Sunday 6th October 2024

Richy's Blog

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Friday 4th October 2024

Ruthie enjoyed a trip to the seaside today. Well, tonight. And I don't think she actually made it to the beach. Rather, she was at St Peter and St Paul in Aldeburgh where she was ringing the sixth to a 1280 of Cambridge Surprise Major which the organiser Hilary Stearn apparently rang very well in.

It wasn't the only quarter-peal rung in Suffolk on this sunny autumnal day either, with the 1320s of College Bob IV Delight Minor and Bedford Delight Minor rung at Earl Stonham and Tostock respectively a first in the methods for all the participants. Well done to Tig Sweet, Mervyn Scase, Tracey Scase, Robert Scase, Stephen Christian and conductor Tom Scase in the former and Maureen Gardiner, Andrea Alderton, David Steed, David Howe, Stephen Dawson and conductor Lesley Steed in the latter.

No such activity for me though, as I was at home looking after the boys whilst my wife went to the seaside!

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Thursday 3rd October 2024

Gordon Adams of Haverhill is a regular source of feelgood publicity for local ringing and local ringers. The ninety-year old has previously been in the news for using his incredible walking feats to raise money for the town's St Mary the Virgin church and now is in the headlines for his attempts to fundraise for the restoration of its 12cwt six. This time he has walked over two million steps - or more than a thousand miles - in eighty days, with his exploits equating to 28,622 steps and 13.2 miles a day and thus far reached about £2,000 of his £5,000 target, so there is still scope to help him reach that.

Another source of feelgood is Tower Talk, the newsletter for ART published by Bardwell's Ruth Suggett and the latest edition is now out. Encouragingly there is content from within our borders. SGR Public Relations Officer Neal Dodge recounts the entries of Suffolk's youngsters into the early Ringing World National Youth Contests, whilst Norfolk ringer Laura Parker reports on her positive experience of judging the Guild Striking Competitions at Falkenham and Felixstowe with Sally Brown in May, the first one she'd ever judged. However, there is so much more from across the world of ringing, from tips to experiences of those at or near the beginning of their ringing progression and of teachers. Please do take the time to have a read - the chances are you will find something really useful in there and if nothing else it is an extremely uplifting read!

Meanwhile on the day of his funeral, a photo featuring one-time Beccles ringer Michael Stokes and a group of other Suffolk ringers taken around the 1950s was very kindly shared on the Guild Facebook page by Steve Rabong. Much fascinating identification of those in the picture followed, with Pat & Trevor Bailey spotted along with Lester Brett, Ted Cracknell, Hubert Mitson (who of course the Mitson Shield awarded for the method-ringing Guild 6-Bell Striking Competition winners is named after) and possibly Muriel Page. I imagine others reading this could recognise more!

Although it was an exciting day for Alfie who was involved in a successful football tournament with school and Ruthie went practicing with her choral colleagues, the above is as interesting as it got from a ringing perspective.

Others in the county were mercifully more active in the exercise today though, with a quarter-peal of Doubles rung at Chediston and a 5040 of Grandsire Triples at Horringer successful and which was Sally Crouch's first peal since 1986. Well done Sally for being another source of feelgood publicity!

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Wednesday 2nd October 2024

After I'd been out for the last couple of evenings, so it was Ruthie's turn to go out tonight as she joined her mother Kate in joining Pettistree's weekly practice, where she indulged in plenty of Surprise Minor with Bourne, Carlisle and Norwich, but also helped those nearer to the beginning of their ringing progression with Doubles of the Grandsire and Plain Bob varieties. It sounds like it was a productive session, which as usual was preceded with a quarter-peal and followed by refreshment in The Greyhound.

It was all part of a busy day for my wife who had also been out with her sister today and other ringers from the county have been even busier, with Brian Whiting's annual Quarter-Peal Tour in Norfolk having been rounded off yesterday. Eleven quarters were rung, including three in hand on what appears to have been a very successful (and I imagine extremely entertaining!) week.

For me however, today was a more mundane one of work and - once I'd enjoyed a kick-about with a joyful Josh during Alfie's football training - getting the boys to bed.

There were interesting moments from the world of ringing which came to my attention via the online world though. Such as the revelation that one of the contestants in this year's Great British Bake Off is Gill Howard, a ringer from Lancashire. As with Yorkshire ringer Andrew Aspland's participation in 2021's series of The Great British Sewing Bee, it may see me paying a bit more attention to something I don't usually get too embroiled in, even though - as with Andrew - I don't know her personally. Good luck Gill!

Closer to home and less glamourous but perhaps more pertinent to local ringing is the announcement on the Suffolk Guild's Facebook page of the Ely Diocesan Association Open Tower Day in aide of the enhancement of Stretham bells and is due to take place on Saturday 29th March 2025. To echo my words on Saturday's blog about open days, I can only encourage you to save the date and enjoy proceedings!

Maybe that could be a day out for both Ruthie and me!

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Tuesday 1st October 2024

For a brief while I thought that I was about to bong behind to a quarter-peal of Plain Bob Doubles on the front six at Ufford for the second Tuesday in a row this evening. With only Hollesley learner Margaret Weeks and five Surprise Minor ringers present for the weekly practice about a quarter of an hour after it had started, Ringing Master Kate Eagle asked Margaret what she'd like to ring, which transpired to be a touch of PBD inside. Unbeknown to her (and Anne Buswell who perhaps understandably missed Mrs Eagle's subtle hint to take her jumper off!), my mother-in-law was plotting to keep calling 120s to see how far Margaret - and in particular her wrist which is recovering strength after she broke it towards the end of last year - could get, with the ultimate aim being scoring a QP.

After three extents though she seemed to be struggling a fair bit and so Kate called it round, but it was a useful 360 for her and her wrist, as were the touches of Grandsire Doubles and some more Plain Bob Doubles afterwards. However, it was necessary to give Margaret a decent rest in between touches and with only the six of us in the ringing chamber there was only so much we could expect her to do, so we finished early on this occasion.

I guess I'll have to wait for my next quarter-peal of Plain Bob Doubles bonging behind.

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Monday 30th September 2024

Over the weekend it was reluctantly decided that there will be no Ipswich entry into the 2025 National 12-bell Striking Contest. Personally I think we do remarkably well at St Mary-le-Tower. That's not meant as a boast or being elitist - we are simply a group of bellringers trying to enjoy our ringing as much as possible and ultimately trying to produce good ringing when called upon by the church. But we are geographically isolated as twelve-bell towers go, on the way to nowhere for almost everyone, with no established university providing talented students to boost our numbers and to boot our practice night runs on the same night as three other twelves in the region. Yet it is now fairly standard for us to ring Stedman Cinques and Surprise Maximus on a Monday night and even a Sunday morning.

However, our situation does mean that we are at the mercy of circumstances more than somewhere like Birmingham or even Cambridge. Over the last couple of years we have lost a handful of ringers which stretches us, but nonetheless there is - as alluded to above - enough to produce advanced stuff on twelve and to enter a team in the biggest ringing competition in the world. Getting enough together at the same time is a different matter though and has ultimately led to our decision to forgo the opportunity to take part in one of the four eliminators due to take place on Saturday 22nd March at Beverley, St Nicholas Pier Head in Liverpool, Rotherham and Shrewsbury. Such logistical challenges can also occasionally extend to the weekly practice as it did this evening, where with five or six Surprise Maximus regulars missing for work, holidays, quarter-peal tours and the like, there was no Cambridge or Yorkshire Max nor any Stedman Cinques.

One way that is hoped to help counter this is the intention to hold an 'advanced' practice on the county's heaviest twelve on the first Monday night of the month, starting in November on the 4th. We are chuffed with how we've helped our learners to progress, but we're also aware that as just one of two active twelve-bell practices in Suffolk we offer a rare opportunity for people ready to advance on higher numbers and so we are hoping that such ringers can travel distance to here with the confidence that they will get that opportunity. Likewise, we hope it will also encourage other experienced twelve-bell ringers who perhaps can't commit to travelling a long way into Ipswich on the off-chance of ringing Surprise Maximus to come and help us on those first Mondays. Inspired by the success that The Norman Tower has had by doing the same once a month at their weekly practices on a Thursday, we also hope that it will complement that and generally be good for ringing in the county as well as ourselves.

Despite the low numbers at ringing tonight, there was still a band for Major sat in the Halberd Inn afterwards and during our session there was plenty of Erin Cinques. Partly that is because it is a useful step between Grandsire and Stedman, introducing the double-dodging from 4-5 upwards of the latter without the worry of which frontwork you'll be doing next and in theory removing the hesitancy and uncertainty that comes with that. Also though, because it is planned to be the test piece for the George W Pipe 12 Bell Competition slated for Saturday 15th February at Bishop's Stortford in Hertfordshire, the twelve-bell striking competition for teams in the eastern region currently held by The Norman Tower.

All being well Ipswich will be competing in at least one twelve-bell striking competition in 2025!

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Sunday 29th September 2024

As you would expect and indeed hope on a Sunday, it was a busy day of ringing in Suffolk.
A big part of that were the four quarter-peals rung in the county, including Judith Raven's first of Grandsire which was rung in the 1269 of the Doubles variant of the method at Chediston. Well done Judith! Meanwhile there were 1260s of Doubles and Plain Bob Minor at Bardwell and Rougham respectively, whilst a 1344 of PB Major was rung on the back eight at Stowmarket.

It was an active day of ringing for some of Suffolk's ringers past and present beyond our borders too. Indeed an active weekend as a whole for a couple of them, most particularly Norman Tower ringer Clare Veal who on a visit to Dordrecht in the Netherlands has rung two quarters and two peals, including a 5080 of Cambridge Surprise Royal today. And back in the UK but actually slightly further away as the crow flies, former Ipswich ringer George Salter was pulling the tenor in at Bradford Cathedral to a 5088 of Bristol Surprise Maximus with one-time Exning learner Jimmy Yeoman which was the second of a Yorkshire double-header for them following the 5136 of eight treble dodging Maximus methods spliced at Sheffield Cathedral yesterday. Closer to home, former Debenham ringer Robert Beavis rang the fifth to a peal of Lessness Surprise Major at Milton in Oxfordshire with Colin Turner, who despite slowing considerably in notching up the peals in recent years has still rung far more than anyone else, with this being his 7991st in the medium.

Of course beyond BellBoard there will have been much service ringing across the world, although mine at Woodbridge was noted on the site as I joined them for some call-changes on the front six before I attended the morning worship downstairs. Worth noting at this point that if anyone is planning to visit the practices here on a Tuesday evening and would park in the churchyard, that that option will not be available until at least December as vehicles will not be allowed in whilst scaffolding is up around the base of the tower. Ringing is planned to continue though, so please don't be put off coming along if you can!

Our time at St Mary-the-Virgin's church was part of an unusual arrangement for us, as we had all - including Mason - walked up from home and then unfortunately had to leave the service early, as we were being picked up by mother-in-law and Ufford Ringing Master Kate Eagle to take us on to Ipswich Town's latest Premier League adventure. Unsurprisingly the 2pm kick-off against Aston Villa (already the third team we've played this season who are in the Champions League) that made leaving the church such an undesirable rush was due to it being on TV, which added further to an already anticipatory atmosphere, but there were still lots of the familiar aspects that have helped really make these family afternoons out such a joy. Food and a couple of drinks at The Mermaid was followed up with meeting up with Norwich ringer Simon Rudd before the game and at half-time, whilst as we have become accustomed to the footy itself was entertaining as the Tractor Boys fought back for a 2-2 draw in front of around 30,000 fans and a worldwide television audience. There was almost even a bonus meet-up with a ringer as Keith Brown from Lincolnshire - who had only been in town last weekend for our peal attempt of London (No.3) Surprise Royal at St Mary-le-Tower - was present, although the timings didn't work out to share a catch-up over a pint.

Once we'd returned to our abode, our day continued along the slightly odd vibes as a phone-call from my mother Sally drew our attention to the appearance tonight on ITV's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire of Pete Hallifax, the son of Northamptonshire ringers and family friends Len & Lesley as he impressively won £125,000.

More conventionally we also listened to 'Bells on Sunday' on BBC Radio 4 which this week features the bells of Woolpit and an extract of the 1320 of Plain Bob Minor rung on the 8cwt six in May in memory of local ringer Alastair McArthur. As is the norm there is a longer recording on the tower's page on this very website.

I imagine there was ringing there as well on this busy day of ringing in Suffolk.

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Saturday 28th September 2024

Well done to all involved in organising and stewarding the North-West District Open Day which today raised over £2,000 towards the project at Drinkstone. Thirty-one towers - including the new eight at Fornham St Martin - were open for enthusiastic tower-grabbers from across the country. Brilliant to hear it went so well with lots of favourable comments to NW Ringing Master Josh Watkins's announcement on Facebook.

I love an open day and I have to admit that I was tempted on joining it, even though there would've been few grabs for me. Grim tales of car engines running outside, ropes being handed over mid-touch and pushing in as the most forceful of grabbers attempt to sweep up as many towers as possible abound, but in my experience (although it is many years since I've been on one) I've never really witnessed such behaviour. Usually I've enjoyed the sense of camaraderie, unexpectedly meeting someone I know, wondering who I might bump into, what we may be able to ring at the next tower and exploring an area in a way that typically only occurs when one is out and about ringing.

However, in the end we couldn't really do it. Primarily that was because we spent the entire morning at the park where Alfie was playing in goal for his team as they won again and with some more of his friends playing in a match straight after him he rather sweetly wanted to stay on to support them and as it was sunny and Josh was playing with some of his friends on the same park we stuck around chatting with our fellow footballer parents. By that point we were well into lunchtime and of course with children of that age (and especially when they don't have any interest in the exercise) it isn't as simple as just getting up and travelling across Suffolk to ring at a load of towers! When Ruthie's sister, her other half and our nieces popped round ours that definitely finished any lingering thoughts of joining it, so I'm glad to hear it was so successful.

Well done to all involved.

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Friday 27th September 2024

Framlingham is where we were planning to be this evening for the Surprise Major practice organised by South-East District Ringing Master Hal Meakin, but as hopefully all who needed to saw that was postponed earlier in the week, with the intention that it is held on Friday 25th October.

That is now a part of What's On for next month, along with other events penciled in for October such as the SE District Practice on the ground-floor rings of Badingham and Dennington on Saturday 5th, the North-East District Ringing Meeting on the 10cwt six of Mendham a week later, the South-East District Kaleidoscope Practice at Henley on the same night as the Surprise Major Practice in Framlingham and the South-West District Outing to Campsea Ashe, Tunstall, Aldeburgh, Saxmundham and Yoxford on the 26th.

Also slated for Saturday 12th is the North-West District ADM at Hopton with a bring & share tea, which is the first of the four district ADMs this year, with the NE hoping to hold theirs at Southwold on 9th November, the SW at Bures a fortnight later and the SE on 7th December. These sound incredibly dry occasions and it is true there is no way of dressing up the actual business meetings as anything exciting, but they are still important and informative events which in this day and age of quick mass communication are rarely particularly lengthy and are usually merely a part of wonderful social occasions in the beautiful locations we are blessed to live and ring amongst. Please do support whatever you can, whenever you can.

The closest we got to actual ringing today though was reading the latest edition of The Ringing World which arrived with us this morning and listening to the ringing featured on 'Bells on Sunday' five days ago following a recommendation from Mike Whitby. It is from Great St Mary's in Cambridge and is part of David Pipe's famous 'Particles' composition and therefore gives a sense of what many only read about and rarely hear. Well worth a listen.

Meanwhile the recent interview on BBC Radio Suffolk between Wayne Bavin and Sandi Toksvig was replayed 3 hours, 41 minutes and 45 seconds into the former's breakfast show this morning where the latter expressed a desire to listen to the bells of St Lawrence in Ipswich being rung. Sadly that won't be possible for the time being as the ancient five remain unringable whilst the flintwork on the tower is fixed.

However, the Friday Night Quarter-Peal Club were busier as they rang a 1345 of Norwich Surprise Minor on the isolated ground-floor six of Ashbocking, so there was at least some ringing in the county today. Even if there wasn't at Framlingham.

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Thursday 26th September 2024

Apparently more people have a birthday on 26th September then any other date. Otherwise though there wasn't anything particularly different or notable about today, including from a local ringing perspective.

That's not to say there wasn't anything worth noting happening on bells in Suffolk on this soggy autumnal feeling day, with a quarter-peal of Ipswich Surprise Minor rung at Ixworth and a peal of thirty-four Surprise Minor rung on handbells in Bacton for the Norwich Diocesan Association.

Meanwhile, while there was no practice held at Falkenham (due to lack of numbers rather than anything to do with the tower issues which aren't affecting the ringing of this 5cwt ground-floor six), there was hopefully a session at Grundisburgh now that the road closure which had led to the practices there being cancelled for a few weeks has been lifted.

For the first time this week there was no ringing for us today, as we attended a 'Meet the Teacher' event at school for Josh as the rain lashed the classroom windows and Ruthie went choral practicing, whilst I didn't get the opportunity to have a go on my eBells this week.

And considering the day, surprisingly there weren't any birthday footnotes in the county.

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Wednesday 25th September 2024

When my employers John Catt Educational and therefore myself left their previous offices in 2018, I commented that over the previous decade there was probably nowhere I had spent as much time. In part that was because over that period we'd also moved house several times and much of my time in our abode was further diluted by going out ringing two, three, sometimes even four or five nights a week, not to mention the busy weekends in towers, especially as I was Guild Ringing Master when JCEL first moved into Woodbridge from the old school house in Great Glemham.

The same can't be said for our current office though. Apart from the incredible observation that we have been in the same house throughout the whole time, since John Catt Educational moved into these ones six years ago, there have been a couple of big changes that have seen me spend far less time in this office than our previous one and have ultimately led to today being my last day working in this office. One was the acquisition of JCEL by Hodder Education and our subsequent integration into a bigger nationwide organisation and in August saw us told that our office would be closed down at the end of this month. The other change was the pandemic, which from March 2020 saw me working from home, sometimes for months at a time but even after our return for at least two or three days a week. Not only has it meant far less time spent in this office then our previous, but it meant that from tomorrow that rather than being faced with a choice between redundancy or commuting to London we have been moved to working entirely from home.

Personally, whilst I shall miss the interaction with my co-workers I am happy enough with permanently working from home, with my main concern being remaining close to hand for the school-run, emergencies and making the most of my downtime, including with ringing, but the last few weeks and today did feel a little strange. Everyone was given the option of starting working from home from the start of September and so although I preferred to stick to my office routine, others understandably reverted to the new opportunity immediately, which meant that there was an eerie feel about my workplace and when I scooped up what I needed for permanently working from home (important things like my mug!) and left the building for the final time this afternoon, there were just two of us in a space which once held up to twenty. Although if the Guild is ever minded to set up a training centre there is plenty of space for a ring of bells in what will soon be an empty two-floor building!

From now then, the social interaction I get from ringing and ringers is going to be even more important and once I'd accompanied Alfie to his football training, that started at Pettistree this evening at the village's church of St Peter and St Paul and then The Greyhound, once Sam Shannon had returned to the church to retrieve his hat and coat leaving me very diligently looking after his pint!

Ringing on the ground-floor six was also well worth the journey (even with those multiple sets of traffic lights on the short trip!) with multiple Minor methods spliced, London & Wells Surprise Minor spliced, Bourne Surprise Minor, Norwich Surprise Minor and Stedman Doubles amongst the repertoire in the relatively short amount of time I was there during a successful session.

Unfortunately they were less successful today at Bures where the tenor clapper failed three courses into a peal attempt (there are far worse points for such things to happen!) of Double Norwich Course Bob Major, with participant Mike Cowling very kindly sharing a photo on the ringing chamber walls from 1968 featuring some ringers that people may recognise!

Meanwhile, having had to cancel the Surprise Major practice which was due to take place at Framlingham on Friday, South-East District Ringing Master Hal Meakin today announced that he has rearranged it, with the plan being to gather at the same location from 7.30-9pm on Friday 25th October.

By which point I hope I will have got fully used to working from home.

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Tuesday 24th September 2024

This week was due to be one of considerable Surprise Major focus in Suffolk, with a practice at Ufford this evening and another at Framlingham on Friday. Sadly the latter has had to be cancelled due to a lack of numbers for various reasons, although the plan is to run it next month instead (on Friday 25th October), so look out for that. When only seven were present as we approached 8pm at the former with a handful of last minute dropouts due to forgotten meetings, sudden Ofsted inspections and a car breakdown in a Tesco carpark, it became obvious that tonight's wasn't going to happen either.

Nonetheless, it wasn't a totally wasted outing and with Mike Cowling very kindly volunteering to step down, the remaining six of us rang in what was Hilary Stearn's first quarter-peal as conductor. Despite some anxious chuntering from her at the start and the odd gentle prod, she did extremely well too! Well done Hilary!

Meanwhile, there has been some success with treble dodging on eight in the county this week, with a peal of Kent Treble Bob Major rung on handbells in Bury St Edmunds yesterday being a first of Treble Bob in hand for all except the conductor Alan Mayle. Well done to Rowan Wilson, Jed Flatters and Brian Whiting!

However, a message added to the Guild Facebook tonight announces that there will be no practice at Offton in a week's time. There may not so much Surprise Major focus in Suffolk next week either.

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Monday 23rd September 2024

He's only been with us a couple of years, but at St Mary-le-Tower's weekly practice this evening we bade farewell to Graham Ridgway before he moves to Lincolnshire, a number of towers already earmarked by him to join in a way that isn't possible to the same extent in many hobbies. Throughout his time with us he has been a useful ringer to have and good company to boot.

The ringing itself was another productive session even with the number of Surprise Maximus ringers present a little low on this occasion. Of particular note to me was a really well rung half-course of Yorkshire Surprise Royal, especially for David Lugg's part in it. An exhibition of what can be achieved on higher numbers with concerted practice.

