Belfry Gossip

 Clapper Trouble: Like any piece of machinery, from time to time something goes wrong. And so it is with the bells. Heavy amounts of metal swinging to and fro with another piece of metal hitting it everytime it swings. A slight weakness in the metal can cause trouble as we experienced half way through a quarter peal on a Sunday evening in October. When all concentration is on the ringing, a heavy "thud" on the floor directly above, is the last sound to expect. The bulbous bottom part of the tenor clapper simply snapped off and fortunately caused little damage to the rest of the mechanism. Where does risk assessment come into all of this? Ringing was abandoned, the rest of the clapper had to be unbolted and Alan travelled to Nottingham to purchase a new clapper. The tenor bell must have a jinx on it. All is now well, thanks very much to Alan.

Golden Wedding: It was a privilege to ring for David and Margaret Clarke’s Golden Wedding in mid October. They received the customary certificate we present to anyone celebrating some special event or anniversary. During the last interregnum and while David was still churchwarden, he was a great source of encouragement to the ringers and never refused any request for extra ringing for special occasions. Likewise we also thank the Rector for similar encouragement.

Felmersham Baptism: On Hallowe’en, the three grandchildren of the Revd. David and Ann Mason were baptised at St. Mary’s Felmersham where David is Priest in charge. With Ann and David’s past connection with St. Mary’s and as a former local dentist, a quarter peal comprising mostly of Rushden ringers, was successfully attempted at Felmersham. The bells are not the easiest to handle but the villagers were delighted to hear them.

1000th Peal: To ring 1000 peals, each of which takes on the average 3 hours to complete, is a commendable achievement. Two of our ringers have already passed this landmark, and Tony Sansom is very close. As St. Mary’s is his home tower, Tony wants to attempt his 1000th peal at Rushden on Advent Sunday afternoon. Now that may seem simple to organise, but at the time of compiling Gossip, he is on 997 and now has to start the countdown to 1000 to coincide with November 28th. Not all peals are successful and a failure means an extra peal has to be quickly arranged. Similarly, he could find himself getting too close to the 1000th, too soon. The other issue is who to include in this momentous peal? Tony has wisely included some Rushden ringers, together with others who have rung with him in many of his peals. Good luck Tony for November 28th and we all hope that by the time we read Gossip, you have joined the 1000 club.

Cropped Tops: Not closely cut hair styles but many Gossip readers will have noticed the female fashion for teenagers and others wearing such garments, where the tops don’t meet the bottoms! In any belfry, ours included, this can be a source of distraction. This short poem puts everything into context!

A ringer of quite high renown
On one young lady oft did frown
Because she found it quite a riddle
To bridge the gap about her middle.
At first the problem used to stump her
Until she bought a long wool jumper.
She knows now, when she has to pull
There is no substitute for wool.

Remembrance Sunday: On November 14th, in keeping with tradition and in memory and respect of all those brave men and women who, over the years have lost their lives in the many areas of conflict, we rang the bells half muffled. In the evening we successfully attempted a quarter of Grandsire Triples – sounded lovely.

Christmas Ringing: Arrangements are in hand for the usual Christmas Eve attempt at a quarter peal with early ringing on Christmas morning. From the ringers, to you all, a Very Happy and Joyful Christmas.


www.stmarysringers.org.uk (0ver 6000 hits)

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