Ringing Forums

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

... a chink of light shines through the gloom...

AJ - but were they ringing the old standard 8 before covid struck?
If so, then jumping into pickled eggs post covid may put off some (perhaps the pickling spice may be too spiced).
Once confident with the old favourites, that may then be the time to move on gently.

If there has been a relapse from pickled eggs to the old 8, then gentle reminders are probably worth trying.

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

PPE methods were being rung before the break. I had had difficulty getting decent methods introduced until Mr Linford gave them legitimacy. But on the re-start why bother with Lincolnshire and Rutland? Why not Lessness and Cornwall? Unusually last night I rang the second to some Lincolnshire and had the full pleasure of both 27s and 28s in the five-pull dodges on the front.
I think it reflects what seems to be a general tendency, at times of difficulty, to look back to the past and to try to perpetuate or recreate it rather than take the opportunity to take stock of where we are, have a bit of a rethink, and look forward rather than backwards; keeping the good and dumping the old baggage.

Good news (I think) is that the book on learning surprise major methods has gone to print, or will within days. It is over 200 pages long and I think will be found to be a very useful manual for learning how to ring surprise major. That it will start with a different set of methods thatn the standard 8 is almost incidental - it is intending to pathway through to the point where ringers don't need one any more.

:smile:

And then on my list of things to do this week is get a timetable of Cast of 1000 practices sorted for next year. These are going to be all round the country but I think need to be focused on centres of surprise major ringing population. Trying to organise a surprise major practice when there is not a critical mass of ringers within less than an hour seems like a hiding to nothing?

Personally I am ok driving for 30 to 40 minutes; anything over that starts to seem like a long way. And given that there is the drive home again a longer drive might well mean more time in the car than up the tower.

The Book is on order. Just waiting for the postman now. Seems to be taking a long time. I ordered the book minutes ago.

I have just finished a first read through the book. Top job. Every ringer should have one.