It was all followed by refreshment in the Halberd Inn where we had a surprise visit from one-time learner Jakob Hirschmann and conversation turned to lorries getting stuck under bridges when we learnt one had done just that on Norwich Road this evening!

I wonder if Graham will miss our scintillating conversation as much as we'll miss him?

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Sunday 22nd September 2024

Peal Weekend for the Ancient Society of College Youths continued today with more success including another one in Sydney (this time of Stedman Cinques at Sydney's Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Mary), a 5056 of Rugby Surprise Major rung in the Warwickshire town the method is named after in the North-East tower of St Andrew's church where uniquely there are two towers with rings of bells and a 5040 of six Maximus methods to David Pipe's classic twelve-part composition at St Mary le Bow in London which is impressive in its own right, but even more so as at least one of the band had been up at 2am after the Society of Cambridge Youths' 300th anniversary dinner according to Facebook!

Others from Suffolk who were also in Cambridge last night were back within our borders ringing on the county's bells on this autumnal Sunday, including at The Norman Tower for a quarter-peal of Grandsire Cinques and at St Mary-le-Tower where my morning's ringing began with - amongst other pieces - some Cambridge Surprise Royal that young Percy Culham disapproved of, although not as much as when it was changed to Little Bob to bring it round! And following refreshment at Costa Coffee as the Ipswich Half Marathon - including occasional local ringer Ben Williamson - went past, the boys and I went onto Grundisburgh when the boys could join another youngster with Guild Chairman Mark Ogden's grandson there and I got to ring the treble to a 120 of Plain Bob Doubles. A rare luxury!

As was being able to leave the village via the B1079, the closure of which over the last few weeks had led to the Thursday night practices on the 9cwt twelve being cancelled, although it is no longer like driving over the surface of the moon with the potholes gone!

Something else which needs fixing is the tower at Falkenham, where falling masonry means they need to raise £40,000 to sort the issue out. Thank God the lovely 5cwt ground-floor six are still ringable, but hopefully they'll be able to source the funds and fix the problem as soon as possible. A reminder that practices here on a Thursday will be from 7-8.30pm from this week.

Meanwhile, a moving 1260 of Plain Bob Minor was rung at Troston in memory of Evelyn Reeve with a band including her daughter Claire Free, but my ringing for the day was done by lunchtime ahead of a quiet afternoon and an unusual evening. For we had happily agreed to dogsit for near neighbours and friends Verity & Jade as they went out. With Ruthie singing for evensong at Great Bealings with the Jubilate Singers, I first needed to look after the hounds whilst mother-in-law Kate looked after the boys at ours, before my wife arrived from singing and took over from me, thus allowing my return home to take over from Granny Kate!

All whilst the College Youths Peal Weekend continued.

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Saturday 21st September 2024

As mentioned yesterday, it is College Youths Peal Weekend and this morning saw Suffolk's attempted contribution to the occasion as ten of us gathered at St Mary-le-Tower to try and ring a peal of London (No.3) Surprise Royal.

Our county is predominantly Cumberland Youths country. I have no problem with that. Indeed, I am delighted to see ringers from within our borders involved with either of these aspirational societies. It is good for ringing in the county. However, we do struggle here to get College Youths together and so typically the peal weekend is the only time that we do get to ring in the medium for the CYs.

Sadly we couldn't add to a weekend which thus far has seen such successes as a 5016 of Stedman Cinques on the heaviest ring of bells in the world hung for change-ringing at Liverpool Cathedral, 5082 of Sgùrr a' Chaorachain Surprise Royal at St Paul's in Birmingham, 5184 of Avon Delight Maximus at Melbourne in Derbyshire, 5088 of Cornwall Surprise Major in Canada at Quebec City's Holy Trinity Cathedral and in Australia a 5042 of Cambridge Surprise Maximus at St Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney. Things were going pretty well in a difficult method until about two and a half courses in when it all collapsed in a heap, as can so easily happen in something such as this where bells hunt on the opposite stroke. Unexpectedly though, the tenor rope was also beginning to come apart. It can happen, but it's perhaps best that we lost our attempt when we did as there was no guarantee that the rope would last sufficiently to the end. Still, it was a pity especially for conductor Louis Suggett who was up from Bournemouth for the occasion and Keith Brown, an Ipswich Town supporter who had travelled from Lincolnshire and who I first met at The Ridgman Trophy at Biggleswade in June.

We also finished too early to get a beer in any nearby pubs and so we retired to Costa Coffee instead at the start of a day when some of the band were going onto Cambridge for a dinner to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the forming of the Society of Cambridge Youths. This was an event celebrated with ringing of course, perhaps most notably a 5040 of Bristol Surprise Maximus at Great St Mary's with a band including one-time Exning learner Jimmy Yeoman and Suffolk resident Phillip Orme, but other ringers from within our borders were involved too. Ben Keating lost a quarter-peal at Chesterton but scored one at Histon yesterday, John Loveless who learnt to ring at Bures rang the tenor to a 5120 of Cambridge Surprise Major at Fulbourn and on Friday Julian Colman and Mike Cowling rang in a 5058 of Yorkshire Surprise Major at Meldreth. The band at The Norman Tower in particularly have benefitted from the generous help and friendship of the Cambridge ringers so it is wonderful to see this anniversary marked so successfully.

Nothing so exciting for me once I'd returned home though. In fact the rest of my household were having a more interesting day than me as they went up to the Henham Steam Rally with Granny Kate. In 2011 we went along to help out with the Vestey Ring there, but whilst there was no ringing presence this time round it sounds like they had a good time up there.

There was no further ringing noted on BellBoard either, although a 1320 of Taxal Delight Minor rung at Tostock yesterday was added today and was a first in the method for all the band. Well done to Andrea Alderton, Lesley Steed, Maureen Gardiner, David Howe, David Steed and conductor Stephen Dawson.

Hopefully the South-West District had a successful practice at Great Thurlow. Or at least more successful than our attempt to add to the College Youths Peal Weekend.

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Friday 20th September 2024

It was a day of arrivals.

Most significantly for us, Alfie arrived back home from his school residential trip, full of exciting tales of activities undertaken and food eaten in what seems to have been the invaluable few days we'd hoped it would be for him and his peers.

Less significantly though noteworthy for a ringing blog was the arrival of the latest edition of The Ringing World, which featured a piece on the first peal on the ten of Stowmarket which was rung in March and also a report on the recent celebrations held for the thirtieth anniversary of the Lundy Island Society. As the name suggests this is the ringing organisation which is associated with ringing on the island and which I have rung three peals for, including one with fellow Suffolk ringers in 2007 on one of the trips I arranged for the county's ringers.

Another arrival was celebrated with a quarter-peal on handbells in Hasketon as the birth of Alfred Stanford was marked by a 1344 of Superlative Surprise Major which was a first in the method in hand for Grandad David. Well done David!

Meanwhile, the College Youths Peal Weekend has got underway with a number of performances around the country. Hopefully heralding the arrival of a successful few days of peal-ringing for the ASCYs.

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Thursday 19th September 2024

It's been a while, but with Ruthie out at choral practicing, Josh in bed and the evening now very dark pretty early, it felt as good a time as any to get the eBells out that Tim Hart very kindly gifted me in 2021 (I've no idea if Sir Keir Starmer has also been gifted a set!). Rust was evident as I struggled through a course of Cambridge Surprise Minor ringing 5-6 on Ringing Room with Wheatley ringing the front four after a handful of aborted attempts not helped by the usual lag. I'm fairly sure the ability to put compositions into RR now is new since I was last on there, so I might be able to test myself a bit more, but for now I satisfied myself with the plain course and felt pretty pleased to get back on it.

Meanwhile there was another touching ringing tribute to Evelyn Reeve who died a month ago aged eighty-five, with a 5085 rung at Hadleigh in the South-West District where she dedicated decades of ringing, of Yorkshire Surprise Major and also a method named after her for the last half-lead which is a variation of Yorkshire that with the places being made in 5678 had the potential to catch the ringers on the back four out right at the end! Well done to them on negotiating that!

And I guess well done to me on negotiating a course of Cambridge Surprise Minor on my eBells after such a long break from them.

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Wednesday 18th September 2024

With Alfie away there was no football training for us this evening. In theory we could've offered one of us for the pre-practice quarter-peal at Pettistree, but as it transpired we ended up hosting our friend Matt with this the only time we could manage meeting with him.
As they have become accustomed, they managed perfectly alright without our 'help', with a 1296 of Cambridge Surprise Minor and Ruthie did manage to get along to the session that followed, plus some post-ringing refreshment in The Greyhound with Mark Ogden, who somehow found time for a drink amongst all his jobs!

And even without Alfred's football training, I'm impressed that my wife found the time to go ringing too!

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Tuesday 17th September 2024

Later than usual, the latest edition of The Ringing World arrived with us this morning with a stunning photo on the front. There isn't much in the way of Suffolk links beyond peal and quarter-peal reports, but a quick overview of the recent Central Council AGM in Exeter reveals that Guild Chairman and Young Ringers' Coordinator Mark Ogden and already lead of the 'Ringing 2030 Environments' workgroup has taken on another role!

There was more time to read it this evening too, with no practice at Ufford on this occasion and nothing on BellBoard from within our borders today. Although not all that far beyond them the longest peal of Bristol Surprise Major yet rung on handbells was successful in Godmanchester with a 13440 rung in 6 hours and 7 minutes with umpires including John Loveless and ought to appear in a future edition of The Ringing World, whenever it might reach us.

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Monday 16th September 2024

An earlier start than usual for Alfie this morning as he set off on his school residential trip, which all being well will see him and his classmates undertaking all sorts of activities and taking on various responsibilities. Understandably there is a little anxiety on our part with this being the first time he has been away from us for more than a weekend and with someone other than family, and it was strange not having him about the house later on, with Josh and us already missing him, but it is of course an important and potentially exciting experience for our ten-year-old.

And life otherwise went on as normal, including me going to St Mary-le-Tower for the weekly practice where once I'd travelled in to the backdrop of an absolutely stunning sunset full of vivid red and orange, I arrived to some Cambridge & Yorkshire Surprise Royal being rung, pulled the tenor in to and called an aborted attempt of London (No.3) Surprise Royal and rang in a nice touch of Stedman Cinques before we retired to the Halberd Inn for post-ringing refreshment.

There was also much ringing activity on bells in the county earlier in the day, with a quarter-peal of Little Bob Royal rung on handbells in Moats Tye by a resident Suffolk band, while there were a brace of peals rung within our borders by the Saint James' Guild with a visiting band featuring former Bures ringer John Loveless, with a 5024 of London Surprise Major at Hitcham and a 5088 of High Ham Surprise Major at St Gregory's in Sudbury.

I imagine it was an earlier start than usual for some of them too.

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Sunday 15th September 2024

This afternoon I enjoyed listening to a video clip put up on Facebook of the penultimate lead of a superbly struck (at that point and with the band that was ringing I imagine also throughout) peal of twelve Major methods being rung on the back eight of the sixteen at St Martin in the Bullring in Birmingham, with former Exning learner Jimmy Yeoman among the extremely talented ringers participating.

However, it was a rare moment of downtime on a busy afternoon of sorting and shopping in readiness for a school trip for one of the boys, but no ringing for us.

I did do some in the morning though as I joined the ringers at Woodbridge for Grandsire Doubles before joining the service downstairs afterwards, whilst beforehand I enjoyed a chat on the stairs with local ringer Elspeth Hilson as we waited for a piece to end, discussing how far away you can hear the bells across the town.

And there was ringing elsewhere in Suffolk. We were disappointed that our otherwise necessarily busy afternoon prevented us from ringing in the 1319 of Grandsire Cinques at St Mary-le-Tower, but delighted to see it successfully rung and George Heath-Collins and Ivan Culham getting their first quarter-peal on twelve. Two ringers who we've seen firsthand working hard to progress on higher numbers and therefore this landmark is well earned. Well done guys! Congratulations also to Tim Stanford and his wife Megan on becoming parents again!

Meanwhile, well done to Juliet Griffiths on ringing her first QP of Grandsire in the 1260 of the Doubles version rung at Euston and congratulations to Sally Crouch and David Steed on ringing their fiftieth quarter together in the seven Minor methods spliced rung at Troston in a performance where the eighty-two changes of methods were silent and unconducted.

I don't know if there is any video of it, but I imagine it was enjoyable to listen to.

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Saturday 14th September 2024

Well done to Josh, Alfie, Ruthie and Kate on taking part in the Suffolk Churches 'Ride and Stride' this afternoon, the former two for the first time ever, the latter three on their bikes, whilst Josh went about on his scooter. I meanwhile merely wandered about accompanying our youngest son around the churches and chapels of first Woodbridge as we took in the Methodist Church, St Thomas of Canterbury's Roman Catholic church, St John's, the Quay Church (where the boys had an impromptu drumming lesson), the familiar church of St Mary the Virgin with its 25cwt eight and the chapel that is part of the Seckford Almshouses, before Joshua & I met Mason after he'd finished work, dropped him off at home and used the car to catch the others up at the 'new' and old (where the boys were allowed a chime of the 5cwt bell cast by Miles Graye of Colchester in 1618 which is the only one in the tower) churches of Melton and then the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ufford. Which is where a phenomenal effort ended with a drink outside the White Lion in beautiful warm sunshine that suggested that we weren't quite done with summer yet. Thank you to everyone who very generously sponsored Alfred for this - he didn't let you down! Josh's confidence takes a lot of building up and we weren't 100% sure he would take part and so we didn't ask for sponsorship for him, but although it would've been asking a lot of him to scoot from Woodbridge to Melton and then Ufford (plus it would've taken absolutely ages compared to the cyclists who we were going around with!), he did brilliantly too! We weren't the only ringers from within our borders taking part either, so well done to all who took part.

AJM's efforts were all the more impressive considering he had already played for his football team in another successful away fixture this morning, but both he and his younger brother were able to put their feet up for the return of Strictly Come Dancing and to watch - at their request - the Last Night of the Proms with us.

Unsurprisingly there wasn't time for any ringing for us, but other riders and striders in the county would've been accompanied by the sound of bells in Bury St Edmunds, Rougham and Stowmarket on a notable day for Suffolk ringing. Well done to Clare Veal, Tim Hart and Julian Colman on ringing their first peal of Bristol Surprise Maximus at The Norman Tower (which was also the Guild's first in the method for five years) on what was a packed day of peal-ringing for Julian, Joan Garrett and Simon Rudd as they were also in the 5040 of Cambridge Surprise Royal which was also the first peal of Surprise Royal on Suffolk's newest ten. Congratulations to Andrew Stone on his 300th in the medium in that 3 hours and 14 minutes, whilst the middle performance on the 15cwt six between the other two locations was a quarter-peal of Plain Bob Minor.

It was busy in Suffolk's churches then, whether it be with ringing, riding or striding.

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Friday 13th September 2024

One of the many aspects of ringing to like is the ability for romance to blossom with a shared activity that both of you can understand and undertake together and introduce children to and set the process off all over again for the next generation. My Mum and Dad met through ringing. More specifically on Jim Pipe's 'Pipe's Pilgrims' ringing trip of 1974. My brother Chris met his now wife Becky through the exercise. And of course Ruthie and I first met during our pursuit of the art.

Judging by the thread about the subject on the Bellringers Facebook page we are far from the only ones, with lots of ringers contributing with accounts of how they met their loved ones through ringing and how their parents, their children and/or generations further back met thanks to bells. It did get me wondering just how far back some families could trace their lineage purely through couples who had met whilst ringing!

One fine example of a ringing family is the Scases with two former South-East District Ringing Masters, SE District Treasurer, GMC Reps and a former Guild Ringing Master amongst their number and this evening they were ringing a quarter-peal on the 10cwt ground-floor six at Tannington of Old Oxford Delight Minor. Well done to Jenny, Tracey, Mervyn, Robert, conductor Tom and necessary non-Scase Phil Day on ringing their first QP in the method.

Meanwhile, a peal of Bristol Surprise Major was rung at Felixstowe to mark the retirement of the priest in charge at St John the Baptist's the Reverend Canon Andrew Dotchin, who very kindly left the band a box of chocolates and put a video on the SGR's Facebook page from outside whilst they were ringing which sounded very good. A retirement well-earned!

There was no ringing for me today though, with work and an evening in with my wife who I'm glad I met through ringing.

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Thursday 12th September 2024

On the Suffolk Guild's Facebook page today, Lesley Barrell announced that the weekly Thursday practice on the lovely 5cwt ground-floor six of Falkenham - where the SGR 6-Bell Striking Competitions were held earlier this year - will now run from 7-8.30pm. Not tonight though, nor in a week's time, as also revealed in the same post. Earlier in the week, Eric Falla warned that there wouldn't be a practice at Bramford. This is a useful place to let people know quickly when a practice is cancelled. Please do as Lesley and Eric have and put something up there if you are having to call off a practice or any ringing in fact.

Indeed, if you want to promote an event such as the 60s Dinner and Dance at St Edmund's Hall in Hoxne on Saturday 28th September to raise funds for the bells there which Ruth Suggett put up a few days ago or ask a question as Oliver Lee did about practices at Lavenham (apparently there sadly aren't any currently, although they still manage five or six on a Sunday morning) or celebrate something such as South-East District Ringing Master Hal Meakin did for the hugely successful SE Quarter-Peal Day at the weekend. It is a fantastic means of communication we could only dream of even just twenty years ago. Use it to your benefit and the benefit of others using the FB page.

Away from social media, there was actual ringing going on in the county with a quarter of Grandsire Triples at Lowestoft following the funeral of David McLean featuring ringers from Suffolk and a 1344 of Uxbridge Surprise Major rung at Horringer and dedicated to the life of Terry Kirk, the wife of Martin. Our thoughts are with Martin and their family at a difficult time.

Well done to Louise Whitehead and North-West District Ringing Master Joshua Watkins on ringing their first QP in the method, but there was no ringing for us today.

As was the case at Falkenham.

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Wednesday 11th September 2024

The journey between Melton and Pettistree is about three and a half miles, around a ten minute drive, if that. Yet the powers-that-be have somehow managed to squeeze two sets of roadworks on that short stretch, complete with temporary traffic lights changing colour at the speed of an exhausted snail.

They are unwelcome delays at the best of times, but even more so when one is running late already as I was this evening on the way to the weekly practice on the ground-floor six. That was because not only was Alfie playing football first, but for the second Wednesday running he and his teammates were involved in a match which by its nature went on until later than training does. Unfortunately it wasn't as successful as a week ago and Saturday (probably not helped by me being an assistant referee in the first half until an older sibling of another player enthusiastically offered to take it on, perhaps sensing my inadequacy!) it was at least a home fixture and so there was still time once we'd returned for one of us to go out ringing, albeit later than usual.

I'm glad that one of us did though as we were missing a lot of regulars including Ringing Master Mike Whitby. Unfortunately having got there too late to see Jonathan & Suzanne Stevens and South-East District Ringing Master Hal Meakin (having departed to go to Felixstowe to dispatch his masterly duties on a busy night for him too) who had rung in the pre-practice quarter-peal (as well as Richard Stevens who had apparently been useful for switching the light on in the ringing chamber during the QP!), but in the short amount of time I spent there Mary Garner managed to run a productive session including Stedman Doubles and Cambridge Surprise Minor for the visiting Gavin Edwards and Norwich Surprise Minor.

And it was all rounded off with a sizeable crowd retiring to The Greyhound Inn next door before I negotiated all those roadworks and temporary traffic lights on the short journey back to Melton.

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Tuesday 10th September 2024

With England's men's senior football team playing on the TV this evening, the Great British Bake Off due to occupy my wife's Tuesday evenings soon and no practice there in a week, Ruthie went out to Ufford's weekly session which apparently went along similar lines to last week's with all the same attendees bar the Munnings swap, leaving me at home with the boys watching the Three Lions beating Finland 2-0.

Meanwhile on the Bellringers Facebook page, Dickon Love shared the announcement that the National Lottery Heritage Fund is to support the Church of England's Conservation Grants Scheme to the tune of £4.68m over the next five years, which helps the church to preserve features including bells. Quite how much will be spent on bells and in what way isn't entirely clear, but it can only be good for ringing and the CofE.

If nothing else, it should be more useful to the exercise than I was this evening!

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Monday 9th September 2024

Happy Birthday to David Stanford, who spent his big day in the most wonderful way - with ringers, ringing!

He rang in his own birthday peal, which was - as so many have been since he rang his first just six years ago - rung on handbells as he rang 5-6 to a 5040 of Plain Bob Major, this time in Moats Tye, before later joining us at St Mary-le-Tower's weekly practice.

Hopefully he enjoyed the session on Suffolk's heaviest ring as much as I did with a big crowd that included a visit from Anne Bray, who is usually otherwise engaged on a Monday and who I only initially noticed in the busy ringing chamber as I passed her in the touch of Stedman Cinques which I was thrust straight into after arriving! That touch was part of a more advanced practice on twelve than last week, with Cambridge and Yorkshire Surprise Maximus also rung, but there was plenty for those nearer the beginning of their progression on higher numbers as well, with Rosemary Caudle and Sonia Doherty both trebling well to Plain Hunt on Nine, whilst George Heath-Collins rang the treble to a plain course of Stedman Cinques in impressive style.

Meanwhile, people were extremely generous with their sponsorship for Alfie's first attempt at the 'Ride and Stride' which he is due to try on Saturday, as I brought the form up the tower. If you are feeling equally generous than do let me know!

The form also came with me to the Halberd Inn where our post-ringing crowd was so large in number that we had to move to a part of the pub with more room when our initial option got too overcrowded! All of which helped fuel another jovial hour or so of refreshment that was hopefully the perfect way for David Stanford to round his birthday off!

