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.

Monthly Meeting Calendar 2020

The calendar of meetings for 2020 is now available to view.  You can use the Google calendar here and link to your own Google calendars.

Alternatively, view, download or print the pdf here Calendar 2020.

Outing to Lincolnshire 2019

Saturday 13^th July 2019 – The Society of Framland Ringers held their annual outing in Lincolnshire visiting three towers.

Navenby, St. Peter (6) 13-0-12

Caythorpe, St. Vincent (8) 10-3-3

Silk Willoughby, St. Denis (6) 9-3-18

The outing consisted of 15 members, 2 visitors from Hampshire and 2 dogs.  We arrived at the first tower (Navenby) to be met by the church warden with teas and coffees, a very welcome start to the outing.  A few ringers were a little apprehensive getting into the tower once they saw the ladder to get into the ringing chamber, however, once that hurdle had been crossed, we had a very enjoyable ring.  It started with a very good “ring up” on these beautiful bells.  We rang the usual methods to cater for all abilities of our members and enjoyed by all.

The second tower was at Caythorpe.  This was the only 8 bell tower on this outing.  Some found it a little difficult to hurdle the large pipes across the doorway, but once we made it into the tower, it was worth the extra effort.  We were able to ring Cambridge Surprise Major which was appreciated by those of us who do not have the opportunity to ring it very often.  The good old favourites were also rung; Grandsire Triples, Stedman, Plain Bob Major as well as call changes.  The bells here were very loud in the ringing room, so a little extra concentration was needed to hear the bobs and singles.  The ropes for bells 7 and 8 were extremely close to the clock casing.  This was not an issue for myself, but for the ringers over 6 feet tall, had little head room under the clock casing and a few knuckles were scraped along the way.  The biggest issue was during the ringing down when our very tall ringing master managed to hook the tail end over a bolt on the clock casing forcing him to ring down on the sally only, as the tail end was stuck.  No damage was done and everyone remained safe.

The final tower of the day was at Silk Willoughby, another 6 bell tower.  Much to the delight of some of our members, no ladder required to enter the ringing chamber.  By this time, some ringers were getting tired, so numbers were dwindling.  We still managed a good range of doubles and minor methods on these very pleasant bells.  Keeping with tradition, we thanked the outing organiser for such a lovely afternoon.  We had the right number of towers spaced appropriately based on the number of ringers attending.  The compulsory group photo was attempted.  Unfortunately, afterwards we discovered the photographer had his finger over the lens.  We tried to get a few more group photos, but many had already headed off to the pub and have been missed off.

The outing ended with a meal at Woodys Bar and Lakeview Restaurant just outside of Grantham.  We enjoyed good food and good company in a beautiful location.

Thank you to everyone for making the outing such a lovely day.

Safeguarding Policy Updated May 2019

The Society of Framland Ringers follows the recommended guidelines “for maintaining safer environment for children in the belfry” as set out by the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers (CCCBR).

The Current Safeguarding Policy is available to view via Safeguarding policy revised 20190504

Accounts for year 2018

Attached is the balance sheet for the financial year ending 31st December 2018.  Members will be able to view the detailed accounts at the Annual General Meeting on the 4th May at Wymondham.

Accounts 2018.pdf

Plain Bob Major Practice Night – Sproxton 5th January 2019

The first Saturday of the New Year, the Society of Framland Ringers concentrated on a dedicated practice night for local ringers to have a go at ringing Plain Bob Major.  We had 4 willing “learners” and 10 “helpers” participating in the event enabling us to ring courses of Bob Major with only one learner in at a time with someone standing with them for additional guidance.

Prior to the session, our designated ringing master had issued the learners with homework to familiarise themselves with the circle of work.  I must admit, that I also found this extremely useful.  I picked up additional signposts that I hadn’t noticed before.  The homework became clear once the learners got hold of the ropes to have a go at the method surrounded by experienced major ringers complete with a mentor guiding them through the process.

Once each learner had rung, we stopped for a deserved tea break complete with biscuits and mince pies.  As there was no heating in the church, we took little persuasion to return to the heated ringing room, keen to get back to ringing another plain course for each learner.  Now that we were all happy with the plain courses, the learners were taken to one side for a refresher course in the bobs.  While a theory session was taking place the “helpers” took the opportunity to ring Stedman Triples – grabbing the chance while they could!

Time was running short.  Only two learners were brave enough to attempt a touch, the other two wanted to consolidate their learning with the plain course.  We rang the touch with two learners inside at the same time, each with a mentor to guide them.  Both rang confidently throughout the touch putting the theory into practice.  We rang another plain course for those wishing to fully get to grips with the method, enabling us all to finish on a positive note.

