The Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers was formed 80 years ago on January 5th 1924. Prior to that there were several smaller associations covering the diocese with St. Mary’s coming under the old Central Northants Association. Today the Diocesan Guild is divided into ten areas called Branches and St. Mary’s belongs to the Wellingborough Branch, which is geographically positioned in the middle of the Diocese. Part of the Branch is in the Northampton Archdeaconry and the other in the Archdeaconry of Oakham. The south west area of the Diocese is closer to St. Paul’s in London than our own cathedral at Peterborough. To celebrate this anniversary we are hoping to attempt a 3-hour peal on the afternoon of Sunday June 13th.
Guild 6 bell Striking Competition:This was held at Spratton at the end of April with St. Mary’s team placed in a disappointing 3rd position. We were not pleased with the result and must do better next year. With the elongated shape of the Diocese, some teams of ringers have to travel considerable mileage to reach the host tower and this could easily deter some teams from entering.
Wellingborough Branch Striking Competition: This year the competition will be held in mid June at Yardley Hastings. Last year’s judge placed us in 2nd position behind the team from Bozeat and we are hoping very much to regain our usual number one position. We have a space on the wall of the ringing chamber for the winning shield!
Tapestry: Glyn is a master at tapestries and has even designed his own. A quick photograph of a building or scene, portray and outline it onto the hesian and then stitch away. One of his first designs was of St. Mary’s, as seen from Park Place. Glyn has kindly donated it to the ringing chamber where it hangs in pride of place.
Quarter Peal Day: This was held in mid April and organised by the Wellingborough Branch. One of the first quarters of the day was successfully attempted at St. Mary’s, with at least one person ringing Yorkshire Surprise for the first time to a quarter peal. Most of the ringers then moved on to other towers within the Branch to attempt more quarters during the day – some successfully completed while a few came to grief.
A Surprise Visit: How lovely to see the ringing chamber door open one Friday evening and in walked Meg. Having walked from her home, she climbed the 15 steps to pay us a most welcome visit. However she did decline the offer of a rope, but spent the rest of the evening with us. We were all delighted to see her.
Child Protection:Any adults having responsibility for, or working with children, now has to have clearance by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). This applies very much to ringers who come into contact with children or who have the privilege of teaching youngsters to ring. Much has been written about this and the letter pages of our weekly journal, the Ringing World, have been inundated with readers’ letters on this very subject. The Church of England recently published guidelines for dioceses and parishes and this document, although with good intentions and some good ideas, stirred ringers to put pen to paper. The whole issue of child protection, although vitally important, particularly in the light of several national cases, was highlighted to the extent that everyone coming into contact with youngsters would need to have CRB clearance. Much depends on the circumstances of the contact. Three of our ringers, of both sexes, have this clearance and have permission to work closely with children within the auspices of St. Mary’s. The ringers consider that to be reasonable and in line with the present Diocesan guidelines.
Adam’s Article: Do read the article published in this issue of Grapevine. The same article was recently published in the Ringing World. We’ve just finished Viv’s Chocolates.
www.stmarysringers.org.uk
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