Summer

The past few weeks' ringing has been a bit like this:

22 July - A busy day today.  Firstly we went up to Blaenavon for a peal attempt of the Scary Spliced.  Sadly this wasn't to be and we lost it after about 30 minutes ringing.  We started again but lost it at almost the same place.  Ho hum.  A nice cup of tea and a bacon sandwich in the heritage centre afterwards was some comfort.  In the afternoon we had the Rumney ringers BBQ, which was a great occasion.  The weather cheered up and we were able to sit outside and enjoy some excellent food and company.

23 July - Morning ringing at Rumney.

24 July - I spent the morning helping out with a bit of tower maintenance at Michaelston.  A bit of nut-tightening, some rope-splicing and some clapper-checking was done in a good morning's work.  In the evening we had a good practice at Rumney.

26 July - Taking advantage of some annual leave, we had an intensive bell-handling session this morning at Rumney for our apprentices.  We had a 90-minute session with our three apprentices which was really useful.  We've started using the "Learning the Ropes" scheme and so also did some theory around that.

27 July - Handbells tonight.  A slightly tougher assignment tonight with a quarter of Yorkshire.  We rang a long length to start - unfortunately the two singles were missed out!  We then sat down again and rang it all the way through.  I was very pleased with this, having not rung Yorkshire in hand for some time.

5 August - Back from a week's holiday in North Wales (no nearby towers that ring).  We went to the Llandaff Branch practice this afternoon at Sully which saw a decent turnout despite the holiday season.  Some interesting ringing including a touch of Variable Cover Stedman Doubles, a first for me.  We also had some London, Cambridge and Norwich Minor amongst the more usual Bob Doubles, Grandsire Doubles etc.

6 August - Morning ringing at Rumney.

7 August - Practice at Rumney.

12 August - We were up in Reading this weekend to visit friends.  There was a Reading Branch practice at Shiplake this morning so we joined in with that.  I'd not rung on the new bells at Shiplake, having rung a peal on the old ones. Sadly, I didn't get to hear the new bells as the simulator was used for this session.  Ringing-wise, we had various triples methods including Stedman and also a touch of 4-spliced major.

13 August - Morning ringing at St Mary's Reading saw a very good turnout with over 25 people in the tower - not easy to manage!  Ringing-wise, there was call changes, Bob Major, Stedman Triples, 4-spliced major and 3 leads of Bristol.  After this, a group of us went over to St Laurence for a quarter attempt of Newgate. Sadly this fell in a heap in the second course despite some very good ringing.  A shame.  In the afternoon we went to a Sonning Deanery Young Person's practice at Wargrave.  The last time I'd rung here was in 2000, according to the visitor's book.  Not a great ring of bells and not really suitable for a young person's practice but a useful session.

14 August - Practice at Rumney.

16 August - Over to Bassaleg this evening for a quarter of Scary Spliced.  This one was successful and actually quite enjoyable.  A good couple of pints in the TA afterwards too!

20 August - Morning ringing at Rumney consisted of call changes and Grandsire Doubles.

21 August - Practice at Rumney.  We had plenty at practice tonight which consisted of lots of rounds, plain hunt, Bob Doubles, Grandsire Doubles and St Simon's Doubles.

24 August - To Caerleon tonight for another quarter attempt of scary spliced.  Sadly this one was lost in the second part after some good ringing.  We then rang a further part for practice.  Great bells, though.  Like a little musical box.  A pint of Brains' Atomic Blonde in the Hanbury Arms afterwards.

Birthday ringing (and other delights)

Another month appears to have slipped past unnoticed!  The ringing has been a bit like this:

Thursday 15 June - We rang for BBC Music Day at Rumney tonight.  A good turnout of around 10 of us for ringing which consisted of call changes and Bob Doubles.  Afterwards, a good crowd went over to Michaelston for practice.  Rounds, call changes, plain hunt and Bob Doubles were rung, amongst other things.

