Ringing Forums

am not quite sure what is technically correct. — Simon Linford

If you want to be inclusive you could refer to 'youth organisations'. I assume they would take that to include them.

and were all nodding their heads as you were pulling, in the hope that this energy somehow transferred to just-a-little-more pull :-) — PeterScott

Yes, and they like the person struggling are missing the point. People struggling to get up a (normal weight) bell are usually pulling like mad. If the pat were all they did the bell would shoot up. But in their eagerness to pull they start too soon. By applying force on the up stroke they stop the bell rising, and waste the effort put in on the previous stroke.
I see far more problems caused (not just when raising) by failure to let the bell rise than from lack of effort.
When raising I tell people to relax the grip completely on the up stroke so the rope, and only to grip and pull at the top of the stroke when they can feel the bell has stopped rising. And that they should expect the bell to take a little more rope through their hands each time if they are doing things correctly.

I find 'Relax' is one of the most useful exhortations throughout all teaching of handling — Richard Pargeter

It's certainly one of the most important elements but doesn't seem to get enough attention.

You can start at any age and after mastering the basics you can join in beginners' orchestras and socialise with other budding musicians — J Martin Rushton

Yes, they need to believe there is a way in for them, but that's irrelevant unless they are motivated to want you be part of it. Socialising is a valuable part of most group activities, not unique to ringing. Compared to some activities ringing (and many other things like singing) is less social because you can't talk while doing it, only around the periphery. So to take up ringing (or any activity with a significant learning curve) you need some vision of the activity itself to inspire you to want to put in the time and effort to get there. If you just want socialising and 'taking part' don't take up ringing or playing an instrument, just join a social club.

I don't know whether this will help but it might. I encourage all ringers to relax their grip between strokes. Some people grip the rope the whole time but you don't need to between strokes when there's no tension in the rope,

maybe some ideas in here: https://jaharrison.me.uk/New/Articles/AspectsSummary.pdf or the longer original, see link.

Emphasising methods and having to learn them can be off-putting for beginners. If the film is aimed at encouraging people to start then perhaps it should follow the normal progression many towers and show learning to handle a bell, ringing in rounds and call change — J Martin Rushton

If we think people would be put off by what makes most of us tick, are they the people we want to attract?
If we wanted to inspire someone to play the violin would we show the a virtuoso playing beautiful music or show them a beginner trying to play scales?

poor old Fred might well have had a whole week of rehearsing his callchanges from the 3rd. — PeterScott

How on earth can he do that? Is he planning to call them?

That's an interesting question. My answer would be similar, that we would like their interest, and their help spreading information about ringing to a wider audience.
Re what you give to them, you might be interested in these four articles written specifically for musicians: https://jaharrison.me.uk/Ringing/Music/

that seems excessive. However I once saw it advertised online for more than the list price while it was still in print and on sale.
There was no PDF version when it was published, I delivered camera ready copy.

Do you think that most of the general population would consider a church/religious connection to be positive and something that attracts them to ringing? — Tristan Lockheart

No. A few would, and they are probably church goers. For the majority I suspect it would depend on what they thought the connection was. To use some analogies:
Our churchyard is maintained by volunteers, notably by 'The Friends of Al Saints Churchyard'. I don't know the numbers but I believe they include many who are not in the congregation but see the churchyard (which is quite large) as a community asset worth supporting.
Many music societies give concerts in churches (because they are suitable buildings) and many of their audiences are not Christians but are happy to go despite it being in a church.
Most of them are also quite happy to listen to religious music like requiems or masses in a concert without feeling they are endorsing the words being sung.
Millions of people listen to or watch the service of Nine Lessons & Carols on Christmas Eve, who would not otherwise attend a church service.
Many people will visit a historic church to admire the architecture, the stained glass or the flowers, in the same way they might visit a National Trust property.
In all these cases the participan't connection is with a cultural, artistic or historical artefact that happens to be associated with the church, not with religion itself, and not as an active participant in worship or as a declaration of faith.
Ringing can be seen in a similar light. Like music it is an artistic and cultural activity that can be appreciated in its own right as well as being used as an adjunct of the church.
Seen in that neutral light I suspect a majority would not rule out being associated with ringing just because most bells are in churches.

Contingency is intended to offset the risk of unknowns, so a responsible prone t manager will allocate contingency according to the risk. In fact I've heard the phrase costing risk in.
So the question is how much risk is in your project? How many things are known and costed, and how many things can't be known until 'we take it apart' or until 'we open it up'. How many of the processes used have a significant failure rate?
The contractors involved should have the experience to be able to answer those questions, and assuming they have given a fixed price bid will have costed them in. If a single contractor is responsible for all works (including any subcontractors) then you should be able to rely on the contract because the prime contractor will have built in the cost of the subcontractor risk. Of course if you employ several contractors to avoid the prime contractor overhead then you carry the risk of problems that fall between the contractors.

