On Saturday 26 October there is to be a bell ringing competition held here at All Saints. The teams competing are from all the churches in the London area with 12 bells, as we have here. Teams taking part include ringers from St Paul’s and Southwark Cathedrals.
Between now and then all ten teams are coming here to practise and to familiarise themselves with our bells. This means there will be a lot of bell ringing on Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons during September and October as they practise. Enjoy!
Chris Ridley very kindly offered to organise this year’s outing as a one-day trip to the very attractive Regency city of Cheltenham. With family contacts at all the towers this was easy to do, but he said arranging the weather was harder – in the event it was a scorcher!
We started on the recently augmented ring at St Marks. What was a difficult and nearly unringable five are now a super easy going ring of eight. With nearly 30 ringers in our party, the ringing took some juggling but everybody had a decent go.
Leckhampton followed – an unusual chancel ring in full view of the church (tricky when ringing for weddings). However, we produced some good ringing on this nice little eight.
Charlton Kings, the last tower before lunch were a trickier proposition, but again everybody managed a good ring. We stopped a little bit early for the traditional group photo and then dispersed for our own lunch arrangements.
The highlight of the afternoon was undoubtedly the brand-new ring of 12 at Cheltenham Minster. The bells were completely recast and rehung in 2017, replacing the old worn out ring (some of the bells went to Keltek to be used elsewhere). We acquitted ourselves very well on the bells including a good course of Stedman Cinques.
The quiet pretty village of Compton Abdale was a contrast to
the busy streets of Cheltenham. There is
a pleasant ring of six on a small gallery so we took it in turns to have a ring
there.
Finally the lovely little town of Northleach and the magnificent church of SS Peter and Paul built by wealthy wool merchants in the 15th century. The bells date from 1700 with two trebles added in 1897. They are not easy to ring but sound wonderful and were a fitting end to a wonderful day.
I must mention how well our learners did on the outing. They were all quite happily ringing rounds on all the rings today. We all enjoyed the outing and thanks again to Chris for organising it.
There will be no ringing on Sunday morning 23 June as there is no service that morning at All Saints. There will be normal evening ringing 5-6 pm. Other towers in the area will be pleased to have help in the morning – East Molesey in particular (8.30-9 am).
Thanks to all the teams who entered, Merton for hosting, Caroline for organising, and David Perkins and Ryan Noble for judging and providing very positive comments for all bands.
The winning 8 bell band (l-r) Kate, Chris, Daniel, Nick, Mike, Diane, Paul and Anthea
Sunday 9 December Concert finishing at 5 pm (followed by normal ringing)
Saturday 15 December Surrey Assn QP 9.30 am
Sunday 16 December Evening ringing is 3.30 – 4.30 pm for carol service
Wednesday 19 December No practice – carol service
Monday 24 December Ring 10.15 – 11 pm for midnight mass
Tuesday 25 December Ringing 08.30 – 09.30
Wednesday 26 December No practice
Monday 31 December Celebrations in the tower from 11 pm followed by ringing in the New Year – need to let us know you are coming and to arrive promptly as door will then be locked.
There is normal ringing on Wednesdays & Sundays in December unless shown otherwise below.
Wednesday 13 December – no practice – we are going to Docklands to defend our striking competition trophy
Sunday 17 December – normal morning ringing, afternoon ringing from 3.30 – 4.30 for Community Carol Service
Sunday 24 December – normal morning ringing, no evensong ringing but ringing from 10.15 – 11 pm for midnight mass
Monday 25 December – morning ringing from 8.30 – 9.30 only
Wednesday 27 December – normal practice.
Sunday 31 December – normal morning and evening ringing. Bring and share drinks & snacks from 11 pm then ringing in the New Year at midnight. Booking needed if you are intending to come, when further details will be provided.
And advanced notice:
Wednesday 10 Jan 2018 the Surrey Association has been invited to join the practice at Southwark Cathedral to try out the new bells. 6.30 to 8.30 pm. Everyone is welcome but I need to know names of those intending to come. There will not be a practice at Kingston that evening.
The long-awaited work to replace the roof skylight and re-mortar the walls at the top of the spiral staircase is due to start on 26 June and finish on 28 July. We have agreed that we will not ring during this time so that the work could be completed as quickly as possible and at the lowest possible cost – although it is still very expensive. While we are unable to ring at Kingston we will be arranging ringing at other towers for practices and provide suggestions for Sunday service ringing in the area where help will be appreciated.