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Sunday 8th September 2024

At the end of ringing at Grundisburgh for the service this morning, a chance comment about the boxes so expertly made by the late Don Price led to those present reminiscing about the ringer who incredibly used to make a sixty-mile round trip from Reydon to ring here every Sunday. In turn we were then drawn to the benches on the north and south sides of the ringing chamber dedicated to Marie Goodship and Sylvia Pipe respectively, before leading onto the latter's husband Cecil. I never met the latter - better known as Jim - but he is of course well known for all he did in Suffolk ringing, a Secretary of the Guild for eleven years and father to George & Roderick and therefore the patriarchal head to a ringing dynasty famous across the globe wherever change-ringing is done. By his side as the matriarchal head, Sylvia was not only his wife and mother to Rod but a talented ringer in her own right and someone I do remember ringing with in my youth. Especially on 'her' bell which is now the ninth of the county's lightest twelve. Meanwhile, Marie was a lovely old lady when I knew her who lived on her own up the hill from the church and a decent ringer too, with BellBoard recording that she rang quarter-peals of Stedman Caters and Cambridge Surprise Royal, as well as in the first QP on Pettistree's rehung bells, whilst Don was well known not just for his wonderful carpentry skills and gentle character but his considerable ringing achievements that were respected throughout the world of ringing. All fondly remembered characters who rang regularly in the little wobbly red brick tower in the depths of Suffolk's countryside, an almost impossibly picturesque village with a stream running through a green surrounded by ancient timbered cottages, a shop and pub at one corner, the old school on the other and of course the church alongside it. It was nice to remember them, especially on a day when another former ringer on these bells was utmost in my thoughts with it being precisely four years since mine and Chris's father Alan died.

Appropriately my morning's ringing was carried out at just two of the many towers that he used to help out at, firstly St Mary-le-Tower where it was good to see my mum Sally and to round the ringing off with a reasonably well-rung two courses of Grandsire Cinques before a number of us retired to Costa Coffee for refreshment and I then went on to Grundisburgh where I made up a band of six.

Note that I say "I" as unusually I was doing my Sabbath morn ringing without any of the boys, with the youngest two taken shopping by Granny Kate after her own ringing duties and then onto Rendlesham Forest to meet up with Grandad Ron and his son Tom, other half Charlotte and their daughter Esme to search for UFOs. Therefore, once I'd left Grundisburgh where they were busy preparing for the men's Tour of Britain cycle race to come through later and met Ruthie after she'd been singing at Great Bealings and enjoyed a parish lunch, we had a bit of time to ourselves at home until we were invited to meet them all up at The Red Lion in Woodbridge for some tea.

Elsewhere in the county this afternoon though, other ringers were ringing within our borders. Well done to Serena Steggles on ringing her first quarter of Plain Bob Triples in the 1260 rung at Stowmarket, whilst a quarter of eleven Doubles methods and variations was rung at Buxhall, a 1276 of Grandsire Cinques was rung at The Norman Tower and at Aldeburgh a 5152 of Zeus Surprise Major was rung as a belated 80th birthday compliment to Trevor Hughes who rang in many of the second Sunday peals on this coastal eight. He is also another of the wonderful characters of Suffolk ringing.

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Saturday 7th September 2024

There was a great photo of Suffolk Guild PR officer and North-West District Chairman Neal Dodge with some of his fellow members of the Dove's Guide team taken at the Central Council AGM weekend down in Exeter and shared via Dove's Facebook page, but otherwise there wasn't an awful lot coming out from there with most of the day taken up with the meeting. A meeting that - along with he Ringing World AGM - can be viewed on their YouTube channel.

Back up here within our borders there was ringing though and plenty of it. There was some done at Little Cornard precisely thirty-nine years to the hour since Phillip & Theresa Marshall were married in the church, which I think was a marvelous thing to do. With a 1260 of Plain Bob Doubles at Wickham Skeith, the Ladies' Guild remembered Delia Golding and Evelyn Reeve, two of their members from the county whose funerals were held this week. Nice as well that Evelyn was remembered yesterday with a quarter-peal of six Minor methods at Tostock by a band featuring her daughter Claire.

However, the bulk of the ringing from Suffolk noted on BellBoard today came from the South-East District Quarter-Peal Day where five quarters were rung at four venues across the Shotley Peninsula with numerous achievements. Well done to Peter Dykes for whom the six Doubles methods on the 8cwt ground-floor six of Harkstead was the most he's rung to a QP. Also at Stutton to Peter Mayer who rang rang his first quarter on a treble, with the Grandsire Doubles being SE District Chairman Stephen Christian's first in the method as conductor too, whilst Gavin Edwards rang his first quarter inside. Gavin also needs congratulating for ringing a quarter of Plain Bob inside for the first time in the Doubles at Holbrook, as does Lorna Penaluna on ringing her first in the medium on a working bell in the 1320 of PB Minor on the same 8cwt six. And the same method was rung at Tattingstone for an event which included a pub lunch. To all involved and to SE District Ringing Master Hal Meakin on organising it, well done!

We weren't able to commit to it as most of our day was taken up by parenthood, first with taking Alfie to and then watching his team's latest victory and another clean sheet for our goalkeeping son, followed by travelling to Jump In at Anglia Retail Park on the outskirts of Ipswich - on a day where traffic in the area wasn't being helped by the closure of a lane on the Orwell Bridge - for Josh to attend the birthday party of a classmate, whilst Alfred and ourselves had lunch in our first experience of a Tim Hortons. I expect the pub meal for the South-East District Quarter-Peal Day would've been a nicer experience generally, but it was perfectly pleasant!

As I'm sure the day in Exeter was too!

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Friday 6th September 2024

With it being the Central Council AGM weekend in Exeter, there was plenty of ringing activity in Devon today with two routes into the cathedral city with open towers, quarters & peals being rung and a social event being held in the evening. On the CCCBR's Facebook page The Piglet Ring in Uffculme was ready and waiting for visitors and our fellow Rambling Ringer Richard Shere had vacuumed the ringing chamber at Cullompton and rung the 19cwt ten up in readiness, whilst the Suffolk Guild Representatives will have been making the long journey down there.

A year after our county had hosted the same event though, it was altogether quieter here with nothing noted on BellBoard, whilst our household weren't contributing anything to the exercise. Although we did read this week's edition of The Ringing World which arrived with us today just four days after last week's, taking in a detailed and informative obituary by John Hughes-D'Aeth for John Mayne who learnt to ring within our borders, whilst there was lots of other interesting content from the North West Ringing Course to the Cambridge Folk Festival to the transporting of bells via steam trains and canals.

I imagine future editions will include plenty about this weekend's proceedings in Exeter which seemed to have started well!

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Thursday 5th September 2024

It is a work in progress, but already the Young Ringers Hub provides a superb youthful, vibrant impression of ringing, which is the complete opposite to what I suspect most people's perceptions of the exercise is. As mentioned in the introduction to it on the CCCBR website, they would welcome anyone who would like to help develop the site and if you think you can help or know anyone who might be able to then you are invited to contact yr@cccbr.org.uk. Additionally, I hope that this hub inspires Suffolk's ringing youngsters to join other ringing youngsters.

Apart from Alfie and Josh who have both ever so lightly dabbled in the art, our evening was not spent with any young ringers or indeed any ringers of any age, but that wasn't the case for other ringers in the county, especially at Chediston where a quarter-peal of Plain Bob Minor was rung.

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that on Sunday the Men's Tour of Britain cycling race is due to come through East Suffolk from Lowestoft to Felixstowe via places like Beccles, Aldeburgh and Grundisburgh. Morning service ringing should be done in most places by the time it gets up and running at 11am, but of course there may be ringing planned along the route in the afternoon and access to that may be more challenging. And maybe there will be some ringing specially planned for it.

Perhaps something for some young ringers to get involved with...

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Wednesday 4th September 2024

Football again for Alfie, but unusually for a Wednesday evening it was for a match rather than training and an away one at that. The boy and his team played absolutely brilliantly (possibly the best I've seen them play) as they won comfortably with a clean sheet our delighted goalkeeping son and it was a joy to watch, but it left no time for ringing at Pettistree once we'd returned via dropping Alfred's teammate off at his home.

They appeared to have managed at the ground-floor six alright without us, at least judging by the band that would've been at the practice beforehand ringing a quarter-peal of Norwich Surprise Minor. That was rung in memory of Evelyn Reeve the day after her funeral at Wormingford when half-muffled ringing was carried out by ringers from both sides of the River Stour, whilst at Bures today half-muffled ringing with the tenor open was done by the regular Sunday service band there and Evelyn's daughter Claire. Along with the considerable amount of ringing done in both Essex and Suffolk since her passing, it seems a fitting farewell for someone who dedicated so much of her life to ringing.

Elsewhere in the county meanwhile, a 1312 of Yorkshire Surprise Major was rung on The Barn Owl Ring in Norton and nearby at Elveden Joan Garrett and Brian Whiting also rang in an impressive 1280 of fourteen Surprise Major methods spliced. Great to see so much advanced eight-bell ringing going on in the county.

Hopefully we'll find some time to join in with it all in between following Alfie playing football.

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Tuesday 3rd September 2024

After high numbers on the last two Tuesday evenings, on this occasion Ufford's practice was a bit low on them as only seven turned up, In part that was due to one regular injuring themselves on the slides at Center Parcs which will see them out of action for a while in an unfortunate turn of events and we wish them well. However, Ringing Master Kate Eagle fashioned a productive session which was the Noah's Ark of ringing practices. For the focus tonight was on Vince Buckman and Margaret Weeks, both of whom are at such similar stages in their progression that we rang two of almost everything that we rang over our one and a half hours here. That meant a brace of touches of Grandsire Doubles for them both to ring inside separately, a touch each of Plain Bob Minor inside and a couple of courses of Cambridge Surprise Minor to treble to, whilst we finished off with a 120 of Plain Bob Doubles which Margaret requested to ring inside to and which Vince bonged behind for.

Meanwhile, ahead of another practice in Suffolk this evening, a quarter-peal of Cambridge Surprise Major was rung at Offton and south of the border former St Mary-le-Tower Ringing Master Simon Rudd conducted the 5040 at Layer de la Haye, meaning he has now rung a peal at every ringable tower in the district of his birth, the North-East District of the Essex Association.

I'm glad he had the right number of ringers for it too!

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Monday 2nd September 2024

Ringing has a new logo and I'm not sure what to make of it.

The new image of a bell incorporating the shape of a musical note is the result of the Central Council's consultations with YellowYoYo and my natural position on marketing agencies rebranding something is one of skepticism. Typically lots of money is spent on something that one suspects won't make a plain bit of difference. The boys sometimes watch videos online that ask you to recognise the 'brand' by their logo and I can rarely remember any bar the most well-known organisations.

However, I am also of the opinion - notwithstanding the money that has already been spent on it - that it can't do any harm and if it helps in even a relatively small way then it has arguably been worthwhile. I also applaud the efforts to move beyond many of the usual ways of recruiting that no longer have the effect they used to have, not least because the traditional pool of potential recruits from church congregations is largely aging and dwindling. Meanwhile the debate online that the logo is indistinct and vague overlooks or misses that it is meant to be displayed with the word 'Bellringing'.

Whatever its degree of success or otherwise, this logo isn't going to change things on its own. After all, there is the widespread perception that ringing is carried out in cold, old unkempt ringing chambers without even the most basic facilities, with elderly folk just pulling on ropes and our necessary association with the church lends to the misguided notion that one has to be religious to be a ringer, which is an off-putting factor for some and possibly most. Of course, whilst there are kernels of truth in those perceptions, that isn't entirely the case. Ringing chambers are better looked after and in some cases better heated and increasingly with all the facilities one might need whilst one is out and about. That is before mention of the popular and developing handbell ringing scene done from the comfort of homes and any number of exciting interesting places such as beaches, the tops of castles, hilltops and canal barges. Much of it carried out by arguably the most talented and enthusiastic generation of ringers ever, as highlighted by the incredible peal-ringing feats of so many of them and the Ringing World National Youth Contest. And the opportunities to push what one's brain is capable of whilst also making new friends and going to all sorts of places that you would not normally go to is immense. Additionally we know that one isn't obliged to be religious to ring bells, though personally I believe that our links with the church are still very important. Anything that can support us getting that all across needs our support too and therefore I hope that when out and about in the community promoting ringing we can use this new branding to educate and appeal to the public.

The new logo can be found on the CCCBR's website through President Tina Stoecklin's latest blog, but there is further information about it in the current edition of The Ringing World which arrived with us this morning. Indeed there is much information on the CC in this issue with their AGM in Exeter due to be held this weekend, a year after Ipswich hosted it so superbly. Amongst that info there is also a Suffolk link as a page about the 'Ringing 2030 Workgroup Leads' features a biog and photo of Guild Chairman Mark Ogden due to his role as the lead of the 'Ringing 2030 Environments'.

Meanwhile, I was also participating in ringing as I went along to the weekly practice at St Mary-le-Tower where I was greeted by a big crowd on a humid evening. That crowd included the very welcome visit of former Bury St Edmunds ringer Clive Dunbavin and also an encouraging number of those near the beginning of their progression on higher numbers, with Mary Whittell up there with her grandson Will who was trebling well to some Plain Hunt on Nine as I arrived. Due to cruises, illness, surgery and holidays we were one or two short of being able to ring anything particularly advanced on twelve and indeed the best pieces came on ten, particularly a half-course of Yorkshire Surprise Royal that I was pleased to call from the ninth and a touch of Stedman Caters conducted by David Stanford and which I rang the treble to as George Heath-Collins watched me. Although he couldn't prevent me dropping my first backstroke! All topped off by a typically jovial drink in the Halberd Inn afterwards and which I hope portrays what a wonderful activity ringing is.

Hopefully that logo can do likewise.

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Sunday 1st September 2024

I travelled back to 1972 this afternoon. Edward Heath was Prime Minister, the world was introduced to Ziggy Stardust and six teams from the Devon Association were invited to take part in a call-change striking competition at St Vedast in London as part of that year's Central Council AGM being held jointly by the College Youths & Cumberland Youths in the capital. It was that which transported me fifty-two years into the past due to a post made by the CCCBR's former President Simon Linford on the organisation's Facebook page in July but brought to my eyes today by a recent comment on it. Below that Tom Waterson had sent a link to the report on the whole weekend and as always it makes very interesting reading.

The financial figures probably appear quite quaint compared to now (after all, apparently the average cost of a house in the UK was around £4,000 then compared to about £290,000 nowadays), whilst it was notable that not only was there already a ringing scene on the European continent, but indeed in the Netherlands and in Dordrecht itself. Although at the time when they were hoping that there would be bells hung for change-ringing in the country they may have been disappointed that it would take nearly forty years for that to finally happen, I imagine many of them would be astonished that there is now an eight and a ten hung in the town, as well as further rings in Belgium and France and a twelve in Singapore! And I expect they'd have been thrilled that at one point this afternoon there were just three peals recorded on BellBoard, all rung outside of the UK in three different countries. Intriguing too to see a cautious tone on The Ringing World despite its readership increasing to over 5,600. How that compares to these days I don't know as I can't find any figures, although I'm sure they must be somewhere.

There is so much to root through, but from a Suffolk perspective there is more to refer to than merely the presence of our CC Reps who attended Howard Egglestone, Cecil 'Jim' Pipe and the Reverend Lawrence Pizzey. Jim's son George features prominently as an Honorary Member who is listed as being on the Administrative and Public Relations Committees, as well as presenting the final report (preprepared by one-time Guild resident Frank Price) of the Overseas Committee and providing a typically entertaining report on the seven peals of Stedman Cinques attempted on the Saturday. Mention is also made of the local media reporting on the bells of St Mary's in Bury St Edmunds, 'schoolgirls taking over bellringing' in Halesworth, veteran ringers at Henley, the Leiston Modern School Handbell Team (I wonder if there is any further information on that) and the bells and ringers of Long Melford. Also a special note is made of a photo in the East Anglian Daily Times of George Finch, Gordon Haggar, Willoughby Maudlin, Joseph Preastner, Charles Sedgley, Ernest Whiting, Harry Hall, Walter Ruffles, Leslie Rudbrook, David Vincent, Albert King and George Symonds who were all between the ages of 68 and 96 at the time. 1972 seems like and is a lifetime or more ago now, but one can only marvel of what changes they must have already witnessed by this point, with ringing likely to have been as reassuring a constant to them as it should be to us. If you have the opportunity to view it all it is an absolutely fascinating read.

Quite what those potentially looking back on today from 2076 (apart from being amazed that you could still get a house for under £1m, reminiscing about when they spent all day queuing for Oasis tickets and chuckling at how quaint it was that we still met up in person) will think of ringing in 2024 is hard to tell without the benefit of hindsight that those looking back have. However, those with a particularly niche interest in Suffolk ringing in the 2020s will see that there was a quarter-peal of Plain Bob & Grandsire Doubles rung at Mendham today and that there was ringing at Bures in memory of Evelyn Reeve and St Gregory's in Sudbury. If my blog is still available to read at that point and isn't understandably disposed of in a technological dusty file to be forgotten about, they may even know that I went ringing at Woodbridge for the first time for a few weeks this morning with Ruthie and her choral colleagues returning to their duties on this meteorological start of autumn following their summer holidays. Pretty good it was too as with a big turnout including Susanne with her son Jonathan watching on we rang a decent 120 of Plain Bob Doubles on the front six before the boys and I joined the service downstairs, for which Alfie & Josh were rewarded with ice cream from the vicar's wife Liz!

Some things never change. Children would've enjoyed that just as much in 1972!

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Saturday 31st August 2024

Congratulations to my ringing contemporary John Thurman on today ringing his one thousandth peal in the 5042 of Bristol Surprise Maximus in Halifax. There was a time when our peal records were relatively comparable. According to the magnificent Pealbase run by Andrew Craddock, at the end of 2001 which was my last big year of peal-ringing before a self-imposed slowdown that lasted until I returned to Suffolk in 2005, I had rung 188 peals, 'JT' had rung 194. We started peal-ringing at roughly the same time (John in 1989, me in 1992) and rang in the same kind of circles in Birmingham and on tens and twelves around the country. We sometimes did compare peal-totals, but since then he has gone onto completely different levels to me. Not just in terms of numbers (I'm currently on 664) but especially quality, with his numbers featuring numerous of spliced on six upwards and long-lengths that included the most methods rung all-the-work (where all the inside bells ring every bit of every method) not just once but twice and also of course that well-publicised and extraordinary 25056 of Bristol Surprise Maximus on Alderney which was the longest peal yet rung on twelve bells. And all along he has carried it out with obvious satisfaction and confidence but also humility and sometimes even a sense of incredulity and self-deprecation. I'm glad this popular ringer has reached this significant landmark.

Pleasingly though, there seem to be further generations below ours coming through nationwide. Not just with the Advanced Ringing Academy which was again very active on its final day, but also down in London at St Mary le Bow where a predominantly young band - including one-time Exning learner Jimmy Yeoman and Rambling Ringers Ringing Master Alex Riley - rang a peal of eight spliced Surprise Maximus methods. They are all Orion-above the treble methods and ones that I have rung peals of individually around the turn of the century, but I never rang them spliced together so it's great to see so many young ringers doing just that.

Meanwhile within our borders and from yesterday a quarter-peal of Norwich Surprise Minor was rung at Sweffling as Richard Stevens marked his departure for the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester with his first QP in the method for seven years. Good luck Richard who I hope can continue his ringing progression in an area blessed with lots of other young ringing students.

No ringing for us today with youngsters or otherwise, as instead we were at the football for Ipswich Town's next Premier League fixture, this time against Fulham. We were with ringers though as mother-in-law and Ufford Ringing Master Kate Eagle took us all to The Mermaid for pre-match food and we met with former St Mary-le-Tower Ringing Master Simon Rudd for a drink in the Fanzone ahead of the kick-off and then for some half-time analysis during the 1-1 draw that most of us home fans were fairly pleased with.

Although possibly not as pleased as John Thurman is with his day's activities!

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Friday 30th August 2024

Drinkstone featured prominently on Taylor's Facebook page today with photos and a report from when a group visited the foundry in Loughborough yesterday to witness four of their bells being cast as part of the project to recast the six and rehang them lower in the tower in an eight-bell galvanised steel frame. Exciting times for the small village between Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket.

Certainly more exciting than our day was from a ringing perspective as instead we did some shopping for footwear for the boys and watched on the TV the impressive performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at The Proms without music sheets, in an exhibition of music and memory akin to ringing a really complicated peal!

Perhaps the type of complicated peal that one day may be rung on Drinkstone's recast bells!

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Thursday 29th August 2024

On our first evening in this week, I took a moment to catch up a bit on what is on this website.

Most immediately with September due to arrive over the weekend, I found myself perusing the 'What's On' section which has much lined up, if all goes to plan starting with the South-East Quarter-Peal Day on the Shotley Peninsula at 11am and 3pm of Saturday 7th either side of a pub lunch. Please ask SE Ringing Master Hal Meakin for further details. Precisely a week later the North-West District intends to hold it's monthly practice at Wickham Skeith from 10am-noon whilst from 2.30-4.30pm on the same day the North-East District hope to run a session on the Vestey Ring in St Mary's church in Halesworth where there is already an 18cwt ground-floor eight of course. The intention is for it to be available in the preceding week too, so please do contact NE Ringing Master Philip Gorrod for more info. And consider using the Vestey Ring for events in your area.

Meanwhile, on the 21st the South-West District have penciled in their monthly practice for 7-8.30pm on the 12cwt six of Great Thurlow near Haverhill and the following Friday the South-East District has planned their bimonthly Surprise Major practice, this time for Framlingham from 7.30-9pm. Then the following day it should be a busy day all being well, with an Open Day in the NW District planned to raise funds for the project at Drinkstone and from 7pm a Dinner & Dance at St Edmund's Hall in Hoxne to raise money for the bells in the village church.