Saturday 17 June - Ringing for a wedding at Rumney today.  Grandsire Doubles was the tune both before and after.  In the evening, the boy and I went to Tredunnoc for the branch practice.  Not a huge turnout but a really useful practice with plain hunt, Bob Doubles, Grandsire Doubles, Stedman Doubles, Bob Minor and Cambridge Minor all rung.  A very nice pint in the garden of the Wheatsheaf afterwards too.

Sunday 18 June - Morning ringing at Rumney.

Monday 19 June - Practice at Rumney.

Saturday 24 June - A busy day today.  Up early and off to London for the 12-bell final at Southwark Cathedral today.  As always, this an excellent social occasion and the opportunity to listen to some top-class ringing.  I was also keen to what the restored bells sounded like, having rung here in the past, with a new tenor cast last year at Taylor's.  The bells sound wonderful but, by all accounts, the bells are not at all easy to ring which meant that the ringing was not as crisp as it might otherwise have been.  The Southwark ringers were excellent hosts, putting on a beer tent in the cathedral yard, and it was great to catch up with old friends.  As part of the day out, we had arranged to ring a quarter to celebrate my forthcoming birthday and this was duly rung at St Lawrence Jewry.  Not only was this a grab for me (wonderful bells) but it was also my 1000th recorded quarter.  We also rang after a wedding and got paid the princely sum of £30 which paid for my beer for the day!  

Sunday 25 June - No ringing at Rumney today.  Instead we de-camped to Newport in the afternoon to ring for the ordination of one of the members of our congregation.  Some excellent ringing including rounds on 10 and 12, plain hunt on 9 and a memorable touch of Grandsire Triples on the back 8 for service.

Monday 26 June - Practice at Rumney.

Wednesday 28 June - My birthday today and what better way to celebrate than with a peal.  Some time ago I had noticed that there hadn't been a peal on the back 8 at Llandaff and so a plan was hatched to rectify this.  A peal of Cambridge was duly scored and, thankfully, the weather had cooled a bit so the ringing room wasn't too stuffy.  A welcome couple of pints in the Butcher's afterwards.  In the evening we had a special service at Rumney to rededicate the church following the recent restoration works.  We rang beforehand and included call changes and Grandsire Doubles.

Friday 30 June - Taking advantage of some visitors, we rang a nice quarter of Kent Royal at home tonight.

Saturday 1 July - Another busy day today.  To help me celebrate my birthday, a group of friends from Reading came down to Newport for a good peal of Yorkshire Maximus.  Afterwards everyone de-camped to our house for food and drinks to celebrate.

Sunday 2 July - Morning ringing at Rumney.

Monday 3 July - Practice at Rumney.

Thursday 6 July - Tonight was the annual inter-branch striking competition at Pendoylan.  A very successful evening for the Rumney band in that we won both the call change section and the method section!  I think this is the first time that one tower has held both trophies.  I was delighted with the way we rang and we duly celebrated in the Red Lion afterwards.  A very sociable evening though we members of all bands mixing and enjoying each other's company.

Sunday 9 July - Morning ringing at Rumney.

Monday 10 July - Practice at Rumney.

Thursday 13 July - Went to Michaelston tonight for a quarter attempt of BFLG.  Sadly, this didn't want to go and after several attempts we rang a course of Glasgow followed by a course of Belfast for practice.

Saturday 15 July - Went back to Michaelston this evening for the branch practice.  Again, not a huge attendance but a very useful practice.  Call changes on 8, plain hunt, Bob Doubles, Grandsire Doubles, Bob Minor and Cambridge Minor all rung.  A very nice hour in the Cefn Mably too afterwards.

Monday 17 July - Practice at Rumney.

Striking Competitions and Scottish holiday

Apologies again for another long update.  The past month or so has been very busy as follows:

Thursday 27 April - Went to Newport for a quarter attempt of the scary spliced.  Sadly unsuccessful despite a few attempts.

Saturday 29 April - Went to Blaenavon today for a practice for the forthcoming striking competition.  Ringers from Rumney, St Mellons and Michaelston came along and we made good use of the practice time, each band running through its respective test pieces twice.  Following the practice we went across to the Heritage Centre for lunch and were joined by the local band who were gathering to ring for a wedding.  All in all I counted almost 30 ringers present!

