As advertised in last month’s Belfry Gossip the Peterborough Diocesan Guild Summer Festival and Eight Bell Striking Competition duly took place at Rothwell on Saturday September 19^th, judged by Colin Lee, the Guild Master. The church at Rothwell is built of Northamptonshire sandstone and dates from the C13^th.. Six of the ten branches of the PDG put forward teams (no scratch team appeared this time!) There were four Rushden ringers in the Wellingborough team and one in the Guilsborough team; although the sun shone for the Competition it did not shine for our ringers; first place went to Kettering with 87.4%, second to Daventry with 86.8, third to Guilsborough with 82.4%, fourth to Wellingborough with 80.8%, fifth to Rutland with 79.6% and sixth to Thrapston with 77.6%. Quite how you come up with percentages for bell ringing is beyond me, which probably explains why I am never asked to be a judge! Despite the competitive element the afternoon was a friendly and sociable affair with a running buffet tea in the church and the opportunity to visit the charnel house available to those of a more ghoulish disposition.

Brenda Dixon returned from Croatia having encountered a member of the Royal Air Force Guild who knew Meg Boatright. This reminded me of the way bell ringers have of gravitating together; for example a group of bell ringing Magistrates assisted the local band in ringing for Sunday service on October 11^th and the Ringing World Diary is full of addresses of various interest groups and occupations such as the Guild of Post and Telecom Ringers, the Abbotts (formerly real Ale RS), the Camping, Caravanning, Rambling and Hostelling Ringing Society and, almost prosaically, the National Teachers’ Guild. Third Reserve Tintinnabulum, despite having zero sporting ability, once made up the numbers so that five bell ringing croquet players could ring a quarter peal together. However, perhaps the most unusual dual interest group featured recently in the Ringing World was The Two Headed Sheep, a Morris dancing side who rang the bells of Millom. The accompanying picture showed them, bellropes in hand and in full dance attire!

There have been a number of noteworthy quarter peals this month, one being that of a visiting band form St Augustine’s which sadly failed. However, the quarter peal of Cambridge Minor was successfully rung on 20^th September to celebrate the Golden Wedding of Barrie and Susan Collins. On 27^th September Harvest was celebrated with a quarter peal of Grandsire Triples and a quarter peal of Plain Bob Minor, which was Tom’s first of Minor (ie on six bells) was rung on 4^th October and was a Thanksgiving for the life of Dorothy Vintiner the aunt of John Vintiner who rang the sixth and was conductor.

The effects of the downturn in the economy has affected the world of bells and ringing too. Taylor Eare and Smith, an old and well respected firm of bell founders based in Loughborough has had to go into administration. It is always sad when an old established firm goes under and we hope that a way forward will be found, just as people locally hope that a way will be found for Peter Crisps.

With the autumn well and truly upon us the wedding season has come to an end, leaving us to look forward to ringing Pudsey in honour of Children in Need in November, and then to ringing for Advent and Christmas.

Third Reserve Tintinnabulum