Elsewhere on the website it is now possible to read the draft minutes of May's BAC meeting at Tostock, which as usual imparts lots of information about the state of the bells, fittings and/or tower at various places from Bedfield to Westhorpe to Cavendish to Copdock, ranging from a new slider being fitted at Haughley to the progress of the augmentation to eight at Fornham St Martin. To tie in with 'What's On' in September, they are also planning to hold a Bell Maintenance Course at Framlingham on the 21st.

Further afield, I have been impressed by the activity of the Advanced Ringing Academy aimed at giving opportunities to young members of the Ancient Society of College Youths. It's inaugural week is giving youngsters the chance to try stuff they wouldn't usually get with ringing at eights, tens and twelves in and around the West Midlands, including quarters and peals and hopefully offers inspiration and motivation to those who worry - with good reason - that the art is a dying pursuit of the retired.

There was ringing activity within our borders too and not all done by the retired (although there is nothing wrong with that, with one of the wonderful aspects of the exercise being what it offers to those beyond work), with a brace of 1260s rung in the county at Ixworth of spliced Minor and Redgrave of Plain Bob Doubles.

Not everyone had time to catch up with what's on this website today!

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Wednesday 28th August 2024

Suffolk Guild Ringing Master, tower correspondent at a number of the county town's redundant churches and a Trustee of Ipswich Historic Churches Trust, Katharine Salter has shared a planning application on the SGR Facebook page for the proposed building of twenty-two flats next to St Clement. On it the public can object to, support and/or comment on the application and whilst I support the notion of building on this space in an already built-up busy area rather than covering another chunk of greenbelt with unaffordable homes whilst adding traffic lights to any junction within a mile and destroying yet more countryside, it is important that developers and potential residents are aware of the presence of the 15cwt six which are still rung. It's not my place to tell you whether to object to the application or not, but the more voices raising the subject of the bells the better.

Pettistree's six bells and their active band of ringers appear to have lived side by side in relative harmony with their neighbours for over thirty years since the bells were rehung, with weekly practices and Sunday ringing alongside at least one quarter-peal attempt each week and regular peal attempts, mainly due to communicating to neighbours about the ringing. It was here that we found ourselves tonight once we'd been to Alfie's latest football training for another summer holidays family outing to the ground-floor ring, along with a lot of other people too on a busy evening for Ringing Master Mike Whitby!

As with last night at Ufford, amongst our number was Iain 'Mitch' Mitchell who also rang in the pre-practice QP. Mitch is a ringer who unusually can be found in my ringing records from my early days as a young ringer in Suffolk and in my days living and ringing in the Midlands where he and his wife Jayne now live with their children. My first peal with him was the then traditional New Year's Eve peal of Grandsire at Grundisburgh in 1993, my last one - bar one at Darley Dale in Derbyshire in 2007 on one of Alan McBurnie's ringing trips - was at St Martin-in-the-Bullring in Birmingham of four Surprise Fourteen methods spliced. He is a good ringer despite his self-deprecation and even after a long period away from ringing he has been a useful ringer to have around over the last couple of days.

Nice also to catch up with him a bit more in The Greyhound afterwards as we all ended up trying to follow Ipswich Town losing a penalty shootout in between reminiscing about ringing and rehangs of the past.

Meanwhile, a peal of Bristol, Cambridge, Lessness, Superlative & Yorkshire Surprise Major spliced was rung for the Guild at Horringer and it is worth noting that there is no practice at Grundisburgh on Thursday 29th August due to road closures. Which should give people extra time to comment on that planning application!

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Tuesday 27th August 2024

There was no mistaking the main news today. And it wasn't the Surprise Major practice at Ufford. Well for us it was, even if for the rest of the world it was Oasis reuniting in news announced at 8am on the dot. The restful bank holiday over with, the importance of being idle had passed and after a day of work, we were off to the 13cwt eight.

It was a useful session, although initially some may say with a low success rate, especially with Rutland. However, little by little we got better and with a few requests of "stand by me", we decided to roll with it and produced some increasingly good ringing with some spliced called by Mike Cowling who was fresh from ringing in the first peal at West Ham for six years, half a course of Yorkshire and three leads of Bristol. When things go wrong, don't look back in anger.

Aside from the ringing itself, it was fantastic to see Geoffrey Clement, Alan McBurnie and Iain Mitchell there, all of whom were making a rare foray into Surprise Major. Indeed Mitch - who was over from the Midlands staying with family - had barely touched a rope in recent years.

Alan and Iain also joined some of us in going to the pub afterwards for cigarettes and alcohol. Well alcohol at least and there wasn't time to indulge in a champagne supernova once we'd all been round to the village tavern of the White Lion to find it closed and in darkness following their beer festival over the weekend and then travelled to The Coach & Horses before they stopped serving at 10pm.

Meanwhile over in Offton, the practice there was preceded by a quarter-peal of Cambridge Surprise Major on the 8cwt ground-floor eight at the end of a day where ringing was the main headline for us. Definitely. Maybe.

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Monday 26th August 2024

Bank Holiday Monday as usual saw many notable peals nationally, especially on higher numbers and famous rings of bells. Eight Royal methods spliced were rung at Durham Cathedral. The first peal of Maximus on the augmented ring at Stafford was rung. Further peals of Bristol Surprise Maximus were rung at Croydon Minster, Exeter Cathedral and Winchester Cathedral, whilst a 5009 of Stedman Cinques was successful at St Mary the Virgin, Redcliffe in Bristol and featured former Suffolk ringer Louis Suggett. Meanwhile, his mother Ruth was ringing in a quarter-peal of Plain Bob & Grandsire Doubles at Bardwell rung in memory of Bures ringer Evelyn Reeve with a band also featuring Evelyn's daughter Claire.

We weren't doing any ringing though as instead we had a rare very late lay-in - once Josh had very kindly got breakfast for his brother and mother - and then wandered up to the abode of our friends Charlotte, Gregory and their daughters and our Goddaughters Ava & Bea for a barbecue that they generously laid on for us.

It was a fun way to spend an afternoon and evening with a few drinks before we walked home with the big wide bright skies darkening, but it meant that we were unable to attend St Mary-le-Tower's weekly practice on this occasion as well as any peals, notable or otherwise.

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Sunday 25th August 2024

BBC Radio 4 'Bells on Sunday' this morning featured a 3 minute 10 second extract of a peal of Yorkshire Surprise Major rung at Leiston in March 2022 in memory of twice past Ringing Master of the Suffolk Guild David Salter on what would've been his 66th birthday. I was privileged to have been in the 5056 ringing the fifth and thus involved in 'Bells on Sunday' for only the second time as far as I can recall. At service ringing at St Mary-le-Tower this morning, I enjoyed reminiscing with Ralph Earey about the other time I was involved in this ringing institution, which saw us ringing Sproughton Alliance Minor at its eponymous tower where my brother and I learnt to ring at and required a number of attempts before we got a piece of ringing we thought was of a necessary standard for national radio! Ultimately the results were very pleasing considering we were ringing an unfamiliar method and an achievement for a rural six-bell band. We couldn't remember exactly when it was, but that it involved putting a tape recorder behind a gravestone dated it a bit, whilst combined with the fact that I was ringing by that point means it would've probably have been the early-to-mid 1990s. Happy memories!

My chat with the former South-East District Chairman had to be a relatively brief one though as it was during a busy session for Ringing Master David Potts with a big attendance that on this occasion not only included Ruthie, but also York ringer Tina Sanderson and local Laura Davies. Most reading this will be aware that superb ringer that Laura is, she has also discovered a talent for competitive cycling, which means that (sadly for us!) she doesn't have much time for ringing, but a minor injury meant she wasn't on her bike this weekend and therefore able to join us today! Their collective presence allowed us to finish with Stedman Cinques before a handful of us retired to Costa Coffee (for the second time this morning for some as they'd been before the later ringing time!) for refreshment and conversation that included the boys and George trying to outdo each other on inventing the most ridiculous sports!

The rest of our day was spent in the returning sunshine as we celebrated the birthday of my wife's great Uncle Gerald at her granny's home with most of her family and a barbecue, which was all very pleasant, but didn't involve any ringing that might appear on 'Bells on Sunday' in the future!

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Saturday 24th August 2024

Getting wet watching Alfie getting wet playing for his football team was enough to convince us that today was very much an indoors day.

That saw Ruthie making various puddings out of some pears we got from our friends Verity & Jade and apples John Horsnell had very kindly shared at Pettistree on Wednesday, a tasty task being undertaken as we listened to Ipswich Town trying to survive visiting the best football team in the country (and still reigning world champions) Manchester City in a trying listen but which turned out relatively respectably. It also allowed me to read Ringing Forums when prompted by my weekly Saturday morning email and The Ringing World which arrived with us this morning.

The former saw the Guild Public Relations Officer Neal Dodge promoting the North-West District Open Day on Saturday 28th September, which I hope ringers from within our borders can support - details can be found on this website of course. Additionally there is a healthy debate on the future of peal-ringing. Peal-ringing is not the be all and end all of ringing, but like every other element - such as quarters, outings, striking competitions and the like - of the exercise it is important that it is healthy and accessible. Like those other elements it offers interest beyond just the routine of turning up to ring at the weekly practice and for service ringing, which whilst fine for many is a fairly dull prospect for many others, especially youngsters. Peal-ringing opens up a world of opportunity and as Jack Page says in the forum discussion, there is really nowhere else beyond a few pockets of ringing around the country where you can get ringing as good as you can get it by the end of a well-rung peal. Obviously not every peal guarantees you that, but I have to admit that I'm hard pressed to think of any ringing as good as that which I've experienced in many peals, including peals here in Suffolk.  They should be something to aspire to and to enjoy rather than viewed from the outset as some kind of chore as so many appear to perceive them, sometimes seemingly because it they can involve a concerted effort for longer than other aspects of the art and take up a bit more of your day. Certainly since the pandemic there seems to have been a sharp drop in the numbers of peals being rung and of people ringing them and the debate on Ringing Forums is seeking to explore reasons why.

That said, to a certain extent peal-ringing in Suffolk has bucked the trend and a snapshot of that can be seen with the three Guild peals reported in this week's edition of The Ringing World, amongst much other interesting content.

Meanwhile, it has been announced that the funeral of Evelyn Reeve is planned for 10am on Tuesday 3rd September at St Andrew's church in Wormingford followed by light refreshments at The Old School House opposite.

Evelyn was remembered today with the latest success in the South-West District Quarter-Peal Month as a 1260 of Plain Bob Minor was rung at Polstead which also remembered the one-time Tower Captain of the lovely 9cwt ground-floor six Ed Hynard who died last year and would've been one hundred years old on Thursday.

That wasn't the only QP rung in the county today either. Well done to Andrea Alderton, David Steed, Maureen Gardiner, David Howe, Neal Dodge and conductor Lesley Steed on ringing their first blows of Nicholaston Bob Minor in the quarter on the also lovely 5cwt gallery-ring six of Tostock.

No ringing for us today though, as instead we retreated out of the wet to our home for our indoors day.

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Friday 23rd August 2024

Contentment can and usually does come in the simplest moments. Today after work as we sat outside the Coach & Horses with a pint of Mosaic each following a trip to the park where the boys met some of their schoolfriends for a game of football, both Ruthie and I were blessed with that sense of being content. It didn't involve any ringing in that moment, but of course ringing has contributed to it, as well as family, friends, employment, our surroundings and everything else we have been blessed with. I pray I never take it for granted and that others also feel content on this Friday evening. Us ringers ought to be thankful for all the art offers us I believe.

Others were hopefully feeling the same as they went about participating in the exercise at practices and in the quarter-peals across Suffolk. A 1320 of Oxford Treble Bob Minor at Ashbocking was rung by the FNQPC and well done to Jill Apter on the latest success in the South-West District Quarter-Peal Month as she rang her first QP of more than one method in the 1260 of Plain Bob and Grandsire Doubles rung on the 12cwt six of Kedington and well done also to Erika Clarke on her her first of Ipswich Surprise Minor in the 1272 at Wissett.

The latter was rung in thanksgiving for the life of Valerie Eagle-Bott's where she was Tower Captain on bells that she was instrumental in getting rehung in 2009, along with her husband Peter who sadly died in the week they came back and thus sadly never heard them ringing after all his efforts. Not many couples will have such a tangible legacy and it is wonderful that Peter and especially this week Valerie can be remembered upon that legacy. God willing these bells will ring out for centuries to come because of them and I hope that there was a moment that both of them could feel a contentment about that.

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Thursday 22nd August 2024

Ringing 2030 may be more familiar to some more than others but however much you know about it,  I would encourage you to consider joining the Zoom meeting planned for 8pm on Sunday 1st September where it appears the focus will be on the financial aspects of the project to regenerate ringing. There will apparently be an opportunity for participants to give views and presumably ask questions. If you would like to join the meeting then you need to email consultation@cccbr.org.uk to reserve your space.

For all the good intentions, one can only really guess at what ringing will look like in 2030, but we know what ringing in 2024 looks like thus far, with the latest additions to this year's ringing in Suffolk being quarter-peals of Yorkshire Surprise Major at Ixworth and Doubles at Stradishall. Well done to Guild PR Officer and North-West District Chairman Neal Dodge on conducting a QP of Surprise Major for the first time in the former, but both were rung in memory of Bures ringer Evelyn Reeve, as was yesterday's quarter in Essex at St Osyth.

Sadly, today also saw news of the death of another ringer from near the county's borders, this time those with Norfolk, as it was announced that David McLean passed away on Tuesday, He rang in the area of the far north-east of Suffolk that forms part of the Norwich Diocesan Association and indeed his funeral is planned to be held at St Margaret's in Lowestoft at 11.45am on Thursday 12th September, but he naturally did a lot of ringing within the SGR. That included 142 peals for the Guild, eight of which I was pleased to ring in. One was an impressive 3 hours and 20 minutes of pulling in the 20cwt tenor of Stowmarket to Bristol Surprise Major in 2006, highlighting that he was a very decent ringer, as well as someone I found very pleasant company.

God willing the exercise he clearly so enjoyed can find a way to reinvigorate itself by 2030 and beyond.

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Wednesday 21st August 2024

As with a lot of towers, the summer holiday period has seen numbers dip at Pettistree's weekly practices. Indeed, it's not restricted just to ringing. Training at Alfie's football training this evening was relatively sparse in attendance as it has been for a few weeks.

Even through those less well attended sessions still saw ringing that most six-bell practices would be ecstatic with, you could tell that we were a bit nearer to full-strength tonight as I arrived and rang in some Carlisle Surprise, Bourne Surprise and spliced Minor in the first three pieces I participated in. There was also Grandsire Doubles and Plain Bob Minor for those at that stage of their ringing progression, but also Stedman Doubles, all preceded by a quarter-peal of Beverley, Surfleet and Cambridge Surprise Minor spliced. Yesterday's practice at Ufford did the trick then! It was also a typically social evening as we caught up with our fellow ringers and John Horsnell very kindly brought a huge bag of apples for everyone, so we even came away with something for pudding!

Meanwhile at another Wednesday evening practice, it was moving to see a touch of Grandsire Doubles at Sproughton in memory of Anne Haynes on the anniversary of her death by a band including her father Geoffrey, sister Claire and nephew Tristan. I've said before how lovely it is that we as ringers can remember loved ones through our ringing and I'm pleased that Anne can be remembered in this way.

Back at Pettistree, still being the school hols we had another family outing with the boys, allowing both Ruthie and me to help out together in a way that isn't practical during termtime and of course it also meant a visit to The Greyhound, where we enjoyed a drink with the Garners as we chatted about visits to Bath Abbey, Hereford Cathedral and Ripon Cathedral amongst much else. It was a good night out, even more so for having more there.

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Tuesday 20th August 2024

It was the evening of the unexpected visitor to Ufford's weekly practice.

For as I left for the 13cwt eight, Alfie decreed he wanted to join me and so I went along with him in tow, although sadly it wasn't to come and have a go at ringing. Still, we had enough ringers to ring all eight without him, especially when fellow Rambling Ringer and once resident of Ipswich Sue McCouaig arrived, helping us to ring Grandsire Triples and Cambridge Surprise Major, whilst we also rang Beverley & Surfleet Surprise Minor spliced as practice for one of the band for a planned forthcoming quarter-peal attempt.

Having seen much activity on BellBoard from other Ramblers, with Sue's presence at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary with myself and another member of the Society Kate Eagle, whilst Ruthie was at home with Josh a couple of miles away, it got me wondering where others we were on holiday with three weeks ago and on previous tours were ringing today. Relatively far and wide it seems. Busiest were John Mulvey who was quarter-pealing in Lancashire at Blackburn Cathedral and Padiham and Roger Riley who was in peals at Accrington and Leeds Roman Catholic Cathedral, the latter with another Rambler Simon Kemp and also his son and RR Ringing Master Alex who was also on BB with 360 changes of Plain Bob Minor on handbells in Durham. Meanwhile Stephen Askew was in Gloucestershire ringing the fourth at Ashchurch to the first ever peal of Eden Delight Major, whilst St Mary-le-Tower ringer and Rambling Ringers member Jill Birkby was in the QP at St Mary's in Peterborough.

Indeed Jill was ringing with other ringers from St Mary-le-Tower and Suffolk in that 1280 of Cambridge Surprise Major and back within our borders there were a brace of quarters rung. One was at Wetherden, where the fiftieth anniversary of the resumption of ringing on this 11cwt six was marked by three of the ringers who were part of that resumption, Basil Hart, Janet Sheldrake and Serena Steggles, along with their spouses. A nice touch to also remember Ken Mulley who died in 2004 and was instrumental in forming the 1974 band and rang with the aforementioned trio in the twentieth anniversary quarter in 1994. And the 1260 of two Doubles methods rung at Stoke by Clare as part of the South-West District Quarter-Peal Month was rung in memory of Bures ringer of many years Evelyn Reeve who sadly died yesterday. 2023 was a year of many positive moments involving 'Ring for the King' and the Guild's Centenary celebrations, but Evelyn ringing with her daughter Claire and granddaughter Megan for the first time at Troston on the day of the Guild 6-Bell Striking Competitions there was one of the most memorable. I imagine it is a wonderful memory for Claire and Megan to cherish and lovely that there is video of it on Claire's Facebook page from the time. Our thoughts are with them and their family.

Meanwhile, the art she dedicated so many years to continues to try to recruit and train the ringers that we hope will take the exercise on for more years to come. At Felixstowe, Jacky Savage is keen for more help on Wednesday evenings with an impressive six learners. If you are in a position to help, even if just occasionally, then please email felixstowe@suffolkbells.org.uk. They can't rely just rely on unexpected visitors!

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Monday 19th August 2024

My entry to St Mary-le-Tower's weekly practice this evening was a bit of a distracted blur for me. I was trying to sort something out on the Suffolk Guild Facebook page without any internet access by trying to contact Ruthie at home as a non-ringing visitor followed me in and sat in quietly on a piece, whilst in between those attempts to reach my wife I stood behind Graham Ridgway for some Little Bob Maximus and rang the second to three leads of London No.3 Surprise Royal. All in a day's work for a FB page administrator!

Eventually I could fully focus on the session which was a busy one. That London was one of two rings of a method many present had been ringing at a special practice here yesterday afternoon and we rang a touch of Stedman Cinques too, but there were also call-changes on twelve for Bramford ringer Ellen Christmas who was there fresh from her quarter-peal success at her home tower on Saturday and understandably pleased.

And afterwards I enjoyed a leisurely drink in the beer garden of the Halberd Inn, the end of my evening less of a distracted blur than the beginning of it!

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Sunday 18th August 2024

Two birthday parties for the boys meant that we were unable to make ringing at St Mary-le-Tower, Grundisburgh or Woodbridge this morning and so we got up a little earlier on this occasion and went to Pettistree. An absolutely superb half-an-hour of ringing - including a brilliant course of London Surprise Minor which was the best piece of ringing I've participated in for a while - made it worthwhile even beyond being satisfied at helping the bells ring out for the service. It also allowed us time to get up to Woodbridge Town Football Club for the first party, which as the venue suggests was a football themed one, whilst later in the day Alfie went to the second party where there was a 'gaming' van out the front and lots of water out the back, whilst the rest of our household went round to Ruthie's Mum Kate's for a roast dinner very kindly laid on by her.

All of which left very little time for any ringing additional to that which we had done on the ground-floor six of St Peter and St Paul, but elsewhere in Suffolk others were making up for lack of participation in the art on a busy day on the county's bells. Well done to Joshua Watkins and Lesley Steed on respectively ringing and conducting Plain and Little spliced in the quarter-peal at Great Barton, to Juliet Griffiths on ringing her first of Treble Bob, first on an anti-clockwise ring of bells and on ringing two quarters in a day with the 1320 of Cambridge Surprise Minor at Pakenham and Harriet Aves on ringing her first QP on eight in the 1344 of Plain Bob Triples at Stowmarket, whilst there was also a peal on handbells for The Ely Diocesan Association in Bacton.

It can't all be partying.

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Saturday 17th August 2024

Today has been anticipated for a long, long time, as The Ringing World arrived with us this morning.

Actually, whilst there is as usual lots of interesting content within the pages of the latest issue including an interview with Sudbury ringer James Croft and others such as David Brown and Paul Mounsey about the recording of 'Change Ringing on Handbells' in 1980, as well as Richard Knight's photo on the back page of a scarecrow from Poslingford which was attached to the recent 1260 of Doubles on the village's 8cwt five, it hadn't arrived with us before we'd left the house ahead of the actual reason we - and thousands and thousands of others - and been looking forward to today.