Sunday 30 April - Morning ringing at Rumney followed by a trip to Newport in the afternoon for a final practice with the Tewkesbury band.  We rang the test piece twice and also practiced the practice so made good use of the time.

Monday 1 May - Practice at Rumney.

Saturday 6 May - A big day today, the Tewkesbury Shield.  After a few years of not getting through the ballot we were delighted to have been successful this year and to have the opportunity to ring against some high quality opposition.  We convened in the Abbey tea room before the draw which saw us being drawn 8th of 9 teams, so a bit of hanging around.  However, this did give us the opportunity for socialising with the other teams and to listen to the other ringing.  It was clear that the standard of ringing was very high, the two Birmingham teams in particular ringing very well.  We had lunch in the Wetherspoons before heading back in time for our test piece.  Sadly we were on the stairs whilst the eventual winners, the Salisbury Guild, were ringing so didn't get chance to hear them properly.  Once in the tower, we rang our test piece with no method errors and were pleased with our performance.  It was then straight to the Berkeley Arms for a couple of pints and a chat with the Birmingham teams who had also taken up residence in the back room.  It was then back for the results and the judges gave some good positive criticism of our ringing which we will take on board for next time.  Following another pint in the Berkeley we headed home via the curry house in Usk.  A very enjoyable day out.

Sunday 7 May - Morning ringing at Rumney.

Monday 8 May - Practice at Rumney.

Sunday 14 May - Morning ringing at Rumney.  In the afternoon I went to Llandaff for a quarter of Yorkshire Maximus.

Monday 15 May - Practice at Rumney.

Thursday 18 May - Went to Newport tonight for a quarter of scary spliced.  This time we were successful at the first attempt.

Saturday 20 May - Another big day - the Monmouth Branch Bake Off and associated Striking Competition.  I had made a fruit cake as my entry for this event and was pleased to be placed a creditable fourth.  Ringing-wise, we entered a call change band which included The Boy ringing for the first time in a competition.  We also had two bands in the method section, one ringing plain hunt and the other ringing Grandsire Doubles.  All of our bands rang well and we were delighted that the call change band were placed second in that section behind an excellent bit of ringing from the local band.  Our plain hunt band was placed fourth in the method section whilst our Grandsire band produced a cracking bit of ringing to be placed first - hurrah!  A celebratory pint in the Rifleman's afterwards was drunk!

Sunday 21 May - Ringing at Rumney.

Monday 22 May - Practice at Rumney.

Saturday 27 May - A long drive today.  Up early and in the car to drive to Tulloch for a week's ringing with others from South Wales.  We arrived at around 5.30pm and had a quick ring with some members of the Central Council who were visiting before dinner and bed.

Sunday 28 May - The day began with a general practice utilising both towers to get people used to ringing on the bells.  Various things included rounds and call changes on 12, plain hunt, Yorkshire Major and Stedman Caters were rung.  After lunch, an afternoon of quarter peals was planned.  My first quarter of the week was St Clement's Minor which was a nice way to start.  Following a break we then rang a quarter of Grandsire Cinques which was a good effort from an inexperienced band.  Other ringing, on both tower and hand bells, took place after dinner.

Monday 29 May - The day started with a good peal of Yorkshire Major in the Last Tower which was Mrs T's first as conductor.  Following lunch we followed this up with a quarter of Bob Doubles which was The Boy's first quarter, covering very confidently to Bob Doubles.  After another break we headed to the Ringing Centre for a very nice quarter of Swindon Royal which tapped around really well.

Tuesday 30 May - Another peal today but at the Ringing Centre.  Grandsire Caters was the tune and was nicely rung, the first peal of Grandsire at Tulloch.  In the afternoon we were joined by various visitors and had another practice across both sets of bells, this time focusing on surprise methods.  Cambridge Minor, various methods from the standard 8 and London Royal were all rung.  We attempted a handbell peal in the evening but sadly this came to grief.

