Here are the sessions for the next few months.
April 8th 2023 (Holy Saturday), 10:30 – Beyond Plain Bob at Abington
For those ringers who have been confidently ringing Plain Bob (Doubles or Minor) and want to find out how to learn and ring other methods, such as St Simon’s Doubles, St Clements and Single Oxford Bob Minor. It will be a practical session with theory covered in a Zoom meeting in advance.
This course currently has a couple of spaces – contact Simon Dixon if interested (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
April 8th 2023, 14:30 – Ringing Up and Down in Peal at Ashley
With advice and practice for either one of these activities, this would suit ringers who are members of bands that regularly lower and raise their bells but do not have enough ringers who can do so in peal.
This course is oversubscribed but will be run again later
April 8th 2023, 18:30 – Submitting on BellBoard via Zoom
This will be a short session run via Zoom and will show how to enter details of sessions of general ringing for special occasions on BellBoard e.g., for the coronation of King Charles III. BellBoard submissions not only allow the Guild (or Branches) to collate data more easily but also allows all ringers’ efforts to be published in The Ringing World. This session can be attended by any member of any band but to keep things manageable, it is requested that only one person per tower puts their name forward.
This course is open to as many who are interested – contact Cathy Dixon if interested (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
May 13th 2023, 10:30 – 10-bell practice at Towcester
An opportunity for ringers of all abilities to have a go at ringing on higher numbers. We regularly ring a range of methods from Grandsire and Little Bob up to Surprise Royal.
This practice is open to all – no need to register
May 13th 2023, 15:00 – Ringing Up and Down in Peal at Great Oxendon
With advice and practice for either one of these activities, this would suit ringers who are members of bands that regularly lower and raise their bells but do not have enough ringers who can do so in peal.
If interested please contact Simon Dixon (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
June 10th 2023, 10:30 – Leading Up and Down in Peal at Evenley
This will cover the additional skills needed to allow a band to raise and lower the bells safely and tunefully. It should be of particular interest to those who get called upon to carry out this task but are uncertain about how to make it work.
This course currently has a couple of spaces – contact Simon Dixon if interested (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
July 8th 2023, 10:30 – 10-bell practice at Rothwell
An opportunity for ringers of all abilities to have a go at ringing on higher numbers. We regularly ring a range of methods from Grandsire and Little Bob up to Surprise Royal.
This practice is open to all – no need to register
July 8th 2023, 14:30 – Bell Maintenance at Great Oakley
This is aimed at those who are interested in the mechanics of the bells and would like to learn a bit more, especially about how to keep the bells and fittings in good working order. It will be a mainly practical session held up in the belfry and would suit new recruits as well as existing ringers, it will also cover looking after ropes and stays; learning how to change a rope and stay, how to adjust the length of a tail-end, and how to splice a broken rope.
There are spaces available on this course – contact Simon Dixon if interested (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
July 8th 2023, 18:30 – Intermediate 8-bell practice at Weedon Bec
This is for the in-between methods on 7 &8 i.e., not Plain Bob or Grandsire or Surprise Major but methods such as Little Bob, Kent Treble Bob, Single Oxford Bob Triples.
This practice is open to all – no need to register
We ask that if anyone is interested in any of these sessions or have suggestions of their own to put forward, that they contact Simon Dixon (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or Cathy Dixon (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) to let us know and we’ll be in touch with more details. Please note that there will be a small fee of £3 per student for the training sessions to go towards a tower donation, and a request for £1 from each ringer at one of the open practice sessions.