Evangelical churches which are growing in popularity range from indifferent to outright hostile towards bellringing — Tristan Lockheart

Like the Puritans 500 years ago maybe?

have we really moved so far away from the original purpose that bells were hung in church towers — Mary Jones

Why do people keep referring to this? Until the Victorian clergy decided to take over ringing in the late 19th century ringing as we know it was a secular pastime, separate from church worship.

Alison, you can access the intent online on my website. After it went out of print I converted the content to web pages. The Tower Handbook

And if it were a rock climbiung environment we would want the nice sprngy nylon that the brainless AI said could be used for top ends. Not sure in what environment we would be using calipers to measure the taper though.

you don't get a chance to go back and edit it — Simon Linford

But they can't edit it either to twist what you said. Kate Flavell was once interviewed during the Olympics and the broadcast version was selectively edited to suit the 'story' - that the CC was being negative by not telling all ringers to go out early in the morning and ring for 3 minutes as part of a so-called work of art - cutting out the positive things she said about what we were doing. I did a an interview around the same time, with the interviewer pushing the same line and me pushing back, but it was live so they couldn't edit it (and after I went off air one of the presenters said he thought he agreed with me).

Interesting example of AI mindlessly assembling a mix of mostly tru facts in a rather boring way. It slightly overstated the meditative aspects but didn't say anything downright wrong, ulike when I asked it about splicing!
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Any tips on splicing bellropes
Splicing a bell rope involves joining two ropes together to create a longer rope or to repair a damaged rope. Here are some tips for splicing a bell rope:
_1._Start by preparing the ends of the ropes by unraveling the strands and flattening them out.
_2._To splice the ropes together, you will need to create a "tucking" pattern by alternating between tucking the strands of one rope under and over the strands of the other rope.
_3._Use a marlinspike, a pointed tool used for splicing, to tuck the strands in place. Alternatively, you can use a screwdriver or a similar tool.
_4._Once you have completed the tucking pattern, you can use a hammer or a mallet to gently tap the splice to help secure the strands in place.
_5._Finally, use a whipping twine to tie a few tight wraps around the splice to hold everything in place.
It's a good idea to practice splicing on a scrap piece of rope before attempting it on a bell rope, as splicing can be a challenging task that requires patience and precision.
How much taper?
When splicing a bell rope, it's important to maintain a consistent taper, or slope, along the length of the splice. The taper helps to evenly distribute the load along the splice and helps to prevent the splice from becoming too bulky or uneven.
The amount of taper will depend on the specific requirements of the bell rope and the type of splice you are using. In general, a taper of about 1:10 is a good starting point. This means that for every 1 inch of rope, the splice should taper down by about 1/10 of an inch.
It's a good idea to measure the taper using a ruler or calipers as you work to ensure that the splice is consistent and even. You may need to adjust the taper slightly based on the specific characteristics of the ropes you are splicing and the type of splice you are using.
Really?
Yes, it's important to maintain a consistent taper when splicing a bell rope in order to evenly distribute the load along the splice and to prevent the splice from becoming too bulky or uneven. The specific taper required will depend on the specific requirements of the bell rope and the type of splice being used. A taper of about 1:10 (1 inch of rope for every 1/10 of an inch of taper) is a good starting point, but it may be necessary to adjust the taper slightly based on the specific characteristics of the ropes being spliced and the type of splice being used. It's a good idea to measure the taper using a ruler or calipers as you work to ensure that the splice is consistent and even.
What about synthetic top ends?
Synthetic materials, such as nylon or polyester, can be used to create the top end of a bell rope, which is the portion of the rope that is held by the bellringer. Synthetic materials are often preferred for bell ropes because they are strong, durable, and resistant to abrasion, moisture, and UV light.
To create a synthetic top end for a bell rope, you will need to splice the synthetic material to the natural fiber portion of the rope using a splicing technique called a long splice. This involves joining the two ropes together by unraveling the strands and interweaving them together to create a seamless, continuous rope.
It's important to maintain a consistent taper along the length of the splice in order to evenly distribute the load and prevent the splice from becoming too bulky or uneven. The specific taper required will depend on the specific requirements of the bell rope and the type of splice being used. A taper of about 1:10 (1 inch of rope for every 1/10 of an inch of taper) is a good starting point, but it may be necessary to adjust the taper slightly based on the specific characteristics of the ropes being spliced and the type of splice being used. It's a good idea to measure the taper using a ruler or calipers as you work to ensure that the splice is consistent and even.
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without knowing what he actually said its hard to assess that comment.

that's true of course, but in local band peals the dynamic can be the other way, with people who could ring, and have done so in the past, declining to do so.