Ringing Forums

Having 30,000 friends in all parts of the country and indeed the world is worth stressing. Wherever you are for work or pleasure in UK and certain parts of the world, there is a group who will (hopefully) welcome you in.

The interesting thing about the ChatGPT piece on bell ringing is that it doesn’t mention the c-word. I note that that the introduction to Simon’s radio interview couldn’t resist using it.

The “gropups” feature sounds much more fun, John.

Yes, it was good, particularly the recordings in the tower, very true to life.

I agree with the above, but as the person in our church who returns these stats (for my sins, it's an awful job done properly) I find the advice quite surprising and certainly not what I do, as you would just get random answers. The data is supposed to generate Average or Regular Weekly Attendance and therefore any unusual attendance should be excluded. So 150 folk at a baptism one Sunday who never darken the church door otherwise from one year to the next clearly do not comprise Regular Attendance. It all depends on whether you want to produce statistically meaningful data or not.

Simon, your book is very timely for me as I often visit Devon from Lancashire and have found a lovely welcoming call change tower outside Exeter. "Which bell do you ring?" Was certainly an unexpected question, but it often comes. In the past few days at home I think the amswer would be all of 1 to 8 except the 4. Long ropes and ringing with coils was another unexpected hazard. My first time called to lead was a bit nerve racking (and still is), keeping up the striking and not falling back into what I'm used to. The key was listening. Suddenly that wonderful Devon sound and then try and keep the metronome absolutely steady until relieved of the responsibility. Bells called to lead aren't always told "Lead", but they are usually kind to me and call it thus as I'm used to.

John, I think that one of my messages was that you can develop ropesight as treble or tenor with bobs/singles before moving inside.

I have been ringing six years and am only just getting to grips with place ringing. En route I have made a bit of a profession of covering, first by learning exactly who I was following in a plain course then how it changed after a bob or single, then realising I just needed to understand the structure and could spot who I was following. Then started trebling plain courses of doubles and had some bobs thrown in, so I had to use ropesight. Finally I have gone back to inside of simple doubles methods and deliberately doing bells I hadn't already learned to ring (very unreliable) the old way. Still "on the journey" with unaffected touches. A branch practice dedicated to PBD a couple of months ago with six experienced and three learners really helped (enough for a stander). Good luck.

Previous posts have described "attended" solutions: the owner has to be told and enter the donation amount. There are alternatively unattended contactless machines which will give a selectable (say £3, £5 or£10) donation operable by the donor. We have one at church but it cost £250 to buy and standing charges can be about the same. Has anyone found a cheaper source?

This must be a ringers tradition. The liturgical tradition is that every bell in church is rung on Maundy Thursday during the Gloria and is then silent until the Gloria at the Easter Vigil.