Ringing Forums

most replacements involve a single rope, in which case the best guide is to make it 5he same as the ropes either side, or the average if they are different.

we’ve been using pre stretched polyester for 40 years and had no evidence of garter hole wear.

like to donate “push button” automatic sound contro — Steve Farmer

IT needn't be quite that high tech. We just release four cords in the ringing room, which is just as easy. And we do sometimes close the shutters selectively on the side with houses nearest.

came from the HLF rather than the Association, it seems ironic that it's easier to get funding for that sort of thing from external funding bodies than it is from our own sources. — John de Overa

Indeed. But it merely reflects that the HLF was set up for broad support of cultural activities whereas BRFs were set up with a narrow focus on hardware. Why they were so set up, and the culture behind it is another matter.

I admit I was replying to the point about the Charity Commission, which is a legal point, and I didn't spot the reference to persuading members. Yes, members would need to agree to changes, but in the current climate that is something to work through rather than a reason not to try. The CC has modernised itself. Several societies have also done so, and my own Guild has just embarked on the process. If those changes are possible, so are changes to how we prioritise the use of money.

That would require the agreement of both the association membership and The Charity Commission ... That it will likely be difficult and time consuming. — John de Overa

That doesn't follow. The Charity Comission is primarily concerned with whether a charity spends it's money to achieve charitable purposes. If a charity is not spending its money effectively, and modifying its objects would enable it to do so more effectively (on charitable purposes) then the Commission would be likely to support the change of objects.

the proportion of subs transferred into the BRF can be changed very easily. Also there is case for considering registering the whole society as a charity, where there is then — Roger Booth

The ODG AGM normally votes to make a substantial grant to thee bell fund but this year the trustees said it didn't need any more money,over and aabove its other sources of income, so no donation was made.

I can relate to that. There was a sweet factory behind the house where I grew up, with extractor fans on the roof. If you listened for it you could hear them but otherwise wouldn't notice them. But the sound really wound my father up, to the point where he even went through the process of trying to get rates relief on the grounds of noise interference.

We have had a published policy, available on our website, since 2017, see: Here We are about to consider revising it after a complaint from someone working at home during a weekday morning peal. Previously we considered weekdays would not cause undue disturbance but WFH has changed things so we might consider closing the shutters that face the nearest houses during peals.

it sounds like an unfortunate situation, and maybe there are undertones that limit what can or should be done. But from the information given my thoughts are:
1. I assume the complaints about sound in the churchyard come from people living next yo it, not from those interred there.
2. How serious are the complaints? Was it an isolated one off moan from a one off situation or is it a real hardship in a recurring situation?
3. Could you improve the synthetic sound, for example better speakers, different pitch or a different audio file?
4. If you can get hold of a sound meter it would be worth measuring the sound levels at various points with and without the sound control shutters closed. 20dB difference is fairly effective.
5. Are the shutters significantly less effective on some sides than others? If so are the closing properly, and check for a poor fit or missing seals.

It can certainly be hard to develop as a ringer without a stable environment in which to practice. It's not clear in this case whether it's method ringing or just good striking that is the goal, but for someone not to feel safe after ringing 7 years (I assume ringing familiar, normal bells) suggests something is wrong.
The ability to handle a bell safely is the core skill on which everything else builds. If you don't feel confident that you can safely handle whatever the bell does then that distraction will undermine everything else you try to do.
As a teacher I see helping the learner to feel at ease with the bell, and to develop the confidence that goes with it, as an integral part of initial teaching - an essential stage on the learner's progression to 'flying solo'.

He was told that the bell was too light for him. When he reported this to me I immediately told him that the bell was not too light, he was not ringing it correctly — Phillip George

I agree he should have been told that ringing light bells isn't easy, that it requires a specific technique, and how to do it. Ideally he would have had another go with someone standing with him to give advice. However, we don't know the overall context, who was present, the overall needs of them practice, and so on. If he was too far out of his comfort zone and unlikely to succeed on that bell on that occasion even with advice then it was reasonable to say the bell was too light for him 'for now' since he needed a bit more practice to be able to ring it.

It would help to know how big it is. You didn't answer Lucy's question. My guess is not very big, but pictures can be misleading.

no, I think the frame is complete, if a little unusual. The straight piece would be bolted to the wall, probably vertical. That carries the pivot for one end of the headstock, and the curved piece coming form it, probable downward, carries the pivot at the othe end. That should be adequate to support the weight of the bell, and since it only swings through a small angle there shouldn't be large lateral forces.
All this is conjecture of course. I am simply reverse engineering what is visible.

definitely rung by swinging. The thin lever attached to the headstock would have the rope/cord/wire attached to it.
It would have been fixed to a wall with the thick part of the frame attached to it.

the people who post here - it seems to me that they spend at least as much time thinking about ringing as they spend doing it — John de Overa

We are a very biased sample. It's hardly surprising that a discussion list attracts people who think about things, and the subset who make comments have clearly thought about them enough to form a view they feel worth passing on.
Also bear in mind the relatively high entry bar to these discussions - first you have to make the effort to subscribe to the forum and then you have to be interested enough to check it periodically. Compare that with the email lists where once you have subscribed everything gets delivered to you, whether or not you have already commented on the topic, and the even lower bar of the Facebook groups where stuff gets fed to you without the need to express any interest.

I don't think anyone starts with a goal of being distinctly mediocre — John de Overa

I'm sure they don't. They might start with an ambition only to do modest things but I doubt that thought that they would never fully master them would not enter their minds - a bit like the difference between aiming to climb a small hill so you can stand on the top and admire the view having expended modest effort but finding yourself part way up a scree slope where it's a continual effort.

I agree about the need for a continuum from initial learning through coached development to self driven / peer supported development. That lifelong perspective was the guiding philosophy whe we wrote The New Ringer's Book, and it's something I try to impart to everyone I come into contact with.
But I think that's a bit tangential to the thrust of Linda's book, which is that the early stages of learning can lay the ground for developing change ringing, and that if they aren't, as is often dine, later progression to competent change ringing is made difficult if not impossible.

That's a variant I haven't met before. The wedge enables it to fit the inside of the bell while sitting against the clapper ball. Where I learnt to ring we had internal clapper stays but they had to be pushed up to fit the inside of the bell, and keeping them there relied on a tight grip on the clapper. Where I ring now we have clapper stays with lugs that fit over the lip of the bell and don't therefore need a tight fit on the clapper shaft. See: http://jaharrison.me.uk/thb/6-4.html#6-4i

it's worth looking at The Road to Ringiing, reviewed in last week's RW. They are based on Linda's own teaching practice, developed over a number of years.