Society of Framland Ringers – 2020

What a year this has been!

This is the time where I would usually be writing a report following the Annual Striking Competition.  It was scheduled to have been held at Eaton on 5^th December, but due to the ongoing pandemic that has dominated the majority of 2020, it was of course cancelled.  Who could have predicted at the beginning of the year when we met in January to hold a dedicated training session on Cambridge Minor that our planned calendar of meetings would be turned upside down.  We did manage to hold our February meeting at Hoby and our March meeting at Hose before the realisation of the pandemic hit the UK.  Initially, many of us thought that the first lockdown would be over after 3 weeks and then we could resume ringing again as normal.  How wrong could we have been? 

As lockdown was extended, more bell ringing meetings were cancelled including ringing for the VE day anniversary celebrations.  As we headed into the summer, restrictions were easing but not enough to allow ringing to resume and hence our annual outing was also cancelled.  The summer seemed to fly by and the nights started to get darker.  It was now clear that the ringing meetings for the rest of 2020 would be cancelled. 

During the summer, some ringers were fortunate enough to ring for the occasional service or wedding in their local towers with reduced numbers and social distancing.  This is where it was convenient to have multiple bell ringers in one family or household reducing the risks of transmitting the virus.  Sadly, this was not a viable option for other towers and their bells remained silent.

This is also the time of year when the Society publishes the towers we intend to visit in the following year.  Needless to say, there are no plans yet.  We are so close to bringing the pandemic to manageable levels but until it is safe to do so, ringing as a Society will be on hold. 

As a vaccine is being rolled out across the nation, we are hoping that normality will resume by the spring in 2021.  When it is safe to do so, we will be able to ring together again.  There may be some changes to our ringing practices, but we will all just have to wait and see what the “new normal” brings us.

On behalf of the Society, I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year.

CANCELLED Striking Competition

It is with regret that due to the ongoing restrictions for the current pandemic, our Annual Striking Competition has been cancelled:

5th December – Eaton

Please continue to check the website for any further updates regarding cancellations.

CANCELLED MEETINGS

It is with regret that due to the ongoing restrictions for the current pandemic, the following Framland meetings have been cancelled:

5th September – Ashby Folville

3rd October – Asfordby (Half Yearly Meeting)

7th November – Croxton Kerrial

Please continue to check the website for any further updates regarding cancellations.

CANCELLED MEETINGS

The following Framland meetings have been cancelled:

11^th July – Annual Outing

1st August – Harby

Please continue to check the website for any further updates regarding cancellations.

VE Day 75th Anniversary – 8th May 2020

Celebrations today have not gone quite as intended.  Many ringers across the country should have been involved in local celebrations at their own churches.  Various ringing events had been advertised throughout the day for most towers.  Some had planned to ring peals, quarter peals, or even to simply chime the bells to mark the 75^th anniversary of the VE day.  The global pandemic that we are currently facing has temporarily turned our world upside down, including the celebrations for this bank holiday weekend.  This did not stop celebrations altogether.  Socially distanced street parties took place in the safety of our own front gardens with cream teas and bunting.

Our chairman and secretary rang handbells at 7pm as this was the time they should have been ringing in their own tower.  With both ringing 4-in-hand, rounds and call changes on 8 bells and an attempt of Plain Hunt Major were rung from the safety of their home.  A short video of this attempt is available to view via: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1AhixhXSElLGF1VZ7EWomXIZN0Yd6aQmD

Other events that took place on this day include the completion of a fundraising event by our youngest member, Will Carter.  Starting on Monday and ending on Friday, he ran the distance of a half marathon (as part of his daily exercise).  A school friend of his, Matthew, did the same. Due to social distancing, they were unable to run this event together.  Their combined efforts resulted in a “marathon in a week” and between them, they raised £343 for the NHS.  Well done Will and Matthew.

 

Bell ringing is on hold until further notice.  Although this may be disappointing for some ringers at the moment, it is an essential temporary sacrifice that we are all making so that one day we will all be able to ring together again.

Further information about the coronavirus, and the impact it has on bell ringers, is available to view on the CCCBR website: https://cccbr.org.uk/coronavirus/

 

Accounts for year 2019

Attached is the balance sheet for the financial year ending 31st December 2019.

Accounts 2019.pdf

CANCELLED MEETINGS

The following Framland meetings have been cancelled:

4^th April – Tilton on the Hill

2^nd May – AGM Bottesford

6^th June – Saltby

11^th July – Annual Outing

Fingers crossed, we will be back up and running again for the August meeting.

CANCELLED – Meeting 4th April 2020

It is with regret that the next Framland meeting due to be held on 4th April 2020 at Tilton on the Hill has been cancelled due to the Coronavirus.

There is some guidance on the CCCBR website advising towers to cease ringing following the most recent government announcements.  See link for further information:  https://cccbr.org.uk/2020/03/16/coronavirus-covid-19-update/

Please keep checking the website for current information regarding meetings.  It is likely that several more meetings will be cancelled, including the AGM in May.  These will be announced each month depending on the status and government advice of the coronavirus at the time.

Striking Competition 2019

The Framland Annual Striking Competition was held at Stathern on Saturday 7^th December 2019.  We initially thought we were low on numbers for the competition this year, but more ringers arrived and we were soon able to draw teams out of the hat to make up three teams of 5 ringers.  Each team had a practice followed by the judged piece of 120 call changes.

Once the competition pieces had been completed, it didn’t take long for the ringers to dive into the mince pies, festive nibbles and hot drinks.  These were very welcome on a cold evening.  It also gave us an opportunity to chat with our friends – something that we don’t always get chance to do at a regular monthly meeting.  However, we noticed that time was ticking on and so it was time for our judge, Mary, to announce the results of the competition.

Mary summarised the ringing across all three teams stating that there were few faults and overall a good standard.  As we were competing on 5 bells, it is easy to pick out the faults, i.e. if you are too quick or slow, it is noticeable.  The first team to participate kept the ringing moving.  It was at a reasonably fast pace.  There were a few slips where it was a bit quick or a bit slow but nothing major.  The second team tended to ring some of the backstroke leads in too quickly and where there were gaps, they were noticeably wide.  The third team to ring perhaps were not as confident as the other teams and tended to make more mistakes towards the end of the judged piece but perfectly good ringing for Sunday services.  The judge also commented that as names are drawn out of the hat on the day, you are not always used to ringing with the other team members which does make a difference.

Mary gave her final scores as follows:  Team 1 came 1^st with 6 ¼ faults, team 2 came 2^nd with 8 faults and team 3 came 3^rd with 11 ½ faults.  Congratulations to team 1 who were then presented with the Frith Shield (and then encouraged to pose for the compulsory photograph).

We finished the evening with more ringing (and more mince pies).  We wish to thank Mary for judging the competition and thank all of those taking part.

The Framland will meet again on Saturday 1^st February 2020 at Hoby (weather permitting).  Until then, the Society of Framland Ringers wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

First Peal Congratulations

The Society of Framland Ringers are delighted that one of our members completed his first peal on Saturday 7^th December 2019.  He rang inside to Grandsire Triples at Washingborough for the Lincoln Diocesan Guild.  Full details of the peal can be found on the Ringing World BellBoard https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=1313769.

Well done Will – pictured below with the rest of his band.