Wednesday 31 May - I had a very nice quarter of Stedman Triples this mornign before we got in the car and drove through glorious scenery to Inveraray to try the bells there.  Before ringing we had to do various works in the tower including shutting the sound control and checking the tower roof which allowed great views over the town, Loch Fyne and the surrounding mountains.  Inveraray are wonderful bells and we all enjoyed ringing here.  Grandsire Caters and Little Bob Royal were rung as well as plenty of rounds.  A group of us then headed to The George for haggis, neaps and tatties!

Thursday 1 June - Sadly London Royal would not go but we made good use of the time by practicing the plain course over and over.  We then had an afternoon on the Jacobite steam train to Mallaig.  Sadly the weather was poor today but we enjoyed the trip.

Friday 2 June - Another ringing day today.  I started with a quarter of 8-spliced major which dusted off the cobwebs.  In the afternoon I was pleased to join some visiting ringers for a superb peal of Bristol Maximus.  Very, very enjoyable indeed and a great way to round off the week.

Sunday 3 June - Morning ringing at Rumney.

Monday 4 June - Practice at Rumney.

Friday 9 June - Took The Boy for practice at St Mellons.  Very enjoyable.

Saturday 10 June - Grandsire Doubles for wedding ringing at Rumney.

Sunday 11 June - Rounds and call changes and Grandsire Doubles for morning ringing at Rumney.

Monday 12 June - A busy practice at Rumney.  Lots of rounds, Plain Hunt, Bob Doubles, St Simon's Doubles, Bob Minor and Kent all rung.

April and Easter ringing

Spring has most definitely arrived over the past few weeks and the ringing has been a bit like this:

Sunday 9 April - Rounds and call changes and Grandsire Doubles for morning ringing at Rumney.

Monday 10 April - No ringing tonight as it was Holy Week.  However, a good group of us met at Rumney for the annual spring clean of the ringing room and a maintenance session upstairs.  A very productive evening followed by a pint at The Monkstone.

Sunday 16 April - Rounds and call changes and Grandsire Doubles for morning ringing at Rumney.

Monday 17 April - Back to normal practice at Rumney this evening with rounds, call changes, Bob Doubles, St Simon's Doubles and Plain Hunt on 6.

Wednesday 19 April - To Bassaleg this evening for an attempt at the Scary Spliced.  Sadly this wasn't going to go and we abandoned the quarter after three attempts and rang a longish touch of spliced for practice.  We finished with a course of Bristol before heading to the TA for a pint.

Friday 21 April - I took the boy to Tredunnock this evening for a tower grab.  There was a good crowd of people present and the ringing included rounds, call changes, Bob Doubles, Grandsire Doubles, Stedman Doubles and Kent Minor.

Saturday 22 April - Today was the Association AGM at Llandaff.  Ringing in the afternoon took place at the Cathedral with plenty of rounds, call changes, Stedman Caters, Grandsire Cinques, Stedman Cinques and Yorkshire Maximus rung.  The service took the form of Choral Evensong which was a nice change although quite wearing on two children who had already had to sit still in the tower!  After a lovely tea provided by the Cathedral ringers we had the AGM itself.  A quick look around the room confirmed that only a very small number of towers were represented, which was a shame.  It was also very noticeable that the age range was skewed toward the higher end of the spectrum, also a shame.  Both these things need to be considered and addressed.  Is the established format of ringing, service, tea and meeting no longer what members want?  The problem is how to find out the views of the silent majority?  These are all things to be considered by the Officers over the coming year.  On a personal note, I was delighted and privileged to be elected Master of the Association.

Sunday 23 April - Rounds and call changes and Grandsire Doubles for morning ringing at Rumney.  In the evening I went to Newport for a very nice quarter of Grandsire Caters.

Monday 24 April - Practice at Rumney this evening was enlivened by four visitors.  Ringing included rounds, plain hunt, Bob Doubles, St Simon's Doubles, Grandsire Doubles, Cambridge Minor and Kent Minor.

Long update - February and March

Oh dear, oh dear.  I appear to have let the blog slip away from me over the past few months.  Anway, the ringing has been a bit like this:

Sunday 5 February - morning ringing at Rumney.