For after twenty-two long years, Ipswich Town were playing a Premier League fixture, ironically against the last club we'd played at this level Liverpool and we there for this historic occasion. As was Ufford Ringing Master Kate Eagle who along with Ruthie's sister's fiancé Chris joined us in The Mermaid for breakfast ahead of the 12.30pm kick-off and in the Fanzone and half-time Simon Rudd, former RM at St Mary-le-Tower, the landmark tower in the town that holds the county's heaviest ring of bells and has featured prominently in the huge amount of build-up to today's game. On a mural painted on the side of a building at the junction of Barrack Lane and Norwich Road a depiction of it appears all in blue alongside manager Kieran McKenna. A video produced by the Premier League starts with a shot of it. And ITV News produced a report that 3 minutes and 56 seconds in includes an interview with the be-scarfed vicar there Tom Mumford, a huge supporter of the ringers.

It felt like the world were here. We were within feet of Ed Sheeran as we queued for beer, TV cameras were everywhere as were stars of the game from the past and of course the present, especially with our opponents and the atmosphere was fabulous with 30,000 fans - including other ringers amongst both sets of supporters - packed into this otherwise ordinary corner of our county town down Portman Road from the ring of bells at St Matthew's. Even though the 2-0 loss was disappointing, it wasn't unexpected and a grand day out was had by pretty much everyone, ringers and non-ringers alike!

From there, we made the short journey to Bramford for a barbecue at the abode in the village of my wife's schoolfriend Vicky and her husband in the company of our fellow Melton residents Verity and Jade, where we were greeted by the sound of the nearby 10cwt six as Ellen Christmas was ringing her first quarter-peal away from the tenor. Well done Ellen, it sounded lovely!

Meanwhile, a QP of Plain Bob Minor was being rung at Rougham, whilst in Birmingham former Exning learner Jimmy Yeoman celebrated his birthday in typically impressive style with the 5089 of Stedman Cinques and Bristol Surprise Maximus spliced at St Martin in the Bullring, all of which will hopefully feature soon in another much anticipated edition of The Ringing World!

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Friday 16th August 2024

More quarter-peal achievement in Suffolk today and more of it courtesy of the South-West District Quarter-Peal Month.

Following two quarter-peal first-timers from within our borders earlier in the week, it was great to see another debut in the medium today. Well done to Duncan Riches on ringing his first QP in the 1260 of Plain Bob Doubles at Higham and as with Fiona and Robyn on Wednesday, I hope it is merely the beginning of a new chapter of his ringing progression.

Meanwhile, well done to Jill Apter on ringing her first of Treble Bob in the 1272 of Kent at Polstead and many congratulations to Andrea Alderton on impressively reaching her one thousandth quarter in the 1320 of Cambridge Surprise Minor at Woolpit.

No such activity for us though as after work the most unusual aspect of our day was buying goalkeeper gloves for Alfie and bike racks for our... well, bikes.

Thankfully they were being more interesting in the South-West District!

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Thursday 15th August 2024

A-level results day brought out the usual scenes. Delighted students, upset students, sage and necessary advice, the annual Jeremy Clarkson tweet. And university ringing societies and towers near to universities welcoming ringers discovering today where they have qualified for. Sadly we don't usually get many coming our way, with the University of Suffolk still in its relative infancy and thus far not the natural destination for large groups of young bellringers. Indeed we usually see them going the other way, but sometimes they go away and come back a better ringer and a huge benefit to where they learnt to ring, as has been the case with the likes of Colin Salter, Joshua Watkins and Lucy Williamson. Who knows though, maybe - just maybe - we might get someone coming from elsewhere that we can be helped by and/or help this time!

No ringing in the county by students leaving, returning, arriving or indeed anyone else was recorded on BellBoard today and we weren't doing any ourselves, but beyond our borders the start of the 2024 Bradfield Ringing Course (where we do sometimes get ringers going to and coming back here better for the experience!) was marked by a handbell peal of Plain & Little Bob Royal at the venue for the course Bradfield College. Where I expect today there were the usual scenes from students.

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Wednesday 14th August 2024

What a busy day of ringing in Suffolk, as a peal and four quarter-peals were rung within our borders today.

The peal was a 5184 of Cambridge, Lessness, Superlative and Yorkshire Surprise Major on the 8cwt eight at Henley, but the county's ringing headline was two first quarter-pealers. Well done to Robyn Slater on his debut in the medium in the 1260 of Plain Bob Doubles at Preston St Mary as part of the South-West District Quarter-Peal Month and to Fiona Smith on making hers in another 1260 of Plain Bob Doubles, this time at Bramford. Having met Fiona when she was sat up St Mary-le-Tower seeing what this ringing lark is all about, seeing her reach this point is particularly pleasing, but I'm chuffed to bits for both her and Robyn. As indeed I am to see anyone achieve this landmark, for it potentially opens the door to so much more.

Such as that which North-West District Ringing Master Joshua Watkins has exhibited. Joshua rang his first quarter-peal eight years ago and since then the medium has given him opportunities to progress his ringing, along with peal-ringing which he started two years later. His use of the mediums was very much in evidence on this hot Wednesday, as he not only participated in the aforementioned 2 hours 50 minutes at Henley but also rang in the QP of eleven Surprise Major methods spliced at Elveden, the most spliced he has rung. Well done Joshua!

Meanwhile, the fourth quarter rung since the start of the day was at Pettistree, very kindly dedicated to our recent wedding anniversary and was followed by a practice that Ruthie, myself and the boys went along to having been generously picked up by mother-in-law Kate after she'd rung in the 1296 of Cambridge Surprise Minor and she'd invited us along just as we'd sat in our car to head out to the ground-floor six under our own steam!

Even with low numbers at this peak holiday time, there was still good ringing, including a touch of spliced Minor which included Bourne, London and Norwich amongst other Surprise and Plain methods, as well as Grandsire Doubles for those trebling and bonging behind to that.

All followed by a drink in The Greyhound next door to round off a busy day of ringing in Suffolk.

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Tuesday 13th August 2024

Happy Birthday for yesterday to former Suffolk Guild Treasurer Gordon Slack. As I experienced first hand as SGR Ringing Master at the time, he was a good treasurer, but is also a good ringer and a good chap too!

The occasion was celebrated by a suitable length of Double Norwich Court Bob Major before the weekly practice at Offton by a band featuring the man himself, but there was no weekly practice at Ufford this evening.

That was mainly due to the time of year, with numbers lower than usual due to holidays and combined with the humid conditions it was understandably felt it would be unfair on those who did come for whom it would be hard work in the circumstances.

Hopefully yesterday's birthday boy Gordon didn't have to work too hard this evening!

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Monday 12th August 2024

It has been a busy and fun fortnight. Rambling Ringers, local ringing, days out in Kent, days out in Suffolk, family visits, garage clearing, football, wedding anniversaries and much quality time spent with the family. So busy was it that I turned down three peal requests for this last week and keen as I am to maintain my peal-ringing it's probably a good job that I did!

I was pleased to hear about someone else's peal-ringing though, as Ian Culham recounted how much he enjoyed Saturday's Guild peal at All Saints in Maidstone, whilst it was great to hear how well yesterday's barbecue at Diana Pipe's for the ringers of St Mary-le-Tower went, all during quick breaks between ringing at the weekly practice on the county's heaviest ring of bells.

On an evening when we welcomed visiting Ripon ringers Theo & Tracey (the former of whom trebled to Little Bob Maximus really well on a bell that even regulars and the most experienced can and do struggle on!), it was a decent session considering the humid conditions as much was rung for ringers present at various stages of their progression. Claire Haynes and George Heath-Collins both rang inside to plain courses of Stedman Caters and Graham Ridgway rang inside to LB Max, but we also rang Cambridge Surprise Maximus and a couple of touches of Stedman Cinques, the latter of which finished the ringing off and was conducted by David Stanford who earlier in the day was one of the band who rang in the quarter-peal of Little Bob Royal on handbells in Moats Tye.

Our efforts were all rounded off by a drink in the beer garden of the Halberd Inn at the end of a day that saw both Ruthie and me return to work. Well, that busy and fun fortnight had to end at some point!

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Sunday 11th August 2024

This afternoon, Diana Pipe was very kindly hosting a barbecue for the St Mary-le-Tower ringers for the second year running. Twelve months ago we very much enjoyed the occasion and I'm sure we would've done again today, especially in such gorgeous weather. However, today is also the twelfth anniversary of Ruthie and me getting married on a similarly balmy hot August day and as much as we like our fellow ringers of Suffolk's heaviest ring of bells, we didn't feel that a romantic BBQ with two dozen or so bellringers was the way we wanted the mark the occasion.

Therefore, having joined them for morning ringing on the 34cwt twelve and then some of them in Costa Coffee afterwards, we eventually dropped the boys off at Granny Kate's and made our way to The Wilford Bridge in Melton for an anniversary meal. From there we undertook a mini pub crawl as we walked alongside the River Deben to Woodbridge to enjoy drinks at The King's Head in the shadow of St Mary the Virgin, Old Mariner and finally The Red Lion where we met up again with the Ufford Ringing Master and our children (thank you Kate!) as they met up with some of Ron's family and we then made our way back home.

Meanwhile, well done to Mark Ingledew on his first quarter-peal of Cambridge Surprise Royal in the 1282 at The Norman Tower, whilst yesterday a Guild peal of Stedman Caters was impressively rung at All Saints in Maidstone where only ten days earlier I had rung a peal with the Rambling Ringers.

Well done to them and well done to Ruthie on putting up with me for all this time. I consider myself incredibly blessed to have a wife who is such a fantastic mother and also my best friend, drinking buddy and favourite ringer! And fellow enjoyer of BBQs, when they don't fall on our wedding anniversary!

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Saturday 10th August 2024

In one week, Ipswich Town's men's team are due to play their first match in the Premier League for twenty-two years, against Liverpool no less. God willing it'll be an exciting day with the senses pushed to the limit, but today we took the opportunity to watch their last planned friendly of their preseason preparations as they won 1-0 against French team Nice. Our visitors from the exotic south coast of France are a very good side penciled in to play in the Champions League in the forthcoming season and so the performance and result were very satisfying, but it was all very low-key compared to a fully competitive match, with the crowd relatively small in part due to big sections of Portman Road being out of bounds as extensive works continue apace to prepare it to the standards required for being in the most high profile league in the world before that first home fixture against the team who have been champions of England nineteen times and Europe six on 17th August. Yet this was a very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours in a relaxed, upbeat and jovial atmosphere, along with Ruthie's mother Kate, sister Clare and her fiancé Chris and our nieces Katelynn and Anna and of course even though the result is meaningless in this afternoon's context, it's always nice to see the Tractor Boys win!

Not that it was entirely relaxed, especially for Alfie, Mason and myself, as whilst my wife of eleven years, eleven months and thirty days and Josh joined the others in going to The Mermaid for breakfast, we three had a breakfast of our own from the new McDonald's in Martlesham Heath before Alfred played his first friendly of his own. Or at least the opening half of it as with the ITFC fixture kicking-off at 12.30pm and the under-11s match starting a lot later than usual, there wasn't time for him to play in the second half of the latter and for us to make the beginning of the former. Indeed, even having left his teammates losing 2-1, we still only just had enough time to dump the car somewhere vaguely near the Premier League stadium and get into it in time to see the teams coming out!

Afterwards was less stressful, involving a picturesque drive to drop Mason off opposite the 6cwt six of Sweffling for a family barbecue nearby and then rejoin our fellow football spectators at Chez Eagle for the children to use the pool and then for us all to enjoy a takeaway curry, whilst elsewhere in Suffolk a quarter-peal of Little and Plain Bob Minor was rung at Rougham.

There was enough going on today for us not to get too far ahead of ourselves about what is planned to happen in a week's time!

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Friday 9th August 2024

Our holidays continued today, as mother-in-law Kate joined us for a day out to Jimmy's Farm near Ipswich.

It is years since I last came here with a small Mason so it was an eye-opener to see firsthand how much this now famous local attraction has grown. On a roasting hot day it was lovely to wander the woodlands to build dens and watch artic foxes but also to see the headline attractions of Diego the brown bear and his polar companions. A lovely day out.

We did no ringing, with the closest we came apart from spending the day with the current Ringing Master at Ufford and former RM of the South-East District being this week's edition of The Ringing World arriving whilst we were out.

In it was content relating to ringing in our county, perhaps most notably with correspondence in The Telegraph with solicitor Gary Rycroft through his 'Ask A Lawyer' column. Someone called Jasper had got in touch after he, his wife and toddler had "recently moved from London to a lovely village in Suffolk" next to a church which sounds like a very active one with regular Sunday morning ringing, Tuesday night practices and ringing for weddings and disappointingly has taken umbrage with that. There is so much wrong with this and mercifully Gary replies that unless the ringers are being unreasonable - and he seems to suggest that what Jasper has described wouldn't constitute as being unreasonable - then they don't really have a legal leg to stand on and even suggests that they perhaps give ringing a go.

The RW sensibly advises that ringers use the advice as a starting point rather than formal legal advice, but I hope that if Jasper has approached the band within our borders that they try to invite Jasper and his family to come along and see what they do rather than get into conflict with them, whilst it is another reminder that all towers ought to consider effective sound control and positive communication with their local community. Personally I have very little sympathy for people who move into an active community and then complain about their activities, whether that be ringing, farming, pubs, sporting events, concerts or whatever else might make noise, but if we can continue what we do as much as possible (and that doesn't just mean peals and quarters, but also extended teaching of learners, outings and the like) whilst impacting as little as possible on nearby residents, that can only be a good thing.

There is also a response on the letters page to the mention of handbells at The Swan in Lavenham in a recent issue by John Eisel who had written the fascinating articles about The Great Ringing Day on the village's 21cwt eight, but on this occasion I was most captivated by a piece written by one-time Bures learner John Loveless about George Fearn of Birmingham following the marking in May of the fiftieth anniversary of his death. Of course I never met George, but during my time ringing in the UK's second city I heard much about him and his brother Henry, so this was an enthralling read that also mentioned a number of those who I did meet and ring with, whilst I was a privileged beneficiary of the weekly peals at St Philip's Cathedral that he set up. Well done Jake on bringing such extensive research to life.

Meanwhile, congratulations to another ringer who learnt within our borders George Salter, who today was married to Rachel in Somerset. Former Ipswich ringer George has been one of Suffolk's best ringing exports and a good lad to boot and it has been great to watch him grow up into a fine ringer and now married life in an event celebrated by a handbell touch of spliced Surprise Minor during their wedding breakfast.

And back in his home county, well done to Lesley Steed, Andrea Alderton, Maureen Gardiner, David Steed, David Howe and conductor Stephen Dawson on ringing their first quarter-peal of Humber Delight Minor and to Maureen on ringing her first with a new hip in the 1296 of the Norwich Surprise-above method at Tostock, rung as our holidays continued.

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Thursday 8th August 2024

It was a busy day of ringing in Suffolk, but for once - and indeed for only the third day in the last fortnight - we weren't doing any.

Congratulations to Tim Forsey on ringing his fiftieth quarter-peal in the 1260 of Plain Bob and Grandsire Doubles at Poslingford and Happy Birthday to Stephen Rabong, which was marked by a 1280 of Bristol Surprise Major rung at Horringer, whilst a handbell peal was rung for the Norwich Diocesan Association in Bacton.

We were in the company of bellringers though as we visited my brother Chris and his wife Becky for the first time since their home near Bury St Edmunds was renovated and a very good job has been done of it too. However, it was mainly nice to catch up with them as we chatted holidays, football and of course ringing.

I was briefly tempted to pop along to Grundisburgh's weekly practice as on the way back we drove past the 9cwt twelve half an hour before the session was due to begin, but after a busy couple of weeks of ringing it was probably best to have a break and leave the participation in the exercise to others on a busy day for it in the county.

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Wednesday 7th August 2024

Following two days of clearing our garage and multiple trips to the rubbish tip, today was one of fun as we headed to Walberswick for a day of crabbing, pubbing, ice cream, a chance spotting of village resident Richard Curtis and a look round the parish church.

Our attempt at crabbing at the one-time home of the British Championships (it is now apparently held at Cromer) wasn't hugely successful from a numbers perspective, but we enjoyed our hour or so alongside the River Blyth, the Southwold skyline opposite us.

Once we'd returned what crabs we had caught, we wandered up to The Bell Inn for refreshment. This is a lovely old place full of character and one could imagine being sat in the window at the front in centuries gone by watching Southwold lighthouse flashing as we did this afternoon. Of course we felt we also ought to go to this tavern for the name!

Obligatory ice creams purchased back by the river, we drove to the church of St Andrew's on the way out of the community, passing the man responsible for Blackaddder, The Vicar of Dibley, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually riding his bike along the way. After the crowds of tourists down by the river, this was pleasantly peaceful and an opportunity to tour a fascinating location, with the current church a much smaller affair than the original sat within its ruins, whilst the tower still stands tall. And having never been here previously partly because of a lack of bells hung for change-ringing, it was interesting to see reference of a bell (though no more information than that) in the literature for visitors and a sight of a bellrope in the vestry which sits at the bottom of tower, especially as there doesn't seem to be any mention made of it anywhere else, including Dove's Guide. Regardless, it is a lovely place to visit.

Following Alfie's return to football training, we ended our day in the customary way for this week at somewhere that definitely has bells, as we went to Pettistree practice and then The Greyhound. Ringing included two touches of spliced Minor, but also Plain Bob and Grandsire Doubles for those practising trebling to those, ringing inside and/or bonging behind, before with the pub pleasingly packed we sat out in the beer garden with mother-in-law Kate and her dog Merlin and the Garners.

Meanwhile, there was a quarter-peal of Double Norwich Court Bob Major rung on The Barn Owl Ring in Norton as other ringers in Suffolk were hopefully also having a day of fun.

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Tuesday 6th August 2024

Job well done. The car could probably take us directly to the rubbish dump without any interaction from us after another couple of trips to take the remaining contents that we no longer felt we wanted or needed, but our garage is now clear enough to hang a mini-ring. Or store some of the stuff currently filling the shed. Or even a car. Clarification. We're definitely not getting a mini-ring. Not anytime soon anyway.

Apart from a bike and scooter ride for the boys, it consumed another day of mine and Ruthie's annual leave, but was again rounded off with ringing and a pub, this time for both of us, Alfie and Josh as we all went to Ufford's weekly practice and then opted to pop into the Coach & Horses in Melton as we were passing.

Our evening out wasn't just a jolly though, nice as it is to be able to go out together. Having both my wife and I hopefully helped in a tangible way as it allowed us to ring Cambridge Surprise Minor with Mrs Munnings trebling and talking through what she was doing to Daniel and for Ringing Master Kate Eagle to stand behind Margaret as she rang the treble to Plain Bob Triples, whilst we also managed some Stedman Triples.

Whilst there, Anne Buswell requested help in ringing The Vestey Ring when it is due to be at the Shottisham Church Fete between noon and 3pm on Sunday 25th August and would be even more grateful for help putting it up from about 10.30am. It is worth noting the other bookings on The Vestey Ring page on this website in case it is going somewhere you might be able to go along and support.

Meanwhile on the other side of the South-East District, the session at Offton was preceded by a quarter-peal of Cambridge Surprise Major. A job well done.

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Monday 5th August 2024

With both Ruthie and me still on annual leave, today was definitely a sorting out day. That still includes much washing and the like from our week away, but more specifically it involved clearing our garage out. Ever since we moved in to the adjacent house a few years ago, it has been a dumping ground for a lot of 'deal-with-later' stuff. Nothing valuable or exciting, but things that we thought might be useful in the future or that we could sell or that we could assess at a later date.

Well that later date has arrived as perhaps in common with others I've noticed in the local vicinity, a mixture of time, good weather and motivation saw us sifting through old bits of cots, toys now too small for the boys and clothes and two trips to the rubbish tip later we have space to get to the back of the lesser visited part of our property. There is still much to do, but it was a very productive day with obvious results. Unusually so for us!

Whilst we were doing that, others were ringing in the county. In fact there were three peals rung. Two of them by a predominantly visiting band featuring some of the best young ringing talent in the country including Ringing Master of the Cumberland Youths Jack Page, the latest generation of Pipe power Henry, Yorkshire youngster Rachel Mahoney, Birmingham ringer Catherine Morley and former learners from within our borders Louis Suggett and Jimmy Yeoman in peals of London Surprise Major and then Bristol Surprise Major at Horringer and Ixworth respectively which also included some current Suffolk talent too!

Indeed, Rowan Wilson was also later, in the third peal rung on our soil, a 5008 of Plain Bob Major rung on handbells in Bury St Edmunds for the SGR, but I did also manage some ringing eventually as I went along to the weekly practice at St Mary-le-Tower where Stedman Cinques and Yorkshire Surprise Maximus were amongst the repertoire. And there were some confused looks when someone was prompted to course Amanda Richmond, even though she was standing behind the treble ringer at the time!

All followed by a drink in the beer garden of the Halberd Inn, which I felt I'd earnt after our day of sorting out!

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Sunday 4th August 2024

Our first day back from holiday saw us do what we and I expect many others usually do on the first day back from holiday - unpacking and clothes washing!

It was necessarily mundane, but we did get to do some ringing as with Ruthie off from choir duty at St Mary-the-Virgin in Woodbridge she joined Alfie, Josh and myself in going to St Mary-le-Tower for the later 9.45-10.30am Sunday ringing which is due to be in place throughout August. We were met by visiting York ringer and former bandmember here Tina Sanderson as Lucy Williamson ran the ringing and Amanda Richmond suggested Tina and me watch George Heath-Collins ring Plain Hunt on Eleven so we could learn something!

A fun morning was rounded off with a trip to Costa Coffee before we returned to our household post-holiday tasks and also - briefly - reading the article on the East Anglian Daily Times website that mentions bellringing as one of the selling points of Pettistree, whilst elsewhere in Suffolk the South-West District Quarter-Peal Month got underway with a 1264 of Plain Bob Major at Kersey and 1260 of Grandsire Doubles at Edwardstone, the latter of which saw Eleanor Waller ringing her first inside. Well done Eleanor!

