Belfry Gossip
Failed Betjeman: Sunday August 27th 2006 was the centenary of the poet’s birth. We attempted a quarter peal of 5 spliced Surprise Major which unfortunately came to grief after 30 minutes of ringing. Betjeman was keen on bells. He reports himself as full of "admiration" at the effortless manner in which, to the greater glory of God, ringers go about their complex music making. Long may the bells of our parish churches, abbeys and cathedrals ring out in proud affirmation that, even in the midst of its usual turmoil, the good old C of E is still alive and well. Typical Betjeman would you say?
Wedding Season: We have now come to the end of the season of weddings, totalling 16 who required the bells. Very few couples refuse the opportunity of being rung out after the ceremony. With the present frosted glass separating the ringing chamber from the main body of the church, we have some difficulty in seeing what’s happening. However we can just pick out the bridal party as they move down the centre aisle at the conclusion of the service. Friday weddings seem to becoming more popular with three this year. In years gone by, Boxing Day was the favourite for weddings – double price for ringing!
July Peal:The peal attempt by some visiting ringers was successful and what method did they ring? – Rushden Surprise Major of course. It was one of the hottest days of the year and after nearly three hours of non-stop pulling the ropes, they were literally dripping. With no natural flow of fresh air and despite the two whirling fans, the air very quickly becomes extremely stuffy. When will the architect get to grips with our proposed new window, for which we’ve waited over three years? The peal ringers, calling themselves the "Around Ringers", came from various parts of the country and each year they ring in different parts of the country. This year they were based at Moulton College, near Northampton for the week, touring the area and ringing at least one peal per day and for many, two peals. Well, that’s one way of spending a holiday but not if you are used to a relaxing one.
Aaron Goss: We were unable to ring for the Service of Thanksgiving held at St. Mary’s for Aaron, who tragically died while on an organised summer adventure holiday with friends from Wollaston School. However we successfully attempted and dedicated a Sunday evening quarter peal in thanksgiving for his life. Our thoughts and prayers are still with his family at this time.
Evening Out: At our AGM in January, we decided to organise an evening’s ringing at a different church, instead of one of our usual Friday evening practices. Having warned all our regular visitors, we invited them to join us at Cardington in Bedfordshire. The vicar happens to be the brother of one of our ringers, but the real reason of the visit was to experience another set of bells, knowing they have a good reputation. From time to time a certain gentleman living within earshot of the bells has been known to complain, but maybe he was away at the time, or thought the ringing was so good! However the Bishop of Bedford, who lives virtually next door in the ex-vicarage, now re-named Bishop’s Lodge, saw no reason to complain – or was he also away? Why are hostelries positioned next to churches? Probably so ringers or bishops haven’t far to go. We didn’t let them down.
Tintinnabulum
www.stmarysringers.org.uk
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