Monday 6 February - Practice at Rumney.  As I recall, we were back to full strength after being depleted the week before.

Tuesday 7 February - I went to the Association Management Committee meeting at Llandaff and then had a nice pint of Dark in the Black Lion afterwards.

Thursday 9 February - We met for handbells at our house this evening.  We started with a good quarter of Kent Major, followed by some Yorkshire.

Saturday 11 February - Branch Ringing Course today, possibly the most important date in the Branch calendar.  We had 6 groups operating today, involving almost 60 people.  To put it into context, that's almost a third of the branch membership.  I was involved with the Bell Experience group which is focused on basic ringing skills.  In the morning I was at Llanwern where we did a lot of work on ringing up and down and correcting handling faults.  In the afternoon we were at the Cathedral where we did much more work on rounds, call changes, place-making etc.  All in all, an excellent day.

Sunday 12 February - Morning ringing at Rumney.

Monday 13 February - Practice at Rumney.

Sunday 19 February - Morning ringing at Rumney.

Monday 20 February - Practice at Rumney.

Sunday 26 February - Morning ringing at Rumney.  In the evening I went to Newport for our monthly 10-bell quarter.  This month we rang Grandsire Caters again in preparation for the Tewkesbury Shield.  This was scored without too much bother and we rang the test piece for the service too.

Monday 27 February - Practice at Rumney.

Friday 3 March - It was the parish quiz night tonight to raise money for the church restoration project.  We entered a ringers team and, to our delight, managed to win it!  An excellent fish and chip supper was also provided.

Monday 6 March - Practice at Rumney.

Thursday 9 March - We met for handbells again at ours.  We rang a good quarter of Kent to start and then rang some Yorkshire.

Sunday 12 March - Morning ringing at Rumney.  In the afternoon I went to Llandaff for a quarter of Yorkshire Maximus.

Monday 13 March - Practice at Rumney.

Saturday 18 March - I was ill so, unfortunately, not able to attend the Branch practice at Rumney.  I understand that this was well attended and very useful.

Sunday 19 March - still ill.

Monday 20 March - No ringing tonight as I went to the Branch Committee Meeting.  A very useful meeting with many good things discussed.

Sunday 26 March - Morning ringing at Rumney including a visitor from Hertfordshire who was on his way to Flat Holm.  In the evening I went to Newport for our regular 10-bell slot.  Grandsire Caters again scored with very little bother and a very enjoyable practice of the Tewkesbury test piece for service.

Monday 27 March - Practice at Rumney enlivened by a vistor from Leicester.  This meant we were able to ring a range of things including some Treble Bob hunting.

Saturday 1 April - Up to Abergavenny this morning for a nice peal of Stedman Caters.  A very enjoyable 3 and a bit hours bonging away.  I had a curry (half and half) and a couple of good pints of HPA in the King's Head afterwards.

Sunday 2 April - Rounds and call changes and Grandsire Doubles for morning ringing at Rumney.

Monday 3 April - Practice at Rumney included rounds, call changes, lots of Bob Doubles, St Simon's Doubles and some plain hunt on 6.

January

The past month's ringing has been a bit like this:

Thursday 12 January - Our first Horton project meeting of the year.  We had planned to go for a quarter of the 4-spliced but this failed after three attempts.  We then rang a course of Glasgow followed by a course of Belfast for practice.

Sunday 15 January - Rounds and call changes and Bob Doubles for morning ringing at Rumney.

Monday 16 January - Practice at Rumney consisted of lots of rounds, call changes, plain hunt, Funny Bob Doubles, Bob Doubles, St Simon's Doubles and some spliced to finish.

Saturday 21 January - Branch AGM today at Abergavenny.  A very enjoyable afternoon which began with ringing on the wonderful 10.  Ringing included lots of rounds, call changes, Grandsire Caters, Stedman Caters, Little Bob Royal and Yorkshire Royal.  Following the service, a great tea was provided by the local ringers in a nearby hall.  The meeting itself was relatively uneventful and we moved swiftly to ringing at Llantilio Pertholey.  Ringing here included Bob Doubles, Stedman Doubles, Cambridge Minor and Norwich Minor.  A good crowd then adjourned to The Crown at Pantygelli for a deserved pint.

