING COURSE.
- You will need Adobe Reader to be able to view and print pdf files, which can be obtained free from Adobe’s site here.
Guild Surprise Royal Practice Sunday 27th Nov 2pm Hursley
Daniel Graham writes:
A final reminder that the November surprise royal practice is taking place this weekend, details as below;
When: Sunday 27th November at 14:00 – 15:30
Where: Hursley
Methods: Special method will remain as Bristol Royal, but we will also ring Cambridge/Yorkshire/Lincolnshire as required.
Cheers,
Daniel
Southampton
Daniel Graham Reports from the Southampton St Michael’s Practice Night
An enjoyable and rewarding practice night in Southampton last night at St Michael’s with a particularly good half course of Cambridge Royal and a nice touch of 8 spliced surprise major. Lots of other ringing too including Grandsire Triples/Caters, Stedman doubles and 4 spliced (CYNS) surprise major.
Next week, at Bitterne Park, we start our new venture of increasing our 8 bell repertoire, by starting to work through the methods in ‘Smiths 23’. First method is Cray Surprise Major.
As always all ringers welcome at any of our practices 🙂
November Surprise Royal Practice Confirmed: Sun 27th Nov 2pm at Hursley
Hi all,
I’m delighted to say that, after just under 24 hours I have already had more people express an interest in the practice then ever before! To all those who have replied many thanks!
Therefore the November practice will go ahead;
When: Sunday 27th November at 14:00 – 15:30
Where: Hursley (CONFIRMED)
Methods: Special method will remain as Bristol Royal, but we will also ring Cambridge/Yorkshire/Lincolnshire as required.
Cheers,
Daniel
Southampton
WPBELLS 