Meanwhile, congratulations to former Guild Chairman and current North-East District Ringing Master Philip Gorrod on conducting a quarter for the 600th time in the 1280 of PB Major at Halesworth which also celebrated tomorrow's eightieth anniversary of the birth of Trevor Hughes. Trevor has done so much for ringing in the county and especially the NE District with much teaching and much support and is a super ringer to boot with many quarters and peals of spliced Surprise Major and was once a regular in the second Sunday pealband at Aldeburgh. Additionally, he is a good old Suffolk boy, a reassuring presence, particularly to those like me who have spent time living and ringing away from our lovely county. I hope you have a wonderful birthday Trevor! And that it is more exciting than our day of unpacking and clothes washing!

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Saturday 3rd August 2024

A couple of anniversaries this week have reminded me how much the Society of Rambling Ringers has remained the same but also changed.

It is thirty years ago since myself, my brother Chris and Mum & Dad first joined Rambling Ringers when what was the 44th tour went to Worcestershire, though our very first tower was the light eight of Lye in the suburbs of the West Midlands.

Many of the names that greeted us in 1994 were also present this week. Crabtree, de Kok, Dew, Mills, Pick, Wells. Many of them are now grandparents and their children who were to varying degrees contemporaries of ours are now parents. Some of us were on this 72nd tour with our children in a wonderful sense of continuity.

Yet another anniversary highlighted how things have changed too. For as with earlier this week, the online world reminded me of this date in the past. Most specifically five years ago when we left the 2019 tour unwittingly for the last time in the format that I had grown up with over the previous twenty-five years and others had known far, far further back. Of course that was the last one before the pandemic and the tour to Leicestershire we had voted on in the tour meeting on that bright day in the churchyard outside the Norfolk five of Intwood didn't happen until three years later, by which point the tour was reduced to a week. As mentioned yesterday, although last year a second week with free days was experimented with, the 2024 tour was again just a week with the general perception being that it is unlikely to ever return to a fortnight. And so whereas Saturday 3rd August 2019 was a busy intersection of those leaving after the first week, those arriving for the second week, those in the middle of a Wednesday-Wednesday visit, those on tour for the weekend and any other variation you care to think of, Saturday 3rd August 2024 was a more subdued day with a sense of winding down.

Nonetheless, although we missed the first tower of the day (I can hear you sarcastically questioning "really?") taking down our tent from The Hop Farm, we still made ringing on the gallery-ring at Ightham. Then - following a slight delay due to a misunderstanding with the keyholder over timings - we rounded our ringing for this year's tour off with a course of London Surprise Minor on the long draught of Seal, before we bade farewell with those we've spent the last few days with and headed back towards Suffolk.

After our wet experience of camping in Dorset twelve months ago, we have felt blessed with such wonderful weather for it this week, but again as with twelve months ago the best bit has been the company on the tour and on the campsite, with around fifty from across the UK and beyond joining us over the week, although we have missed Mason, my mother and others not with us this year. Meanwhile the ringing has generally been carried out at a relatively high standard. Not always perfect of course (indeed, the first touch at Dartford seven days ago firing out didn't bode well!), but there is also a huge emphasis on good striking when enjoying the privilege of ringing on other people's bells, whilst the variety of methods familiar, less familiar and completely new rung help to stave off ringing fatigue.

As with previous years, I would encourage anyone who can at least ring a variety of Surprise Minor methods to join us, whether that be for a day, all week or anything in between. There is no obligation to ring anything you are uncomfortable with (in fact that is discouraged), but also if you do want to push yourself whilst having a holiday and making new friends, this is a great way of doing that. Do let me know if you want to find out more!

This year's tour behind us though, we grabbed some lunch from a nearby Tesco and although a crash on the A12 near Chelmsford and the subsequent static queues saw us take an ad hoc diversion via Braintree (well done Ruthie on the unexpected navigation!), we made it home in time to comfortably unpack, read The Ringing World which arrived with us in our absence and even pop round to mother-in-law Kate to return the camping bits and pieces she had generously leant us and give her a gift to thank her for kindly looking after Charlie our cat whilst we were away. Which had allowed us to enjoy the changing and unchanging elements of the Rambling Ringers Tour.

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Friday 2nd August 2024

We surpassed ourselves today on the Rambling Ringers Tour. For we missed not just the first tower of the day, but the second too! Partly because of our usual leisurely start to the morning, but also because we got caught up in the obligatory roadworks of 2024 Great Britain as we dealt with various housekeeping duties such as getting fuel for the car.

Therefore our first ringing of the day was on the 15cwt eight of Linton where I rang the seventh to three leads of Bristol Surprise Major, chatted football with Exeter City season ticket holder Richard Shere and we then held the tour meeting in the churchyard.

As usual thanks were imparted by Society President Janet Dew - the successor in the role to St Mary-le-Tower ringer Chris Birkby - to the Secretary Geoff Pick (those who have ever organised a ringing outing are probably wondering like me how you even begin to tackle arranging eight days worth of towers!) and the Ringing Master Alex Riley, but otherwise it was quite unusual.

For a start, it was being held on a Friday, which is in itself was quite disorientating as for as long as I can remember it has taken place on the middle Saturday of a two week tour. However, like lots of other groups of ringers from local towers to guilds to ringing itself generally, the Society has had to adjust since the pandemic. Numbers are lower, habits have changed, lifestyles altered and after a one-week tour on its return in 2022 and an experimentation of a second week with days off twelve months ago, this year's is also 'just' a week long and it appears unlikely that there will ever be a fortnight-long tour again. As long as I've been a part of the Rambling Ringers the second week has always been sparser in ringing bodies, so in the circumstances it seems sensible to pool our resources into one week and it seems to have worked with high numbers over the last few days. I guess holding the meeting today rather than tomorrow when there won't be the high crossover of members from one lot finishing one week and another starting the next (indeed I imagine the attendance may be lower tomorrow as many start heading home) is simply a consequence of that and might now become the norm.

Additionally the vote for where we would like to go next year was a bit of a strange affair. Normally there are three or four options with a couple of clear frontrunners, with a recount quite often needed, but this time there was just a brace of choices - Northern Ireland or Herefordshire. Usually there is no attempt to sway people's decisions, but sensibly on this occasion it was warned that the logistics for the former would be challenging for a tour such as ours. According to Dove's Guide there are only sixteen rings of bells hung for change-ringing there, which would probably require us to move into the Republic of Ireland too and even then there are only a further twenty-one ringable rings south of the border and across an entire country. Accommodation would almost certainly need to be changed partway through, the travel would be vast. Exciting as the notion was, everything about it screamed impractical. Geoff and Janet's warnings were convincing and those present voted overwhelmingly for plans to be made to take the 73rd Rambling Ringers Tour to Herefordshire, with even the proposer of the Northern Ireland option abandoning their proposal and voting for it!

With that done and a picnic taken by many of us around the other side of St Nicholas' church, we then continued on with the 72nd tour by heading to the 11cwt ground-floor six of Hunton where I got to ring with young Alfred Crabtree as he did backstrokes with his grandad and dad supporting on the second whilst I rang the treble, before he then headed for a very quick trip to the park on the other side of the road with his new friends Alfie and Josh in the few minutes it took for Ruthie to ring in a touch of the 'Cambridge Six' Surprise Minor methods and ring down.

Then, having negotiated the picturesque but traffic bottleneck bridge in Yalding I rang the method of the day Caernarvon Delight Minor whilst Ruthie pulled the 17cwt tenor in to Plain Bob Minor before going to the other extreme at the next tower of Nettlestead where she pulled in the 5cwt tenor to a touch of Double Oxford Bob Minor which was one of the best of the tour thus far and done in one of the quaintest ringing chambers of the tour thus far. Although in contrast reached via a fairly hideous walk across and alongside the busy B2015.

Our next and final tower of the day also offered something different, with the 7cwt six of Wateringbury rung from a small ringing chamber alongside the stairs to the balcony which served as a waiting room for those waiting to ring, as well as a tempting play area for all the children!

Back in Suffolk meanwhile, James Smith was conducting the method he devised - Cooktown Orchid Delight Major - to a peal for the first time with the 5152 rung in 2 hours and 54 minutes at Bardwell, whilst back down here in Kent we rounded our day off by sharing pizza with our fellow camping Ramblers on what was still a long day of ringing, even without those first two towers!

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Thursday 1st August 2024

After two days of ringing, it was a day off for us to give a break from it for the boys in particular and we chose to go to Leeds Castle.

What a choice it was too! There is more to it than just the castle, interesting as that was to look around and to consider how many bells I would put in the tower if I owned it! Although the falconry display was cancelled due to the heat, we enjoyed the walk through the vast grounds, the boys absolutely adored the playground that resembled the castle and we had great fun trying to find our way to the middle of the maze along with a huge group of students from an international college.

Mind you, for a while we were slightly worried that we weren't going to get out of it in time to rejoin our fellow Rambling Ringers at Gandhi in Gravesend for the now usual tour curry! Arrive we did though, parking up just as they were rounding their day of ringing off by lowering the 18cwt eight at St George's opposite.

A great evening was had as Thirza and Harm Jan de Kok bravely shared a table with us and the boys, but a thunderstorm and the first rain of the week drove us all into our tents when we returned to the campsite, prompting an early night for some of us.

Back in Suffolk meanwhile, a handbell peal was rung in Bacton and at Buxhall a 1260 of Plain Bob, Reverse Canterbury Pleasure Place and Grandsire Doubles was rung, which was Chris Graham's first quarter-peal on a treble. Well done Chris and to the rest ringing in the above performances on doing more ringing than us today. Even if the break was good for our family!

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Wednesday 31st July 2024

Normal order was restored on the 72nd Rambling Ringers Tour to Kent as we missed today's first tower and yet it was still a very long day of ringing for me in particular!

Snodland was therefore our entry into the day's ringing, an 8cwt six rung from upstairs where mine and Ruthie's only contribution was ringing up and taking part in some Plain Bob Minor in a fleeting visit before we nipped back to the campsite having left a whole load of stuff behind including my phone!

Stuff retrieved, we were in plenty of time to ring at West Malling where ringing on this ground-floor ring was restricted to the front seven of the 10cwt eight due to the tenor being cracked. Yorkshire ringer Roger Riley did well to fashion a session here in the circumstances and it was also nice to catch up with Matthew Higby who was joining us for the day, as well as to get a first hand update on the progress of St Mary-le-Tower's training bells!

Aylesford was then my tower of the tour to run the ringing. Being a contained upstairs ringing chamber it wasn't ideal as you have to fashion the ringing around the band available rather than vice versa as you can with a ground-floor or gallery ring, but I think I did OK on this 13cwt eight with the repertoire including a course of Bristol Surprise Major which was a real joy to listen to and apparently to ring in. Although when I asked for it the band all questioned in unison "a course?!" as if I had asked them to abseil out of the window! Our hour here was bookended with a leisurely picnic lunch in the churchyard, a chat with Graham Scott and the sound of handbells and afterwards the car of one of our number needing a push from other members!

Thankfully they made it to Maidstone for the brace of towers being visited to round off the day of ringing, first on the flighty little eight of St Michael & All Angels where I rang in half a course of Superlative Surprise Major called by former Society Ringing Master Chris Woodcock and then down the hill at All Saints. I have heard so many wax lyrical about this 32cwt ten and of all the bells this week they were the ones Ruthie and I were looking forward to ringing on most. They certainly didn't disappoint! And having called a touch of Plain & Little Bob Royal spliced during the general tour ringing, I was one of of the lucky ten to enjoy them even more by ringing in the peal of Bristol Surprise Royal immediately afterwards at a tower blessed with tremendous sound control that I wish more towers - especially in Suffolk - would consider.

Whilst I have rung a peal on tour when I participated in a 5040 of seven Surprise Minor methods at Tushingham on the 2000 Tour to Cheshire (which coincidentally appears in the 5th January 2001 edition of The Ringing World that features the last tower of yesterday's ringing Otford on the cover), I have generally steered clear of agreeing to ring on them in recent years, conscious that this is our family holiday and that Ruthie - having already turned down a request to ring in it - would be left on a campsite looking after the children. However, after much pleading with both of us, the promise of transport, help and wine to my wife, she was reassured and I was persuaded.

Happily so in the end. At the end of a long, hot day of ringing, bodies and minds tiring, with a mixed band not used to ringing together, we flagged a little in the final courses, myself more than most. Yet there was some really good ringing, particularly in the circumstances and in my humble opinion I think it is a big achievement for a society such as ours to ring a peal such as this, all arranged this week by Harm Jan de Kok. Indeed, it is the Society's first in the method in its seventy-year-plus history and superbly conducted by Alex Riley to a composition he only put together on the campsite last night!

Some of the band retired to a pub, but I was keen to return to my family (with the boys enthusiastically telling me about their first trip in a left hand driven car after their lift back in Paul de Kok's Dutch vehicle!) on The Hop Farm, a bit of tea and a drink before I was rejoined by those of the pealband also staying onsite, whilst back in Suffolk a quarter-peal was rung before the weekly practice at Pettistree where after a lack of one there last Wednesday normal order was restored.

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Tuesday 30th July 2024

Extraordinary things were happening today. We made the first tower of the day on the Rambling Ringers Tour. I witnessed a door putting someone right. And we bumped into a couple of non-ringing natives as the only other people in a Kent church.

That first location was Mereworth, only a matter of a few minutes driving from the campsite and so even with our typically leisurely start to mornings on holiday we managed to get to this spectacular tower we had already seen from afar during our travels thus far this week and where we were greeted by fellow St Mary-le-Tower ringers Anne & Paul Bray, along with Peter who has been joining us at the weekly Monday practice on Suffolk's heaviest ring of bells in recent weeks. One of the nice things about the Ramblers tours is that members can come along for as little or as much of the ringing as they wish and the trio from Essex were joining us for just the day on this occasion, as was Past Master of the Cumberland Youths Peter Harrison from Australia. Although he was just on the tour for a day rather than in the UK from Down Under for the day!

The 9cwt six also saw me ring some Ipswich Surprise Minor and my journey through the 'standard' forty-one Surprise Minor methods continued onto the next venue East Peckham as I rang in some Beverley & Surfleet spliced in almost complete darkness in the ground-floor ringing chamber at an isolated church that must have been one of the earliest to come under the umbrella of what is now the Churches Conservation Trust, having closed and joined in 1973. Set in a beautiful location looking over the countryside below to boot.

From here we arrived at another notable setting as we next rang at Hadlow, a 12cwt eight rung beneath the shadow of the imposing, tall tower of the neighbouring castle which provided the perfect spot for a picnic lunch with some of the other RR families.

That said, with the glorious weather we have been blessed with thus far this week continuing, Ruthie and I were keen to find a beer garden on the way to the next ring of bells and having found the  idyllic looking The Plough at Ivy Hatch sadly "closed for refurbishment" eventually ended up in the garden round the back of The White Hart on Tonbridge Road.

Then came the correcting door at Seal Chart. This nice little six is rung from a small ringing chamber with a ceiling so low that it makes Wickham Market's look nearly cavernous and there isn't much room for others to watch on from the sidelines whilst ringing is going on. Therefore, when someone tripped up in a course of Kentish Delight Minor - one of several 'methods of the tour' that members are encouraged though not obliged to learn to help mitigate ringing fatigue over the week - I was ringing in, I was surprised to be beaten to correcting them by a voice that seemed to emanate from the door, but was of course actually former Society Ringing Master Andrew Mills who was completely unseen to me from the tenor! One of those lighthearted moments that only help keep any potential lethargy on a week of ringing at bay.

Sevenoaks saw only a brief visit from us and half a course of Cambridge Surprise Major from me as my wife had been charged with running the ringing at the next tower Otford. Most on the tour are asked to run a tower at some point to help alleviate the duties of the Society's Ringing Master and this was Ruthie's turn. Arriving far earlier than we expected, we entered to a surprised look from someone who was busy setting up for a quiz evening later. Spotting the boys' Ipswich Town shirts he explained that although he was currently visiting from Kenya he was also a fan of the Tractor Boys having emanated from Ipswich and that the only other person in the building helping him with his endeavours was also from the county town of Suffolk!

It helped pass the time a little as we awaited the arrival of our fellow ringers for ringing on this ground-floor six run perfectly by Mrs Munnings before we headed back to The Hop Farm for a meal with our fellow campers, followed by a few drinks.

Which was far from extraordinary.

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Monday 29th July 2024

As the online world reminded us today, it is precisely four years since we visited Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury on our pandemic holiday down this way in place of the Rambling Ringers Tour that like most other things were cancelled in 2020.

Mercifully things have moved on since then and of course we are in the midst of the 2024 Rambling Ringers Tour, but rather than ringing we were again back at Howletts enjoying viewing the many animals one wouldn't usually find in the English countryside. Although on a wonderful but roasting hot day, a lot of them were very sensibly hiding in the shade at first!

We weren't completely cut off from the tour though, as we met up with a number of our fellow Ramblers back at the campsite, including some of the Crabtree-Croxall family hub who are based at the other end of the site. And with last night's handbell band this time successful with a quarter-peal of the Cambridge Twelve Surprise Minor methods after a move to the Hutchieson's awning (I think Liz wanted her bedroom back!), we even had some ringing to listen to.

Which the online world may remind us of in the future.

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Sunday 28th July 2024

There was much ringing going on in Suffolk today. The usual and important service ringing in the morning of course, as demonstrated by the BellBoard entry from Woodbridge, but also at The Norman Tower where the first quarter-peal of Craig Delight Royal and Renée Delight Royal was rung and dedicated to the newly married Gradidges, whilst Clare Gebel rang her first QP of Plain Bob Triples in the 1260 at Stowmarket. Well done Clare and congratulations to the band in Bury St Edmunds, including Craig himself!

We were busy ringing too, but not in the homeland. Nor indeed this morning as we awoke gently and at leisure on the second day of the 2024 Rambling Ringers Tour as our fellow campers attempted to leave The Hop Farm through the queues for a car boot sale being held onsite. As they went to Cuxton and Halling to ring for services, we had breakfast and then wandered over to the aforementioned car boot sale to purchase a football (something forgotten by the boys when packing) and other 'necessary' items.

Eventually we did join our fellow Ramblers at the 9cwt ground-floor eight of St Margaret's in Rochester for cups of tea and a spot of lunch before wandering down the hill to the Cathedral where after some ice cream we reached the ringing chamber for the 30cwt ten here via a climb not atypical for central tower rings of cathedrals but spectacular nonetheless and much enjoyed by the boys! Ringing here was also pretty good, including Stedman Caters and Bristol Surprise Royal, whilst I also pulled in the tenor to half a course of Cambridge Surprise Royal before we made the long descent.

Frindsbury - where all bar the fourth were cast by Alfred Bowell of Ipswich in the 1920s - rounded off the day's ringing with some really good Stedman Triples and Bristol Surprise Major before we travelled back to the campsite to find new neighbours Liz & Stuart Hutchieson putting their awning up alongside their caravan whilst us fellow Ramblers watched on and supported them. And then they in turn watched us all trying to light a row of disposable barbecues ahead of another sociable evening on the site, this time accompanied by the sound of a lost quarter-peal attempt of spliced Surprise Minor on handbells being rung in the Hutchieson's caravan by Stuart with Harm Jan de Kok and the Society's Ringing Master Alex Riley.

It wasn't just Suffolk where there was much ringing going on!

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Saturday 27th July 2024

Last year when we travelled down to Dorset for the 71st Rambling Ringers Tour, it was quite an undertaking. An early start and a journey that took much of the day as we made our way round to the other side of London with the heavy traffic also heading to the south coast for peak holiday season. In comparison, today as we traversed to Kent for the 72nd Tour, it was positively leisurely. Much had been packed and ready to go in the semblance of daylight still remaining after we'd returned from Helmingham yesterday and not being able to book onto the campsite until 2pm we afforded ourselves a small lay-in and cup of tea and even a read of this week's edition of The Ringing World which arrived with us this morning and included mention of the handbells hanging in the bar of The Swan in Lavenham and a letter from the journal fifty years ago bemoaning the "selfish pleasures" of "clanging fanatics" taking part on ringing holidays and what they believed (hopefully in jest!) should await them from the devil.

That was certainly food for thought as we eventually got on the road and headed down the A12 which despite the roadworks that are seemingly obligatory in 2024's Great Britain ran smoothly enough for us to reach the Dartford Crossing just as ringing was about to get underway on the 18cwt eight of Holy Trinity in the town that gives its name to the bridge and tunnels that take the M25 (well strictly speaking the A282) over and under the River Thames, the first of forty-five towers planned to be visited over the next week. Making the maiden ringing of a tour is a rare treat for us so we were pleased to take part as I rang in some Cambridge Surprise Major & Grandsire Triples for me and Ruthie rang in some Plain & Little Bob Major spliced and three leads of Bristol Surprise Major as our participation on the tour began.

It ended for today with that though, as whilst the others went on to Stone by Dartford, Swanscombe and Northfleet, we did a quick spot of shopping for tea and beyond and then headed to The Hop Farm in Paddock Wood to pitch our tent on the spot allocated us opposite those of the de Koks from the Netherlands and the Rileys from Yorkshire.

This set-up and our earlier shopping then made for a rather convivial evening with the aforementioned families on their return from ringing as we caught up with them over a few drinks whilst the boys played on the field opposite in beautiful sunshine.

All very leisurely!

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Friday 26th July 2024

There was a lot going on today.

In Paris the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games was held - uniquely - along the River Seine, impressively pulled off considering the rain and the chaos caused on the trains.

Here in Suffolk Latitude was on its second day, boosting the economy around nearby Blythburgh and its 10cwt ground-floor six at Holy Trinity church substantially. Across the border in Cambridgeshire, congratulations to Alan Mayle on conducting a peal for the Guild for the 450th time in the 5008 of Double Norwich Court Bob Major at Meldreth, whilst The Charmborough Ring was being seemingly well used at the Cambridge Folk Festival, reigniting my occasional wonderings as to whether The Vestey Ring would be out of place at Henham Park for what is outwardly leftfield as music festivals go.