Sunday 22 January - Morning ringing at Rumney consisted of call changes and Bob Doubles.

Monday 23 January - Another busy practice at Rumney with rounds, plain hunt, Funny Bob Doubles, Bob Doubles, Reverse Canterbury Doubles, St Simon's Doubles and some spliced.

Sunday 29 January - We were in Reading today so joined morning ringing at St Mary's.  We had 4-spliced major, rounds, call changes and Stedman Triples.  We were able to stay for coffee afterwards so were able to catch up with people.

Monday 30 January - Unusually, we met just 3 at Rumney this evening so no ringing took place.  An unexpected combination of work, holidays and illness took its toll.  However, we had a productive evening with a number of odd jobs being done both in the ringing room and in the belfry.

Christmas and New Year Ringing

2016 has moved seamlessly into 2017 and the past few weeks' ringing has been a bit like this:

Thursday 22nd December - A special Christmas treat tonight - a quarter of Yorkshire Maximus at Newport for the scary spliced band.  Good to include everyone who was available and, considering how little some of us ring on 12, a good effort.  Yorkshire much more stable than Stedman or Cambridge.

Saturday 24th December - A busy day today with lots of ringing for Christmas services.  Firstly we went to Newport where there were, I think, 18 ringers in attendance.  Ringing consisted of call changes on 8, 10 and 12 plus Grandsire Caters and well-struck half-courses of Yorkshire Major and Bristol Major on the back 8.  Very enjoyable.  It was then to Rumney to ring for the afternoon service and a quarter of Plain Bob Minor was duly scored.  In the evening I then went to Llandaff to ring where we had rounds and call changes on 10 plus Bristol Major and Stedman Triples on the back 8. Later on, Mrs T went to ring for Midnight Mass at Rumney.

Sunday 25th December - Rounds and call changes and Grandsire Doubles for the morning ringing at Rumney.

Tuesday 27th December - We went to Newport this evening for practice.  This included Grandsire Caters, a course of Glasgow and plenty of rounds, call changes and other things.

Wednesday 28th December - A peal attempt at Llandaff today for Christmas.  Sadly this stopped after almost two hours' ringing due to a miscall.  However, we were very late starting due to a service and a long-ish false start.

Saturday 31st December - Up early to Abergavenny this morning for, what is becoming, the traditional New Year's Eve peal.  I had been wondering what to ring this year and searching around the internet a composition of spliced Grandsire Caters and Yorkshire Royal caught my eye.  This was duly rung at the first attempt and produced some excellent ringing and different music.  A very welcome couple of pints and HPA and a sandwich in the King's Head afterwards completed an enjoyable trip out.

Sunday 1 January - Happy New Year!  Rounds and call changes were the order of the day at Rumney.

Monday 2 January - Practice at Rumney included rounds, plain hunt, Funny Bob Doubles, Bob Doubles and St Simon's Doubles.

Saturday 7 January - Up to Reading this morning for a peal of Yorkshire Maximus.  It has been sometime since I last rang a peal at St Laurence's (first since 2006!) and I'd forgotten how much the tower moves.  Consequently, the bells aren't the easiest to ring - particularly 9, 10 and 11 - but the have the great advantage of all being easy to hear in the ringing room.  Consequently, you can get some very good, even ringing on them which we had today.  After the peal we adjourned to the Back of Beyond and for the rest of the day we had a bit of a trip down memory lane visiting various haunts from when we lived in Reading and catching up with friends.  The evening finished with an excellent curry at the Chennai Dosa.

Sunday 8 January - Ringing at St Mark's Swindon this morning.  As ever, a very high standard of ringing which included call changes, Grandsire Triples, 8-spliced Major and a course of Glasgow.

Monday 9 January - Practice at Rumney tonight was enlivened by some experiments with a new wi-fi camera providing pictures of the bell-chamber.  Ringing-wise we had rounds, plain hunt, Funny Bob Doubles, Bob Doubles, St Simon's Doubles and some spliced Doubles.