Coronation of King Charles III, 6th May 2023

After weeks of preparation, the day of the Coronation arrived.  Ringers across the country have been taking part in the National Campaign “Ring for the King”.  This campaign has helped lapsed ringers return to the art, and encouraged new ringers to take up the hobby. As for existing ringers, many of us were involved in ringing in local towers throughout the day.  Even after a long day of ringing, six of our members met at Eaton Church for a celebratory quarter peal of doubles.  This was to mark the memorable occasion of the coronation that took place earlier in the day. 

After the quarter peal, there was an opportunity for the rest of the membership to “Ring for the King” at Eaton.  In true bell ringer’s style, we raised a glass to toast the New King and enjoyed savoury nibbles.  The evening gave us the opportunity for our President to present the Society of Framland Badges to three of our newest members, making the evening even more memorable. 

The Society of Framland Ringers is looking forward to welcoming ringers to the AGM on Saturday 13^th May at Asfordby.

Society of Framland Ringers 2022 Summary

With Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II reaching the remarkable Platinum Jubilee, celebrations across the world took place.  In the UK, we benefitted from an extended Bank Holiday weekend in June 2022.  Even more chances for Bell Ringers across the UK to mark the occasion with celebratory ringing.  All towers celebrated in their own way.  Many rang peals and quarter peals, other towers rang rounds and call changes.  All were significant.  Many towers participated in the significant timings to ring the bells for 30 minutes between the times of 19:52 and 20:22.  The lighting of beacons across the land took place whilst the bells were ringing.  This was the start of the 4 day celebrations. The Society of Framland Ringers also participated in the Jubilee festivities.  We were invited to ring the bells at Eaton.  We started our meeting early with a quarter peal of Plain Bob Minor.  This was followed by our normal ringing meeting.  The church was beautifully decorated for the jubilee, they had even provided cake for us.  It was a joyous occasion enjoyed by all.     

Only a few months later, we were all shocked and saddened with news that our Queen Elizabeth II had passed away.  Immediately, the entire country followed the protocols as set out in “Operation London Bridge”.  Bell ringers were included in the plans, bells across the country were ringing at specified times.  Firstly bells were muffled, flags were put to half mast and practice nights were cancelled.  During the official period of mourning, we had the proclamation of King Charles III.  In line with the pre-set plans, bells were ringing again, this time un-muffled and flags raised to full mast.  Tower captains up and down the country were re-muffling the bells for the rest of the official period of mourning.  The members of the Society of Framland Ringers were involved in their own local towers during this period.  They met up again in October for the Half Yearly Meeting at Sproxton.  The meeting opened with a silence in memory of our late Queen.  Plans were already being made by members so that the Society can ring something special for the Coronation of King Charles III which will be in Spring 2023.

The year ended with our Striking Competition at Twyford in December.  This was a welcome return to our competition.  Circumstances around the Covid pandemic prevented the competition from taking place in 2020 and 2021.  We continued with the tried and tested method, team allocations drawn out of a hat on the night, resulting in 3 teams of 5 ringers.  Each team had a practice session followed by the judged piece of 120 rows of call changes.  A very successful competition and was enjoyed by all who participated.  In typical Framland tradition, we enjoyed mince pies and hot drinks together while the judge compiled the scores.  Only a few points separated the three teams.  It was very close, but only one team could receive the Frith Shield.

WELCOME BACK

The Society of Framland Ringers will be holding their first monthly ringing meeting since the start of the pandemic.  We will be ringing on Saturday 4th September 2021.  Please contact the secretary (framlandringers@gmail.com) for full meeting details and to book your place to attend.

At our meetings, face masks are recommended and hand sanitiser will be provided.  Where possible, please maintain social distancing.  We will be opening as many doors and windows as possible.  We are limited to numbers at our regular meetings, therefore it is important to contact the secretary in advance to avoid disappointment.

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.

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.

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.

Cambridge Surprise Minor Practice Night – Branston 6th January 2018

We have often held training sessions to encourage ringers to move into Plain Bob Doubles, but very rarely hold any events for more advanced ringers.  Tonight, we focused on Cambridge Surprise Minor.  We had 5 local ringers who have been learning Cambridge, but have little opportunity to ring it regularly enough in their own towers.  From the surrounding towers, 11 experienced Cambridge Ringers joined forces at Branston to have an evening dedicated to this one method.

 

The church warden was kind enough to open the church early for us and put the heating on – it was freezing outside.

Each ringer learning the method rang once with an experienced band of ringers around them.  They each had a mentor to stand with them with words of wisdom as they rang.  It was an ideal opportunity for those learning to stand behind different bells to help them learn their place bells.

After the first round, a well-deserved break was taken to enjoy hot drinks and mince pies.  It was a chance for a bit of tuition on a one-to-one basis, and of course, a chance to chat.  We all know how much bell ringers like to talk (and eat)!

We encouraged the ringers back into the ringing chamber for the second attempt at the method.  Each ringer took it in turn and each rang better than the first attempt, requiring less input from their mentors.  Those helping, on the other hand, were finding little mistakes were creeping in which caused a few knowing smiles across the tower.

We just had enough time for a final burst for each “learner”; again improvements were seen from each ringer with minimal assistance from their mentor.

It was a very enjoyable evening.  It gave those learning the method the opportunity to ring more frequently than normal with an experienced band around them.  It was very satisfying for those helping, to see the progress made throughout the evening.

Thank you to everyone involved, especially to the Designated 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.