All of us attending (learners and helpers) have benefitted from the dedicated practice.  It enabled the less experienced ringers to master a method with more experienced ringers around them.  Many of us in the “helpers” category commented on how much we enjoyed the practice.  We rarely have the opportunity to ring major methods in our own towers at a weekly practice night, so events such as these are good for us too.

Where do we go from here? As it happens, the next Framland meeting is at Melton Mowbray on Saturday 2^nd February and one of the methods of the month is Plain Bob Major.

Thank you to everyone involved, especially to the Ringing Master for keeping us in order.  If you are interested in receiving training, either for yourself or for your tower within the Framland area, please do not hesitate to contact the society.

Striking Competition 2018

The 2018 Striking Competition was held at Twyford on Saturday 1^st December.  Most of us arrived really early for this years’ competition – shows just how keen we are!  …. Only to discover, there wasn’t anyone to let us in.  We waited patiently (OK, we chatted in the church porch), until it got to the point where it was obvious no-one was coming to let us in.  We rang the church warden, who fortunately was close by and was able to open the church for us.

Patiently waiting to get into Twyford Church to ring

Despite the slight delay in starting, we soon sorted out the teams of ringers by drawing names out of the hat.  This year we only had twelve ringers willing to take part, so we had a nice easy split of two teams of six.  Each team had two minutes of practice time followed by the judged piece of 120 call changes.

Our judge Garry (assisted by his wife Sue) sat outside in their car while the two teams rang.  Those of us taking part were pleased with the standard of ringing and both teams knew that the points between the teams would be close, so it was any ones guess as to which team had won.

After the judged pieces, we took the opportunity to socialise over a warm drink and a festive nibble or two.  I don’t know how bell ringers have got this reputation of being hearty eaters!  As much as we wanted to carry on eating and drinking, we felt that it was time to hear the results of the competition.  Our judges gave their results speaking highly of both teams.  Both teams were commended on their ringing.  Neither team had “clashes” and so faults were gained by inconsistent leading and slight inconsistencies with the changes, but generally both teams produced very good ringing.  It was felt that the 2^nd team to ring did not “flow” as well as the first team to ring.  The results were finally announced that the first team to ring had a total of 10 faults, and the second team to ring had 14 faults.  The ringers from the winning team received the trophy and posed for the compulsory team photo for the website report.

The winning team of the 2018 Striking Competition

… and a close second

We enjoyed a few more mince pies before rounding off the night with method ringing.  Despite being slightly lower on numbers than in previous years, we all had a very enjoyable evening.  Our thanks go to Garry and Sue for judging for us.

The Framland will meet again on Saturday 2^nd February at Melton Mowbray.  Until then, the Society of Framland Ringers wishes you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Hoby – Commemorative Half Muffled Quarter Peals 2014-2018

Four Year Project Completed

Friday 19^th October 2018 – the day of the final half muffled commemorative quarter peal.  Today we are completing the four year project.  During the last 4 years, the Society have successfully completed a total of 18 quarter peals, each commemorating the 100^th anniversary of the death of the soldiers associated with the village of Hoby.  When we started this project, we were to ring 16 quarter peals, but as the research continued, it was discovered that there were 2 more soldiers who died during the war, and so we rang for these as well.

A total of 18 Framland members have taken part in this 4 year project commemorating the 18 soldiers.  Some ringers rang in several of the quarters, others rang in just one.  Some wanted to ring in specific quarters as it may have coincided with a certain battle that was significant for their own families.

For the final quarter peal, we had been invited to meet up in the church afterwards to round off the project before heading off to the pub for a drink.  The pressure was therefore felt by those who were ringing, as we knew that everyone was arriving in the church for a set time.  So, when we had to re-start after 30 minutes of ringing, we were aware of the fact that people were waiting for us downstairs and had to listen to it all over again.  It was such a relief to the ringers when we successfully completed the last ring.

As we were ringing the bells down, the church warden and vicar made their way up into the ringing room to thank us for our efforts.  We had a moment of silence as we remembered all of the men that we had commemorated over the last four years.

Since the last quarter, Hoby had a window repaired in the ringing room.  They took the opportunity to make a frame so it could open, and have a picture of a bell in the middle of it.  As it was dark, we were unable to get the full benefit, but were able to see it once we had taken a photograph with a flash.  The vicar took this opportunity to dedicate the new window and to our surprise, it was dedicated to the Society of Framland Ringers for our commitment during this project.  We feel very honoured by this.

