Category Archives: News

Bells ring at Christchurch Fete

The parish fete held on Sunday afternoon 13th July is always a high point in the Isle of Dogs social calendar and this year’s event was no exception. Opened by local MP Jim Fitzpatrick, the event was held in the large vicarage garden to the rear of Christchurch, and the Charmborough ring was erected at the entrance to the Garden. Although we could have done with a few more ringers for the first hour and a half, we entertained a steady group of people, giving quite few of them the chance to try a few backstrokes and then ring backstrokes in rounds.

Local Pearly Kings and Queens were present, as were the local scouts and cubs, quite a few of whom had a go. One of these was the daughter of Paul Ashton, who used to ring at St Dunstan’s Stepney.

Buki Rufai, one of the people that we have been teaching at Christchurch for the last five weeks also had a go, and after a little while was successfully ringing rounds on six, on her own. This only goes to show how much quicker people can learn to ring on an easy-going ring of bells like the Charmborough Ring. Who knows what we could be achieved in a whole day!

Fr. Tom Pyke, Vicar of Christchurch learnt to ring before he became a priest, and at his last Parish (St Paul’s in the Jewelry Quarter, Birmingham) was instrumental in having a new ring of ten with a tenor of 12 cwt installed. His other claim to fame is that he married Richard Grimmett, captain of the band that has won the National 12 Bell Competition each year for the past 5 years! Fr. Tom also enjoyed joining in the ringing on the Charmborough ring during the afternoon.

We look forward to working with Fr. Tom and the congregation at Christchurch over the coming weeks and months to increase the number of active bell-ringers at Christchurch and to re-establish an active local band.

 

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St Peter’s Day at Walworth

It was such a treat to have the bells ringing out so beautifully for St Peter’s Day on Sunday – thanks so much to you and the team! It really made a difference to the festive feel of the day, and I hope really did alert parishioners to the significance of the day and indeed of the procession making its way around the parish. It’d be lovely to combine again at some point. With joy,

Father Andrew Moughtin-Mumby
Rector of St Peter’s, Walworth
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On Sunday 29th June, there was a large congregation to hear the bells, as we attempted a quarter peal of Plain Bob Minor as the procession left the church after the festival mass. Eva was ringing the treble, and it would have been Eva’s first of minor, also Drew’s who was ringing the 5th. As St Peter’s are so light and manageable, you are able to do things which would not be possible on heavier rings of bells.

The ringing soon settled down, but we lost the quarter after about 300 changes as two bells crossed over. We did try again, but as often happens, the ringing the second time was not as good, so we decided to ring the bells down after about half an hour’s ringing. Never the less the parish appreciated their bells being rung, especially as nowadays they are rarely rung, and not on Sundays. It was also good to probe the boundaries, and certainly the band could have scored a quarter. It shows that we can move on to ring more minor, rather than so much doubles.

Reading the plaque in the ringing room, it was also the 13th anniversary to the day of the completion of the restoration and the bells being dedicated, so perhaps there will be better luck next time!

Walworth

London bell spotted in Eastern Anatolia

Just got back from two weeks in Eastern Anatolia looking at the various archaeological sights and trying to find clean food.  Climbed a bell tower in the castle of a town called Erzerum and found a bell hanging there. An inscription showed that it had been cast in London in 1877.  I wish I hadn’t deleted the other picture (which showed the company name – somewhere in Croydon as I recall), but I was running out  of space on my SD card and the Van cats needed to be kept. The inscription is visible if you enlarge the top of it (technical term needed).

2014 Anatolia Day 4 Erzerum Castle bell cast in London

 

 

Tasteful photo of Van cats - they are pure white with different colour eyes and enjoy swimming

Tasteful photo of Van cats – they are pure white with different colour eyes and enjoy swimming

Spring clean at Isle of Dogs

Thanks to a lot of hard work on Saturday morning, particularly from Mickey Etches, we have managed to clear a bag full of dust and other debris from the base of the spire, the belfry and the clock-room. Nuts and bolts have been tightened and our CCTV camera above the bells is working again, as is the doorbell. This means that we can leave the door locked, and when you come to Christchurch you can ring the doorbell and we will be able to come down and let you in. The door is the main South door immediately underneath the tower, off Glenaffric Avenue, and the bell push is on the right hand side.

We have now started practicing at Christchurch on Wednesday evenings from 7.00 till 9.00, although at the moment we are mainly teaching people to handle a bell on their own. There will be a break on 23rd and 30th July for the summer holidays, but otherwise we should be there most weeks. Anyone who wants to learn to handle is welcome.

We also plan to teach bell handling on other evenings, by appointment. As the band grows we will also arrange some Saturday morning training sessions at Christchurch, probably from mid-August onwards, to get everyone ringing rounds, hopefully by mid September. We can then start thinking about ringing the bells on Sundays.

On Wednesday evenings there is usually a Mass between 7.15 and 8.00pm at Christchurch, and we have installed an electronic simulator system, the same as the one at Rotherhithe, which means that we can ring the bells without making a noise outside. So even if you cannot hear anything, please ring the doorbell and come up.

The advantage of Wednesdays is that the Meridian Ringers practice between 8.00 and 9.30pm at Greenwich, which is only 15 minutes walk away through the foot tunnel, or one stop on the DLR. Therefore if we meet short, or our new ringers want some extra practice, we can always go across the river.

I am currently trying to find enough people to help use a Mobile Belfry for the Christchurch Fete on Sunday 13th July. If you have not spoken to me about this, and would like to help, and perhaps try to recruit a few more ringers, please get in touch. You can see what the belfry looks like on this video:

and how it erected on this one:

Roger
07411 181 583

Bellringing: It’s harder than it looks

Some of you will have met Adam Bacon, who Rob Parker has been teaching to ring at Bermondsey.

Adam has produced a video which shows how media personality Ant Smith learnt to ring rounds with 13 hours intensive tuition over a period of four weeks, coordinated by Deborah Thorley.

Ant had the objective of ringing on twelve at Bradford Cathedral, and although his 12 bell striking was not up to much, he did a creditable job of ringing on six bells. This just shows what can be achieved in a relatively short space of time, and this video is perhaps something that can be used to inspire other beginners.