Ringing Forums

Pat Halls did most of the work. I just updated it and added some.

Some years ago the CC Biographies Committee compiled a list of ringing societies including when they were formed, merged, divided or wound up. It's almost certainly incomplete although I've added some since then. See: http://jaharrison.me.uk/Temp/RingingSocs.html

has it changed? Hard to say because we are comparing what we remember with now. Our standards might have changed and our memory is notoriously prone to biases.
Do we have to be careful not to upset people? The obvious comparator there is other activities. For example would a conductor not say anything when an orchestra plays out of tune for fear of offending the musicians?
I think there is a culture problem with the attitude to quality with many, though not all bands. But i think it's deeper than not wanting to talk about it (suppressing bad news) often it is simply not knowing what bad news is. That in itself is a symptom of not valueing it enough to learn.

joke noted, but there's a serious thread of truth. New ringers absorb their habits and attitudes from other ringers. In that sense, we (collectively) teach them what is and isn't important. Obviously we have a range of values but those who do value quality clearly don't pull hard enough against those who don't to shift the average.

you are probably right that most ringers could tell the difference between good an bad ringing when listening to it. I suspect the problem is that they don't listen to what they are ringing. Listening, especially critically, takes effort and focus. If bell control, ringing the method and worrying about ropesight use up attention there may not be any left for listening. Metaphorically they get 'tunnel vision' and just don't register the audible rhythm. If they have been taught to ring visually and never developed the habit of latching onto the sound, it becomes a 'too difficult' optional extra.

'in the belfry windows' is a bit vague. Are they within the depth of the louvres or protruding on the inside? And if they protrude, is there still space to fit sound control behind? If there's a ledge to build on that helps. Otherwise you have to fix everything on the inner surface. But there are lots of other factors to consider, for example: How big an opening do you need? How far in will the shutters protrude, and is there adequate clearance?
When we installed sound control in 1982 things were fairly easy. The open area we needed wasn't too big since the louvres were already partly bricked up, and we had a ledge to build on. See: http://www.allsaintswokinghambells.org.uk/ASTower/BellChamber/SoundControl/index.html#Pictures

at least they would be Nader the same heading. As it is, the list of topics keeps growing, despite the fact that each 'discussion' (except this) has only one comment.

wouldn't it be more sensible to make these posts as the next in the series rather than starting a new 'conversation' for each?

what's wrong with putting off people who don't want to be part of the team?

I don't think it's true to say service ringing isn't an obligation. If you join a performing group (ringing, musical or other) there is an expectation that you will take part in performances when required. How many performances, and how much discretion the individual performer has will vary from 'strict 100% or you are out' to 'make sure you are pull your weight enough not to let down the team'. But I don't accept the idea of no obligation.
That doesn't imply attending services or being religious, which are separate.
One of our ringers played in a brass band, and if they had an engagement she was expected to play, Why should the same not apply to ringing?

contractual interfaces do add complication, and need managing, but this wasn't just an isolated project. The architect (conservation surveyor) has far wider responsibility, including quinquennial and related work. The specialist builder was already doing a lot of other work on the church both before and after the bells project.
In the later project to install a screen between the ringing room and nave, we did give a prime contract to the glass company who was responsible for subcontracting the joiner and scaffolder, although we initially anticipated needing to employ separate contractors.
Full details on the tower website http://allsaintswokignhambells.org.uk/ASProject/

slight relapse, we rang several PPE methods before the break but Lessness was the safest for the first post break practice.

we have the first post CoViD Surprise practice tomorrow - standard 8 plus Lessness.

I've heard comments that make it clear members of the public can tell the difference between good and bad ringing if exposed to both. The fact that some are grateful for the bells being rung imperfectly could just mean they like bells and they've never heard any better.
Two relevant examples. 1 On an outing someone in the tea shop said how nice it was to hear their bells rung properly. 2 A message from a neighbour complaint about 'demented ringing' after a quarter fired out and the conductor let it struggle on too long.

some do some don't. We are all vaccinated.

When we needed pockets for an extra beam the work was done by the same specialist company that had already done work on other parts of the church. The bell hangers specified the hols. The builder cut them, the bellhangers installe the beam (bolted across the base of the existing beams and extending into the pockets) and the builder then filled the pockets (to a spec detemined by the conservation architect).

The muffles I grew up with had a buckled strap around the flight and leather thong around the shaft. Buckling the strap held the muffle in place while you tied the thong but unless you were really lucky with the holes the strap wasn't really tight. You could then focus on making sure the thong was really tight.
At one point we had muffles with two straps that were really difficult - they weren't long enough to wrap round like the pictures above.
The muffles we have now have thongs top and bottom. They are a bit more fiddly to put on because the muffle isn't held in place while you tie the bottom thong. OTOH you can potentially get both ends tight.
I do a half hitch on the first turn (strictly two half turns) and pull that really tight. Then I do however many turns are needed to leave the right lengths for the knot. Make another half turn and pull that really tight. Then hen add the slippery half turn (the bow) to lock it, and pull that really tight. NB by pull really tight I mean a couple of sharp tugs, not just a steady pull.

As late as the 1980s the Diary was using the convention for W & M that didn't fit the coursing order convention. I discovered that while rehearsing in my head a quarter that I was going to call, on my way to the church. At the end I hadn't got to 53246. I assumed I had made a slip and went through it all again but got the same result. When I got to the tower I wrote it out on paper to check. Fortunately something (can't remember what) gave me the idea of swapping over W & M and then the composition worked.
If I hadn't rehearsed calling it I would only have found the problem when it failed to come round at the end, which would have been embarrassing!