Author Archives: andrewlarsen

City Farm votes Stepney bells a ‘baaaag’ hit

Elizabeth sent this email recently –

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By the way, I had a really nice email from a Southgate ringer who came to help us with wedding ringing last weekend. He said this:

As for last Saturday, it was a pleasure. I really quite enjoyed my ‘day out in London’ – it’s a beautiful old church and you’ve a very friendly band there. One thing I must tell you: on my way back to the station afterwards, I stopped off at the city farm opposite the church to have a look round. (As a child, my school holidays were always spent on farms, either with my grandparents or else with aunts and uncles, down in Devon, so I’m still something of a country bumpkin at heart!) I got talking to one of the staff there, and she asked if I lived locally. I said no, I’d only come down from Enfield to ring for a wedding at St Dunstan’s. Well, you should have heard what she said! She was ever so complimentary about our bellringing; in fact, she even called one of her colleagues over to introduce me! They’d been listening to our efforts from across the road, and thoroughly enjoying it apparently. So you see – you have fans at Stepney City Farm! I thought perhaps you’d like to pass it on to the rest of the band.

We have fans! I wonder if the sheep, goats and pigs are as appreciative? Anyway, maybe we could get a reporter to go to the farm and ask them their views about the bell ringing!

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Link to Stepney City Farm and gratuitous photo of a cute sheep for those townies amongst us who don’t know what they look like.

Bermondsey band enters Surrey striking competition

Bermondsey entered a band in the Surrey association call change striking competition at Bletchingley for the prestigious Sid Saban Trophy.  In order to be fair to the other contestants, Bermondsey entered not one, but two ringers who have not completed a quarter ringing inside.

The guys in the band from top left - Andrew L, Gill, Andrew C, Alison, Mike, Morag

The band rang fourth and, despite a late change to the ringing positions, rang very nicely to a composition from Andrew C. We were awarded a very creditable equal third place but were placed first in the biscuit grabbing competition afterwards. A surprise lesson in ringing fast call changes as part of the awards ceremony being a bit of a bonus to Andrew L who had been dreaming of an early pint before the summons came. He was out-sprinted to the tenor by a wily veteran of Croydon who’s dog then accompanied the ringers efforts.

Our award

The band then took refuge in a very nice pub where the ringing was analysed for at least 30 seconds before a serious discussion over what food to order took precedence. The team work and sharing previously shown by the band was soon cast aside as Alison revealed her true nature and shamelessly took the last anchovy despite several better claims existing.

Alison after being confronted about taking the last anchovy

Alison after being confronted about taking the last anchovy

So, a pleasant afternoon ringing in a pleasant part of Surrey. Maybe we’ll do better next year, and maybe we won’t. The band headed back to London to the accompaniment of Ermintrude, Mike’s sat nav avatar.

 

 

New Video of Rotherhithe bells

Morag has taken this video of the bells at Rotherhithe in action last Sunday (June 19th 2011). The shaking is caused by the movement of the tower, not the camera or Morag (so Morag tells me).

Several ways to see it. Click here for the video to play in YouTube.

Visit the Docklandsringers YouTube channel and see all the videos that we have – and a few comments and stats. Over 500 views in the year since it was created.

Or, click on the play button in the picture below and it will play inside this post.

The Rotherhithe ‘towers’ web page has also been updated to play the video.

Article in on-line version of Docklands paper on Royal Wedding

This article was posted by a ‘Docklands’ reporter who was in the vicinity of St Anne’s during the Royal Wedding multiple quarter peal attempt.

Click here to see article

 

Write-up in the May 4th edition of the ‘Docklands’ paper following the successful five attempts

Click here (left hand side of page 4)

 

And the original on-line entry of the proposed attempt

Click here