Alfie went to an Ipswich Town Foundation football session and met - and got the autograph of - ITFC player Nathan Broadhead.

On the Channel Islands, 'Helen and Peter's Turquoise Week' featuring - amongst others - one-time Bures learner John Loveless reached an incredible fifty performances since it began eight days ago.

Down in Devon, the College Youths' Country Meeting was being accompanied as usual by a number of peals, with a certain poignancy following the recent death of Past Master Chris Kippin.

If you listen back as we did, you can hear about 3 hours, 22 minutes and 19 seconds into Wayne Bavin's Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Suffolk QI presenter Sandi Toksvig quoting facts about Ipswich which included that St Lawrence is the "oldest circle of church bells in the world" with remarkable accuracy and was also tentatively angling for an invite to listen to them which could be great PR!

And in Helmingham, the South-East District was holding its latest Surprise Major Practice, introducing Lessness rather successfully. Indeed, the whole event could be labelled as successful. Over twenty enjoyed this warm summer evening in wonderful surroundings, with the car park absolutely rammed. Such numbers allowed much to be rung from Cambridge and Yorkshire to London and Bristol. Although the London collapsed, three leads of Bristol sounded like it was going well as we departed slightly early, with our car blocking everyone else's in!

Meanwhile, across the county on the lovely 5cwt gallery-ring six of Tostock, well done to Lynda Rochester, Andrea Alderton, North-West District Ringing Master Joshua Watkins, Lesley Steed, Andrew Stone and conductor Stephen Dawson on ringing their first quarter-peal of spliced Surprise, Plain and Little in today's 1260.

Like I said, there was a lot going on today.

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Thursday 25th July 2024

It's been a busy week on this website's 'What's New' section, all of which I caught up with this evening.

Monday saw recordings of ringing at Aldeburgh and Laxfield from parts of the peal of Pudsey Surprise Major in January and the quarter-peal of Plain Bob Triples a fortnight ago respectively which were both a pleasant few minutes of ringing to listen to. Incidentally, a recording of a plain course of London Surprise Minor rung at the South-East District Practice at Barham in April 2022 is due to be aired on BBC Radio 4's 'Bells on Sunday' in three days time, although the full recording is available to listen to on the 11cwt ground-floor six's tower page.

Tuesday announced that the link to the printer friendly version for August's 'What's On' has been added with details with what is planned for next month. That features the SE District Practice slated for Saturday 3rd at Ufford from 10-10.45am and Wickham Market from 11am-noon with refreshments intended at the latter, whilst a week later the North-East District hope to hold a Picnic & Walk along with ringing at Wissett between 3 and 3.45pm and then Chediston between 4 and 5pm approximately and on the evening of Friday 30th the SE have penciled in a Kaleidoscope Practice at Henley. Meanwhile, throughout all of this the South-West District have lined up their Quarter-Peal Month. Please do contact SW Secretary Christine Knight, 01787 277704, if you would like to do something and/or can help.

Then yesterday links were put up to the reports from the South-East District Area Representatives and State of the SE District in the Guild's Centenary Year Report, which make fascinating reading. Area by area, tower by tower they give an overview of what is and has been happening. Some places don't get rung except for occasional visits from locals and some from further afield, whilst others seem to be thriving and it is encouraging to read of a number of young ringers - especially on the Shotley Peninsula where they seem plentiful and almost self-reliant - who I hope we can see at District events and particularly that they can get together with each other and indeed other young ringers from across the Guild. It would be great to have them encouraging each other and to perhaps even have an SGR entry in the Ringing World National Youth Contest in 2025 and/or 2026.

No ringing for us as Ruthie went to choir practice, but there was for other ringers in the county as a 1280 of Cambridge & Yorkshire Surprise Major was rung at Horringer.
Nothing added to 'What's New' though.

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Wednesday 24th July 2024

We are now in the midst of the school summer holidays and with it the return of our now traditional family treat of all going along to Pettistree practice and then a visit to The Greyhound, motivated by the boys but happily gone along with by Ruthie and me!

First up was Alfie's football training, but once that had finished and we had had our tea, we all went out to the ground-floor six for a session where we managed much from Plain Bob and Grandsire Doubles to Stedman Doubles and a touch of spliced Doubles and Minor impressively called on the fly by Mike Whitby and featuring lots of 65s and even rounds partway through, but all good fun, before proceedings were rounded off by me leading down appallingly.

Other ringers in Suffolk were doing far better than me though, most notably at Bramford where Caroline Wolton rang her first quarter-peal by bonging behind to the 1260 of Plain Bob Doubles where Kate Hepworth was ringing her first away from the tenor, before they then swapped bells for a repeat performance that allowed Caroline to immediately ring her first away from the tenor. Well done to both of them, but especially Caroline!

I can't say what the band for that brace of quarters on the 10cwt six did afterwards, but as alluded to earlier, we followed our ringing with a trip to the pub where we had a drink with the Garners and former Ipswich Town Chairman David Sheepshanks. Well, it was more the latter stood next us to thank the staff for their meal. Still, it was great to be able to treat the family to their traditional holidays night out!

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Tuesday 23rd July 2024

It was a difficult start to Ufford's practice on this lovely summer evening. The key was a couple of minutes late, one ringer hadn't got the right glasses on, another couldn't really hear due to their hearing aid not being on and the Grandsire Doubles we began with took four attempts to finish.

Things did improve though, with Plain Hunt on Seven and Cambridge Surprise Minor managed before things drew to a close with a quick sixty changes of Plain Bob Doubles.

Meanwhile, more expensive eight-bell ringing is planned for Helmingham on Friday with the South-East District Surprise Major Practice. Look up Cornwall and Lessness and do support what will hopefully be a pleasant event at a wonderful location on a lovely evening.

Elsewhere in Suffolk tonight though, Offton's weekly session was preceded by a quarter-peal of Cambridge Surprise Major. It seems they had a better start than we did at Ufford on this occasion!

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Monday 22nd July 2024

Stedman Cinques is proving very successful at St Mary-le-Tower at the moment. We may have lost a quarter-peal attempt of it yesterday and our ringing of it at this evening's weekly practice did include mistakes but overall we are ringing it really well. Indeed, one touch began with a bell initially going the wrong way - which was instantly rectified - and ended with a minor kerfuffle in the final six but in between produced some superb ringing carried out with purpose and confidence which I imagine most twelve-bell towers would be really pleased with. Additionally, the other pieces were rung for those who are feeling their way into this famous principle, such as Peter, a youngster from Essex who has been coming up from Essex recently and Sue Williamson. Both did really well in something that even the most experienced ringers can and do get lost in!

That wasn't the only good ringing of the session either. As I arrived and then stood at the top of the stairs with Diana Pipe, the door to the ringing chamber open wide on a warm evening, two courses of Little Bob Maximus was being well rung and we climaxed with me calling Cambridge and Yorkshire Surprise Maximus spliced, with Little Bob to bring it round as time finally ran out on us.

It was all followed by Chris Birkby marking his recent significant birthday by extremely generously buying a drink for each of the typically large crowd that retired to the Halberd Inn, where we sat in the beer garden and enjoyed the warm evening, very satisfied with our ringing of Stedman Cinques.

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Sunday 21st July 2024

During the morning worship at St Mary-the-Virgin in Woodbridge today, I had to step outside to take one of the boys across to the facilities at St Mary's House and I heard a bell chiming. It would've been from St John's just down the hill ahead of their service and I mused if there was a spot where if one stood long enough on the Sabbath morn you could hear this, the chimed three at Melton and of course the 25cwt eight that I rang on before this morning's service. Especially after last Sunday in Ipswich when I heard the 10cwt six of St Matthew's having rung at St Mary-le-Tower in a place where I will often also hear the eight of St Margaret's, it was a reminder of the reach that bells have and potential to let people in earshot know that a service is about to happen, maybe even to draw someone in. Getting up on a Sunday morning isn't always easy as I know, but it's moments like this that help make it worthwhile helping bells ring out.

Even when it isn't for a service, I hope that our ringing offers comfort or pleasure to those who can hear us, including our attempt at a quarter-peal of Stedman Cinques on the aforementioned heaviest twelve in the county this afternoon. And attempt is ultimately what it was. Two attempts in fact. That suggests that the ringing wasn't very good, but actually there was some very decent ringing. The first attempt was stopped after two bells had swapped and once the tenor ringers had taken their glasses off (the small things that can become big things if one isn't careful!) we set off on a second attempt that wasn't far from finishing but had to be set up after the conductor missed a bob near the end. Easily done and any conductor of Stedman has my absolute admiration.

Besides, it arguably served its purpose as we got about an hour's worth of practice at a principle that simply can't be focused on to that extent at a normal weekly session on a Monday night and I really enjoyed ringing it, particularly as I was round the front on the second alongside Ruthie on the third. Additionally, the restart allowed us to take in some of the little bell stuff on one, two, three and four again which was most enjoyable to be in amongst!

We were also very grateful to mother-in-law Kate for looking after the boys as they swam in her pool whilst we rang before we returned home for tea and to listen to the Bedfordshire Association's winning piece of Grandsire Caters at last month's Ridgman Trophy at Biggleswade just ahead of the Suffolk Guild, on BBC Radio 4's 'Bells on Sunday'. A nice way to end a day that the world generally will remember for President Joe Biden unprecedentedly stepping down from the race to take on a second term in the USA, but which for me was a day I was reminded of why we ring on Sunday mornings.

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Saturday 20th July 2024

It was one of those pleasant though mundane Saturdays. We had planned to meet with Ruthie's best friend, our bridesmaid and Alfie's Godmother Fergie, but her visit to her hometown from Brighton was cancelled yesterday due to a rather unpleasant sounding sickness in her household. Therefore, once Alfred had been to football training this morning, our day was made up of various odd jobs in and around Woodbridge as the bells of the 25cwt eight rang out for a wedding.

The seven ringing there weren't the only ones in Suffolk busier than us in the exercise. A quarter-peal attempt at Tattingstone was understandably brought round early on this hot day, so it was all the more impressive that the band also managed quarters of Cambridge Surprise, Norwich Surprise and St Clement's College Bob Minor at Harkstead, Holbrook and Stutton respectively to celebrate North-West District Ringing Master Joshua Watkins's graduation. And well done to Guild Treasurer Tim Hart on conducting a peal of Maximus for the first time when he called today's 5042 of Humberside Surprise Maximus at The Norman Tower.

Nice also to see this method in the peal columns again. It is but a tiny variation of Yorkshire first pealed at Lincoln Cathedral in 1981, but those can sometimes be the trickiest to ring as the temptation is to follow the line or construction you are varying (in this case Yorkshire) and forget to action the variation! I remember well ringing it in just my fourth peal of Maximus back in 1995 with then SGR Ringing Master David Salter pulling the tenor at St Mary-le-Tower in on another very hot day! It's wonderful what memories can be conjured up by the mere mention of a method.

Meanwhile, following my mention in yesterday's blog of it being the four hundredth anniversary next year of Lavenham's tenor being cast, I was very kindly contacted by a member of the Guild to let me know that a peal is already arranged to mark it in June, which was wonderful news to hear!

Especially on a Saturday as mundane as this, pleasant as it was.

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Friday 19th July 2024

There was global chaos today with what has been described as "the biggest IT outage in history", but apart from the potential for ringers on the way to participating in the exercise being caught in the disruption at railway stations that was caused by the mistake caused by a simple CrowdStrike update, the actual act of ringing being carried out in largely the same way it has been for centuries meant that it was unaffected by such a technological fart. Amongst much else there were peals in Cambridgeshire at Bluntisham and Hilton rung by bands where the ringers had all rung over 5,000 peals (the former saw a combined peal total of 45,405 before they'd even pulled off!) and a peal of Yorkshire Surprise Maximus at Liverpool Cathedral on the heaviest ring of bells in the world hung for change-ringing, but also a quarter-peal here in Suffolk with a 1272 of Oxford Treble Bob Minor at Wissett. Congratulations to former Guild Chairman Philip Gorrod on ringing his 1,200th QP in the latter and well done to Erika Clarke on ringing her first in the method.

As if to highlight the unchanging sense of the art, the series of articles by John Eisel on the Great Ringing Day at Lavenham in The Ringing World concludes in the edition that arrived with us today. In addition to the fascinating insight into ringing at Lavenham and in Suffolk during the nineteenth century, there is also mention made of the late Don Price and a peal of Stedman Triples rung on the 21cwt eight in 2000 for the 375th anniversary of the tenor being cast, as part of John's considerations of if the casting of the tenor was the inspiration behind the Great Ringing Day every 21st June. Another thing to jump out is that next year will be four hundred years since it was cast...

Being a bit of a history nut I absolutely love the historical pieces in the RW, but the most enjoyable element of this week's issue were the photos, quotes and reports from the recent Ringing World National Youth Contest held in London which like previous coverage of this event in the journal brought a huge splash of colour to a once grey and dry publication and puts across a hugely positive impression of enthusiasm and fun. A fantastic advert for the exercise.

It was all great to read and of course there was no danger that our reading of it would be affected by any IT outages.

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Thursday 18th July 2024

Shocking news reached the world of ringing late this afternoon as we heard that one of the giants of the exercise Chris Kippin died earlier today. He was one of the finest ringers of big bells around, no doubt helped by such a tidy handling style. When I was a youngster I remember seeing him ring and it being commented to me that he could ring in a pipe! Twenty-two finals of the National 12-bell Striking Contest featured him in one of the participating teams and only three people have judged in the competition more often than he has, so it was unsurprising that when it was cancelled in 2020, he was one of those interviewed for Matthew Tosh's replacement broadcast on the day the final was supposed to have been happening.  The interviews with him and his wife Heather are still on the contest's YouTube channel.

I didn't really know him that well, but when I did speak with him I always found him interesting company and several in Suffolk did know him a lot better. He also did quite a fair bit of ringing in this county and even for the SGR, scoring nine peals at seven different locations and conducting four of them and rung others within our borders, such as a 10080 at Monewden in 1992 and most recently in 2021 when he rang in a peal of Stedman Cinques at St Mary-le-Tower in memory of George Pipe, just some of the 2,654 peals that Pealbase says he rang.

It is very sad for the exercise as a whole, but especially for his wife Heather, daughter Eleanor, son-in-law Simon and granddaughter Charlotte who are a part of an incredible ringing dynasty. Our thoughts are with them.

On a happier note, congratulations to former Burgh ringer Annie Brechin who celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of her first peal by not only ringing her 250th in the medium, but for the first time also conducted one, all achieved with the 5040 of Bourne and Cambridge Surprise Minor on the front six at St Cuthbert in Edinburgh, the city where she now resides. 250 is all the more impressive for the fact that she has spent many years living in countries where change-ringing doesn't usually happen, or at least didn't when she was there. Great to see from a very talented Suffolk ringer.

No ringing for us though nor marked on BellBoard in the county from whence Annie came, but already four peals, two quarter-peals and a 120 of Cambridge Surprise Minor have been dedicated to Chris Kippin, a giant of the exercise.

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Wednesday 17th July 2024

On Wayne Bavin's Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Suffolk this morning he was inviting listeners to share stories of people getting stuck in places. My mind instantly flashed back to the 2018 Suffolk Guild AGM when a prominent member got stuck at the bottom of the tower at Drinkstone after using the facilities there once ringing on the 11cwt gallery-ring six had finished and the locals had locked up not realising the unfortunate ringer was still there!

Hopefully there were no incidents today of ringers in the county getting stuck anywhere as they went about their participation in the art, such as at Oakley where the Exonian Society's quarter-peal tour of Norfolk snuck south of the border for a 1296 of Kirkstall Delight Minor (the method we became very familiar with over Christmas and New Year) on the 10cwt six.

Nor were there any tales of any ringers locked in anywhere in the process of the QP being rung at Pettistree to celebrate this week's birthdays of Pippa Moss and Ruthie or at the practice that followed and which my wife attended before a drink in The Greyhound next door. Although they were extremely short on numbers on this occasion.

Perhaps some ringers were stuck after all.

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Tuesday 16th July 2024

Today we celebrated Ruthie's birthday. Or at least as much as one can celebrate a birthday in midweek with all the usual early morning rush to get everyone to school and work that then takes up most of the day in the middle of an exhausting loop of similarly hectic and exhausting days, blessed as it means we are with education and employment.

Nonetheless, my wife was showered with gifts and flowers at playgroup and once our household were all gathered together at home again following our day's activities she was able to open her presents and cards there, before she was whisked off by her mother Kate to watch The Mousetrap at Mercury Theatre in Colchester with her sister and Gran. Of course Mrs Munnings had watched this last year in London with me, but she didn't need asking twice to see it again and had a thoroughly enjoyable evening!

It did mean that I was at home with the boys and unable to go to Ufford practice, but we had a nice enough night in and elsewhere in Suffolk they were ringing, with the weekly session at Offton preceded with a quarter-peal of Cambridge, Lincolnshire, Superlative and Yorkshire Surprise Major spliced to a Brian Whiting composition.

And once the birthday girl had returned from deepest darkest Essex, there was still time for a glass of fizzy to celebrate someone who lifts our house, work, singing and ringing, highlighted by the messages she received throughout the day.

Happy Birthday Ruthie!

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Monday 15th July 2024

As is the norm for a Monday evening, I was in Ipswich. However, I was not at St Mary-le-Tower and the Halberd Inn. Rather, I was at the town's hospital on Heath Road.

For yesterday, when playing football with one of the many balloons not unsurprisingly knocking around in the house following an eighth birthday, Josh kicked Alfie in the nose. I didn't actually witness the incident but both perpetrator and victim were in agreement that it was entirely accidental. There was blood, but not much and after holding some frozen sweetcorn to the injury he seemed fine and ready to watch the big match.

Today at school though, he bumped it again and so after work I took him up to A&E on the advice of the local doctor on the phone and eventually saw a GP who was able to confirm that mercifully it wasn't broken, although he will need to avoid rough play and contact sport for the next week or two. Although he was quite upset by having to step back from footy and he was disappointed not to be offered a Kylian Mbappé-style mask, we were grateful to the wonderful NHS staff who saw us remarkably quickly considering how surprisingly busy it was for a Monday evening.

Still, it meant there was no time to make ringing on Suffolk's heaviest ring of bells or indeed anywhere else, but other ringers managed to get out as Paul Wetherell rang his first quarter-peal of Minor in the 1260 of Plain Bob at Saxmundham as part of the North-East District Quarter-Peal Week(ish). Well done Paul!

I'm pleased that someone was able to get out to ringing, but I'm even more pleased that Alfred's nose isn't broken!

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Sunday 14th July 2024

When Mikel Oyarzabal scored Spain's winner with four minutes left of the Euro 2024 Final against England in Berlin tonight, it was the climax of a day that up until that point had actually been really rather good.

The preceding eighty-five minutes had been an extremely enjoyable, entertaining match watched on TV in our living room in the company of Ruthie's sister Clare and her fiancé Chris, her Gran and her mother and Ufford Ringing Master Kate as the boys were allowed to stay up much later than they usually would be on a school night for an event that most of their peers and indeed the country would also be stopping up for.

Our evening's viewing of this historic first ever final on foreign soil for the men's national footy team followed on from a family gathering with the aforementioned crowd plus the boys' Grandad Ron (who has no interest in the game and therefore left at kick-off!) to celebrate the recent birthday of Josh and the anniversary in two days of his Mum's birth with a barbecue as the weather mercifully stayed dry. Although the soon-to-be birthday girl missed the start of her party as she was singing for the evensong at St Mary-the-Virgin in Woodbridge and rehearsing for it most of the afternoon whilst Joshua was at another birthday party, this time of two of his classmates at Suffolk Leisure Park, once we'd been to Swiss Farm to purchase meat for the later BBQ.

Before all of that, whilst my wife had been singing at the earlier service, Alfie, Josh and myself were in Ipswich and Grundisburgh for a very successful hour and a half of ringing for morning services. At the latter Janice Davies was visiting with a large number of ringing friends from Lincolnshire which allowed us to ring all twelve bells, whilst at St Mary-le-Tower Stedman Cinques and Cambridge Surprise Maximus were rung. And in between, the sound of the six at St Matthew's could be heard across the county town's centre as we walked to Costa Coffee for refreshment where memories of coach outings were recalled amongst regret that they aren't a regular thing anymore.

Meanwhile, it was announced that from next Sunday ringing on the heaviest ring of bells in Suffolk on the Sabbath morn will be an hour later from 9.45-10.30am due to there being no early service, an arrangement that is due to continue into and throughout August. If previous experience is anything to go by then we will be impacted by the absence of regulars who ring at the same time elsewhere such as Sproughton, but of course it may offer the opportunity for others to join us who can't normally do so!

Today's ringing within our borders was obviously not contained to just mine of course as even beside the usual service ringing across the county there were four quarter-peals and a peal. In the North-East District their Quarter-Peal Week(ish) continued as Plain Bob was rung at Barsham and Southwold in the Doubles and Triples versions respectively, whilst a 1282 of Albanian Surprise Royal was rung at The Norman Tower, a 1260 of PB Minor at Woolpit and a 5008 of Double Norwich Court Bob Major at St Gregory in Sudbury as the second-Sunday Aldeburgh peal goes on the road to give the residents of the seaside resort their annual summer break from peal-ringing!

No time for us to participate in anymore ringing, but it was still a good day. Even if it did end in disappointment.

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Saturday 13th July 2024

Sometimes you can perceive that everything is going against you. I certainly felt that a bit today!

For I was having one of those days of trying to be in more than one place at once as I juggled getting Alfie to his football training on the same day as trying to attend the South-East District Outing to North-East Essex.

