Saturday July 13th saw the Guild set up home next to the Visitor Centre at Stanwick Lakes for a day out. The aim was to both enjoy ringing and company of ringers at a pleasant nature reserve and to raise the awareness of ringing with the general public.
The marquee contained Guild merchandise for sale. There were hand bells and bellplates for people to try as well a couple of model bells for information purposes. There were also a couple of light hearted competitions for every one to have a go at. There was also a section for youngsters to enjoy craft activity. They could do colouring, with a variety of bell related images and colouring means provided. Interestingly a number of adults also sat and coloured, it being a nice relaxing activity. Smaller visitors were also able to make their own bell (from a paper cup, a pipecleaner and a jingle bell) that seemed to go over very well. Lots of very artistic bells were produced. If they have a say in any towers we can expect to see pink and purple clappers being the norm form here on!
Flanking the marquee was the Maplestead miniring, which made a tinkling noise most of the day. There were lots of ringers and non-ringers alike having a go at this - with varying degrees of success! A couple of touches were attempted and some even came round. Cambridge Surprise Minor was the most adventurous. https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=1754524
At the other end of the marquee was the Wombell, the Guild's training bell. This allows a more usual ringing style, and our trainers took time to give any number of people a go at backstrokes. It is set with quite a low sally and tail end, making it ideal for the youngsters.
The weather was mostly co-operative. The sun made a guest appearance. While the sky threatened several times, there were only a few drops in the early afternoon. The rain, very politely, held off actually raining until we were all getting into cars to set off home having broken the displays down. It could have been a lot worse!
In terms of the contests, the winners were announced at 5pm.
Guess the number of bells in the bottle produced a very wide range of guesses, with the correct answer being 429. Tracey Pinchin was closest, and won the bottle of Bells whiskey for her efforts.
How long is a piece of string required people to guess the length of the bell rope. A fairly short 14 m 85 cm rope gave a varied set of length results. Tracey Pinchin was closest and we hope that she bought a lottery ticket pronto after that degree of luck!
It was something very different for the Guild to undertake. The close proximity of the adventure playground and nature reserve gave those with children a chance to get out and about while also supporting a ringing event. It was also a chance for non-ringing partners to come and enjoy the day out while not feeling like a complete spare part at a ringing event. The picnic benches were occupied throughout and it was good to see people sitting and enjoying the ever changing company. It was great to see so many people come out.