 

Still aware of the fact that we were running behind schedule, we joined everyone else in the church to be greeted by members of the committee and ringers who have taken part in previous quarters.  We were also joined by members of the church and members from the “Hoby and District Local History Society”.  It is the history society that is the backbone of the commemorative events.  They had researched each of the men who had died during the war.  All of the events that took place throughout the village were because of their work.  There have been church services, flower festivals, village tours as well as the quarter peals.

Again, we had a moment of silence remembering the fallen.  The vicar, David, thanked us.  As the secretary of the society I was expecting to be asked to stand up and say thank you to those involved.  I had a few mental notes to thank the ringers, the committee and also the church warden for being the driving force behind the project.  What came next, I was not prepared for….  I was put on the spot by the vicar.  It had come to light that even though I make myself a “spare” ringer when organising quarters, I found myself ringing in the first 3 (at the last minute).  As a result, I set myself a personal challenge to ring in all of the remaining quarters.  This did have some issues, as I no longer had a back-up ringer just in case someone dropped out at the last minute.  I also found myself rescheduling some of my holidays by a few days to be back in time to ring.  So, instead of being asked to stand up and thank everyone, I was asked “how has this journey affected me”? I was not expecting that question.

….How has it affected me?  There were some days when perhaps I was very tired after a long day at work, and the last thing that I wanted to do was to ring a quarter peal.  Some nights it was extremely hot – too hot to ring.  Other days it was far too cold.  One evening we were flooded and we didn’t think we would even make it into the village because of the road closures.  We may complain about these little inconveniences, but then in the back of mind I realised that 100 years ago, these men did not have an option, they just got on with it and so should I.  They made the ultimate sacrifice for King and Country, so the least I can do is ring for 45 minutes in their memory.  And yes, it was quite stressful in parts.  We did not have the opportunity to go away and try the quarter again the following week.  It was vital that a quarter was completed on the exact day of the anniversary of their death.  Even though I rang in all of the quarters, it has been a team effort by the whole Society.  Special thanks go to those who rang and to those who conducted the quarters.  It is quite easy to get volunteers to ring, but getting conductors is another challenge.

Gifts were presented in the church followed by the compulsory group photo.  By this time, we were ready for the pub.  One of the best things about bell ringing is being able to socialise in the pub afterwards.  It was a lovely evening and the Society would like to thank all of those from Hoby Church who made this project possible.

Members of the Society of Framland Ringers

Compulsory Group Photo – Everyone say “Ding Dong”

More details about the Hoby and District History Society can be found via: http://www.hobyanddistricthistory.co.uk/

 

Hoby – Commemorative Half Muffled Quarter Peal

19^th October 2018 – Private William Henry Crane

Today is the last of the 18 commemorative quarter peals to be rung at Hoby.  Tonight we are commemorating Private William Henry Crane.  He was born in 1882, married in 1904 and had two children.  The census records from 1911 states he was working as a carter for a builder.  William was one of the first volunteers to sign up.  The United Kingdom declared war on Germany on 4^th August 1914, he enlisted on the 5^th (two days before Lord Kitchener issued his first call for volunteers).  Having impressed the army, William rapidly reached the rank of Corporal in the 5^th Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment.  Unfortunately, his army career was cut short as only 4 months later (December 1914) he was honourably discharged on medical grounds.  Following his discharge from the army, it was suggested that he may have worked in a recruiting office, although this has not been confirmed.  At the age of 37, he died of pulmonary tuberculosis on the 19^th October 1918, less than a month before the war ended.

To commemorate 100 years after William’s death, 5 Framland ringers met at Hoby to ring in the final half muffled quarter peal.  The pressure to complete this quarter peal was felt by all of the ringers.  Having successfully completed 17 quarter peals throughout this 4 year project, we did not want to let anyone down in this one.  The plan was to ring Grandsire, Reverse Canterbury, St Martins, St. Simons, Plain Bob – all very straight forward methods, all of which we have rung before.  We were ringing well and managed the transition from Grandsire into Reverse Canterbury without any issues.  The transition into St. Martins did not go as smoothly as it should and the method just did not flow.  We had a few stumbles that led into a trip hazard which escalated.  We were not able to recover, so the command to stand was the only viable option.  What is it about St. Martins that has thrown us off course in so many of these quarters?  It has always been the same method that catches us out.  Having already rung for nearly 30 minutes, I think most of the ringers were ready to call it a day.  However, as we agreed to take on this project, we were not leaving the tower until we had completed a quarter peal.  At this point we were aware of the fact that other ringers and members of the church were already assembled in the church for a little bit of “a do” afterwards.  Although it was tempting to go and join them straight away, we made the decision to ring immediately but stick to Grandsire and Plain Bob only.  Thankfully, this time we rang with more concentration and successfully rang the quarter.  What a relief!