With Ruthie helping out at a work event and having dropped Mason at his mother's (although he joins us for Rambling Ringers, as soon as he was old enough to decide for himself he declined to join such occasions!), Josh and I took Alfred to join his teammates as we always try to enable the boys to carry out their activities if at all possible. I already knew we wouldn't be able to make the first tower of Ardleigh, but I was hoping to make the second tower of Great Bromley in reasonable time. Except - and this is where I suspected things wouldn't be straightforward - the session carried on past it's usual hour length. And then a bit more.

Eventually it did end, the boy beaming in satisfaction and thus justifying us going along and sticking with it. Getting to the start of ringing on the 15cwt six of St George was now impossible, but I thought we might get to most of it and so set off hoping for a clear run on the journey. However, instantly traffic wasn't playing ball, on the A12 and the smaller roads either end with the pièce de résistance being sat at a level crossing for over ten minutes as not one, not two, but three trains were allowed to pass through.

That said, we ultimately made it in time to climb over the beam that one needs to negotiate to get into the ringing chamber and then for me to ring in some St Martin's Doubles and pull the tenor into a well-rung course of Norwich Surprise Minor within the metal rods that separate the ringers from the spectators!

And the rest of the day went pretty smoothly. There was the odd cyclist that one has to crawl behind if one wants to stay safe on winding country lanes and with this being Britain in 2024 there was the obligatory road closure, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself ringing whilst the boys took advantage of the churchyards and churches we visited to do lots of running around and exploring!

Great Bentley which followed on from there are a flighty eight round the front that we managed to get to grips with before we headed to The Fusilier pub across the village for a nice meal, even if a mix-up with the children's meals meant that Alfie and Josh were faced with huge plates of food, although not as big as Guild Chairman Mark Ogden's plate of ribs! All three made grand efforts at clearing what was put in front of them!

Dinner - ribs and all - devoured, the final in a run of Greats were rung at with a visit to the Holland variety. This is a venue as familiar to me as anywhere in this part of the world, where Ruthie and I once judged a striking competition and I rang a peal at in 2009, but it was a pleasure as always to have another go on this pleasant eight before we round the day's ringing off at another eight at nearby Kirby-le-Soken where the ringing chamber is dominated by the clock case.

It would've been great to have more from the district with the largest membership in the Guild, but it was on a different Saturday to usual at a time when many will be on holiday or ringing for weddings and there were enough to offer something for ringers of all abilities, from call-changes to three leads of Bristol Surprise Major. Thank you to SE Ringing Master Hal Meakin for a Great Day Out!

Our carload returned home in time to catch up on my wife's day before she went on a night out of cocktail making in Ipswich with her workmates, things now going our way!

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Friday 12th July 2024

Lavenham features in this week's edition of The Ringing World with the second part of John Eisel's series on the annual Ringing Day incorporating a fascinating insight into Suffolk life and ringing in the nineteenth century.

It was part of another interesting edition of the journal that we receive on behalf of the Pettistree band on a day when we didn't actually do any ringing, not unusually for a Friday. Alfie and the now eight-year-old Josh were back from school and Mason joined us and even cooked tea for us, but no ringing.

As has so often been the case this week, others in the county have picked up the slack and as has also been the case a lot recently, that included the North-East District Quarter-Peal Week(ish) which was justifying the (ish) with a QP of Cambridge & Norwich Surprise Minor at Wissett eight days after the week(ish) began. Well done to Erika Clarke (not for the first time during the week(ish)) as she rang her first in more than one Surprise method.

Well done also to Lynda Rochester, Andrea Alderton, Lesley Steed, David Steed, David Howe and conductor Stephen Dawson on ringing their first blows of Merton Delight Minor in the 1271 at Tostock, whilst there was also a 1320 of Cambridge Surprise Minor rung at Troston.

All of which should feature in future editions of The Ringing World, even if not to the extent that Lavenham does this week.

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Thursday 11th July 2024

Happy Birthday Josh!

There was of course already a celebratory mood following yesterday's football, but the eighth anniversary of our youngest son's birth was the main reason for our celebrations today. That included a very early start this morning considering the late finish last night. It was worth it to see the birthday boy open his presents though. He is prone to the occasional (spectacular!) tantrum, but he is one of the sweetest, kindest and adorable human beings we know who is also inquisitive, smart and funny.

Not we could go too hard on celebrating as it was still a school day, we had work and Ruthie was practicing with her choral colleagues, but in between all of that gifts were enjoyed, tea of his choosing made and yet another triumph of a cake from his mother tucked into.

Meanwhile, the county's ringing was again dominated by the two ringing events running concurrently in the area as two quarter-peals each were rung within our borders on Molly Week and the North-East Quarter-Peal Week(ish). The former saw a 1272 of Old Oxford Delight Minor at Brandon and a 1280 of Turneffe Surprise Major at Elveden, whilst the latter produced a couple of notable quarters. Well done to Chrissie Pickup, Tess Blower, conductor Philip Gorrod and Erika Clarke on ringing their first of Double Canterbury Place Minimus in the 1296 at Ringsfield and to Erika on ringing her first of Minimus altogether. And at Laxfield the 1260 of Plain Bob Triples was the first QP on the bells since their rehanging and augmentation. Congratulations to all involved with this project on this important landmark.

There were other ringing performances in Suffolk too though. Particularly well done to young Max Thomson whose latest achievement is ringing a quarter-peal of Triples for the first time as he trebled to Grandsire at Ixworth, whilst the lives of Earl Soham ringers Nella & Vernon Cotton were celebrated with 1360 of Doubles at the tower where Vernon was also Tower Captain for more than fifty years.

Additionally, although rung for the Norwich Diocesan Association, it was great to see Jeremy Spiller return to peal-ringing after a four-month absence following some health issues as he conducted the 5040 of fifteen Surprise Minor methods on handbells in Bacton. Which is something to celebrate.

As is Josh. Happy Birthday Josh!

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Wednesday 10th July 2024

Precisely eight years ago today, we watched Portugal win Euro 2016, England's male footballers embarrassingly having been knocked out three rounds and nearly a fortnight earlier by Iceland. We were rather preoccupied at the time though as it was the due date for Josh's birth and of course we were essentially just waiting for the big moment to arrive. As it happened he arrived the following day, just hours after Cristiano Ronaldo & co had lifted the trophy.

Fast forward to this evening in a sign of the shifting sands of times, the Three Lions were qualifying for the final due to be played on Sunday by beating Netherlands with a last minute winner from Ollie Watkins celebrated by an exuberant Joshua waving his shirt above his head.

Along with Alfie also performing in the second showing of the school production we watched yesterday, it all left no time for ringing (judging by the footnote to the quarter at Hungerford in Berkshire we weren't alone in that!), but again others in Suffolk were making up for our absence. And how!

Unsurprisingly, that mainly came courtesy of two ringing events that have been doing the rounds locally in recent days, with the North-East District Quarter-Peal Week(ish) adding another success. Well done to Lizzie Wood on ringing her first on a working bell as she trebled to the 1260 of Plain Bob Doubles at Mendham and congratulations to NE District Ringing Master and former Guild Chairman Philip Gorrod on circling the 10cwt six.

Meanwhile, Molly Week returned to the county with a staggering six QPs. That included a first in the method for Thomas Wareing in the 1296 of Bourne Surprise Minor at Woolpit, but there was also Lessness Surprise Major at Buxhall, Superlative Surprise Major at Hitcham, a 1344 of Monkton Combe Surprise Major at Horringer, Plain Bob Minor at Preston St Mary and a 1360 of Ibycus Doubles at Stradishall.

Whilst that was all occurring, a peal of Yorkshire Surprise Royal was being rung at Grundisburgh in 3 hours and 2 minutes to celebrate the Ruby Wedding Anniversary of local ringers David & Gillian Twissell. Since moving to the area from Buckinghamshire about a decade ago, they have been a real boost to ringing at the 9cwt twelve and other towers in the Carlford Benefice and are a lovely couple to boot, so I'm delighted to see their special anniversary celebrated in such a way.

And I was delighted to not only see England reach the final of Euro 2024, but to witness Josh celebrating it so excitedly!

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Tuesday 9th July 2024

It is school production season. Oh no it isn't! Oh yes... Wait, that's the wrong school production season.

This one is the one that involves those in their last year of primary school putting on a farewell show as they near the end of their time at this stage of their education. Neither Alfie nor Josh are there yet, but the former and his classmates are involved in supporting the event this year and so his younger brother, his mother and his father were in the school hall this evening supporting Alfred supporting the Year 6s as they put on their version of 'The Greatest Show' to a well earned rapturous reception.

It all meant that neither Ruthie nor I could go to Ufford's weekly practice, but others were making up for our ringing absence and unsurprisingly this week(ish) that was the North-East District, as their Quarter-Peal Week(ish) continued with another brace of quarters. Both were 1260s, one of Buxton, Childwall, Plain and St Clement's College Bob Minor at Blythburgh, one of Plain Bob Doubles at Worlingham, the latter welcoming Kate Bungay's first grandchild. Congratulations Kate and family!

And congratulations to Alfred and his peers on a great school production!

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Monday 8th July 2024

The North-East District's Quarter-Peal Week(ish) continued apace today with a trio of quarters.

Well done to Erika Clarke on ringing her first of Norwich Surprise Minor inside in the 1272 at Sweffling, congratulations to her on it being her fiftieth in the medium and to her and Philip Gorrod on ringing their fiftieth together in that same performance. Meanwhile, well done to Helen Mower on ringing her first QP covering behind in the 1260 of Plain Bob Doubles at Theberton, whilst the same number of changes of Doubles in the Grandsire variety were rung on the 11cwt ground-floor six at Yoxford.

Further ringing endeavour was attempted by those of us at St Mary-le-Tower's weekly practice, although it can't be said entirely as successfully! Indeed, Plain Hunt on Eleven inexplicably collapsed through no fault of those whose benefit it was for, with one very experienced ringer running in from an odd number bell amongst the misdemeanours of others who should know better! We were able to laugh it off as one of those things in the Halberd Inn after ringing, with the Plain Hunt subsequently rung more like it should've been, whilst despite a quite a few Surprise Maximus regulars absent we still managed Stedman Caters and London (No.3) Surprise Royal. There are many provincial twelve-bell towers around the country who would be pleased with that as holiday season gets going.

I imagine similar sentiments of satisfaction were being experienced in the North-East District too!

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Sunday 7th July 2024

When I arrange peals I sometimes wonder why I put myself through it.

When I conduct peals I sometimes wonder why I put myself through it.

When I do both together I often really wonder why I put myself through it!

We are blessed with a wide range of super peal-ringers in Suffolk and beyond, but of course none of them are professional peal-ringers, despite what BellBoard, The Ringing World and Pealbase might tell you. They all have lives (again despite what some might perceive!), many have jobs, family and other commitments. At this time of year especially, holidays are being taken. Therefore finding a band can be like a second job to my first job where I also receive a lot of nos! Even when one has a band, there is the anxiety that someone might drop out which lasts up until the day and indeed increases the closer it gets!

I am also not a natural conductor. The responsibility of staying right is magnified, especially when several others have taken a huge chunk out of their day and often travelled considerable distance at your invitation. Not only do I not want to lose the peal prematurely and waste everyone's time due a lack of concentration on my part, but I also want to make it worth their while coming out. Therefore, I might be conservative in composition choice and will spend almost every spare minute reciting it over and over until I can do so perfectly, yet still doubt my own memory in the minutes before the attempt and as I launch into calling it.

That's where I was at this afternoon as Ian Culham very kindly picked me up and drove me to Orford for a peal attempt of the eight 'standard' (are they still even considered standard now?) Surprise Major methods to celebrate the eighth anniversary of Josh's birth this Thursday coming. The weeks leading up to it were fraught with email and messenger anxiety as I feared that each reply was one less option open to me and the last couple days saw a mixture of worrying about those potential late dropouts and committing Don Morrison's 5120 to memory in between work, parenting, other ringing and watching football. "I'll send you the order confirmation for that, thank you for your time." Pudsey, Cambridge, Lincolnshire, Superlative, London. Bob. "What do want to eat Alfie?" London, Pudsey, London. Bob. "Are you ready for work Mason?" Lincolnshire, Pudsey, Cambridge. Bob. "Long fifths... Is the bride here yet boys?" Yorkshire. Bob. Bristol, Bristol. Bob. "Saka, yes!" Rutland. Bob. Bristol, Lincolnshire. Bob.

Distracted briefly by the usual south entrance to the church being locked and finding the north entrance open, the doubts crept in. Was it Pudsey then Cambridge or Cambridge then Pudsey? Did I miss a course out just then? In between ringing the bells up I checked the composition again and again, which can either be a good or bad idea! Despite still getting it right the doubts continue, as they do into the peal itself. Indeed, it gets worse during the peal. When reciting it beforehand it just rattles off. In the ringing you have to wait for it to all to come along in its own time, which gives you time to overthink things. Does the next course start with Bristol or Pudsey? Should there be a call at the next leadend?

Ultimately, I needn't have worried. Or perhaps the worry just made sure that I didn't get complacent, which is even worse than worrying. I called a bob a lead early, but instantly rectified it. At one point I said the wrong method which briefly threatened to cause a catastrophe, but again I realised my error immediately and in the end it was quite a straightforward, enjoyable 2 hours and 50 minutes that came round and was set up as the church clock struck five, with what mistakes were made corrected straight away, usually by the culprit themselves.

And at this point, I was reminded why I put myself through it as a huge wave of relief and satisfaction washed over me. Yes peals can be daunting and stressful, arranging them even more so and conducting them even more so again, but once successfully completed there is no feeling quite like it. As with life in general, the things that are the most work are generally the most rewarding.

Also of course, that it was for the anniversary of Joshua's birth made it particularly special, especially when he greeted me at home full of joy that we had rung it for him, but before I got that far I had a drink with the most of the band in The Kings Head which backs onto the churchyard. Here we sat back and relaxed, reflecting on a job well done and having been joined by James Croft's wife Jenny enjoyed hearing about her trip to Orford Ness and the thunder storm that rumbled as we had rung.

Our success wasn't the only ringing from Suffolk to make it onto BellBoard today either. Most notably at St Mary-le-Tower where Claire Haynes was ringing her first blows of Grandsire Triples in the 1260 rung on the front six - well done Claire! Meanwhile, a quarter-peal of three Doubles methods was rung at Rougham to celebrate the ordination of the Reverend Sarah Lock.

My ringing earlier in the day was also noted on BB as all eight at Woodbridge were rung before I attended the service that followed and had a cup of tea in the company of the visiting Archdeacon Rich Henderson, who I last enjoyed listening to in a service at Beccles for the Guild AGM last year. All the time, I was wondering if my phone would buzz with a dropout and that composition was running through my mind. I think I may take a momentary break from putting myself through it all!

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Saturday 6th July 2024

Today felt very British. The first Saturday of July saw the grey skies open and the rains pour forth for most of the morning and afternoon. Yet there I sat in the car watching through raindrops running down the windows as Alfie and his teammates continued in their football training.

Elsewhere, the fair at St Mary-the-Virgin church in Woodbridge apparently soldiered on with a large degree of help from the bellringers of the 25cwt eight, although we abandoned notions of popping along with two young boys probably getting drenched and miserable.

Later we were at Ufford to ring for a wedding where guests arrived dressed smartly below their umbrellas, the bride was unusually rushed to the porch as she got there twenty minutes late and they grabbed the opportunity during a break in the rain to stand beneath the dark clouds for photographs afterwards, all within the sound of us ringing the front six with Margaret Weeks still being sensibly careful with her recovery and Peter Harper's wrist feeling a bit sore. I was glad that we could ring so well for the happy couple and that the weather cleared up for them.

Whilst the conditions were nicer in Düsseldorf where England were winning through to the semi-finals of Euro 2024 via a penalty shoot-out against Switzerland, the barbecue we had at home to accompany the occasion was hurriedly finished off as the rain came down, but we still enjoyed it and all in time for us to have food as the game got underway. And long before it came to a climax as Trent Alexander-Arnold won it for the Three Lions with his penalty which prompted wild celebrations across the country, including in our household where the three brothers joyfully bundled each other to the floor!

I'm not sure all bellringers had the time to take in this victory though, as it happened on a day when there were a staggering nine quarter-peals rung in Suffolk. Admittedly eight of those were rung by the visiting 'Molly Week' featuring one-time Grundisburgh ringer Molly Waterson. Cambridge Surprise Major was rung at Clare, Norwich Surprise Minor at Edwardstone, Sheering Surprise Minor at Great Thurlow in 45 minutes, two Doubles methods at Haverhill, a 1440 of Aston Major at Kersey, Failand Surprise Major at Long Melford in 51 minutes, 1296 changes of Llaregyb Surprise Minor at Polstead and a 1344 of Aldgate East Delight Major at St Gregory in Sudbury in what was the first ever QP in the method. There was a local quarter too, as a Plain Bob Doubles was rung at Barham for the fifteenth Open Air Concert at the nearby Hall.

Meanwhile down in London, the Ringing World National Youth Contest was also taking place in amongst the rain, including what must have been a spectacular photo of all the participants on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral, with thirty-six teams competing! Well done to The Yorkshire Tykes on winning the Whitechapel Trophy in the Eight-Bell Method Ringing Class, Worcester Cathedral on winning the Robert Lewis Trophy in the Eight-Bell Call Change Ringing Class, Durham & Newcastle on coming out on top in the Six-Bell Method Ringing Class and Nottingham Young Ringers on triumphing in the Six-Bell Call Change Ringing Class. To use a cliche though, ringing is surely the winner as hundreds and hundreds of youngsters represented the exercise in the capital. Well done to all involved.

This week's edition of the journal that heads this huge success story up reached us this morning as well and included references to Suffolk ringing. One-time Bures learner John Loveless reports on The Ridgman Trophy recently held at Biggleswade in Bedfordshire which the Guild came second in. Haverhill's ringing vicar Max Drinkwater writes 'Thought for the Week'. And an article by John Eisel sets the scene for what seems to be an intended future piece on The Great Ringing Day at Lavenham in the 1800s.

Reading all this with a cup of tea on a wet July Saturday also seemed very British!

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Friday 5th July 2024

I'm not particularly political. Politics is important of course and if one can't recognise that after the last few years then I worry, but I don't hold an unbreakable allegiance to a party as I have thus far had with Ipswich Town for example. In my voting life I think I have voted for most parties depending on what I believed would be best at the time rather than shoehorning dogged ideology into an ill-fitting political hole. Therefore today's general election results that have seen Labour win a huge majority after fourteen years of Conservative rule elicited neither wild elation nor desperate despair.

However, I did find it all fascinating and indeed exciting, especially having devoted my day to helping ensure that the villagers of Ufford could contribute to democracy yesterday. When our own constituency of Suffolk Coastal which had been blue forever and most of us had thought would stay that way forever turned red this morning, that further added to the sense of history. And after all, for all that on this wet Friday Sir Keir Starmer became the fifth different Prime Minister in Josh's life alone (the seventh in this blog's existence incidentally), a change of government from one side to the other happens rarely in this country, with today being only the fourth time it has occurred in my lifetime and only the third time that I could remember, having been more interested in getting the hang of walking and toys when Margaret Thatcher and the Tories swept into power in 1979!

Of course everyday life went on nonetheless, including the North-East District Quarter-Peal Week(ish) as a 1260 of Grandsire Triples was rung at Aldeburgh.

No ringing for us though, as instead I took Alfie to a birthday party at Campsea Ashe Village Hall. Although plans to have a pint in the beer garden at The Duck next door whilst Josh played in the park over the fence were abandoned as the evening was beset by constant torrential rain.

I expect the weather matched the mood of those of particular political persuasions!

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Thursday 4th July 2024

I have prepared for and even attempted a long length peal, but I have never actually successfully completed one. However, I know enough from those I have been involved with and from those I know who have rung sometimes many of them, the elements and aspects of preparation for and ways of meeting the challenges of ringing for two, three, four or even more times the length of a normal length peal, even if I don't know if I would be capable of meeting them. And I know how many similarities there appear to be with being at a polling station on polling day in the UK. Such as ensuring you have plenty of supplies of sustenance and the right type of it. Breaking the fifteen hours down into chunks. Having landmarks to aim towards. Knowing how to pace yourself.

My first time as a poll clerk in Woodbridge felt a little like I imagine how ringing a long length for the first time might be. Powering through barriers previously not reached before, certainly mentally. Concentrating for such a long period of time.

The next two times were in the much quieter St Mary's Parish Hall in Ufford for a couple of quiet elections for the council and then the police commissioner. They felt a bit like I was ringing a long length of something relatively straightforward like Cambridge or Yorkshire Surprise Major on a light, easy-going set of bells. Pleasant, generally enjoyable, but not particularly taxing.

Today though, felt like a full-on record attempt of spliced, maybe even on ten or twelve, with hours and hours of focused concentration and few rest points.

For of course today was the general election, the first I've been a poll clerk at and it was quite an eye-opener as hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of voters from this quite small village poured in to carry out their civic duty. Apart from a couple of lulls at lunchtime and as the day drew to a close and a rush at around 6pm when thirty voters turned up in a hectic ten-minute period, it was manageable but constantly busy. Food was snatched at rather than leisurely taken and there was little time to break down time into easier chunks to pass as instead time flew by. In the end it was exhausting, though satisfying.

As with just a couple of months ago at the same venue, I was working with Emma who was again good company for the sixteen hours we spent in this small corner of the county's beautiful countryside, as we observed the repetitive but reassuring nature of people coming in. We'd run out of different ways of explaining why the Labour candidate wasn't the Labour candidate even though the voting slips said he was or that we knew that someone had left their glasses behind. And we discovered that Ufford loves tennis. I mean, really loves tennis! To the extent that we could attribute the two big lulls of the day in large part to happenings at Wimbledon. Everyone was lovely though, as they have been on both the previous occasions I've been poll clerk here.

It did mean leaving Ruthie to look after the boys herself and which saw her take them to choir practice, whilst of course it left no time for ringing, even if I did any on a Thursday usually.

Other ringers found the time though. The North-East District Quarter-Peal Week(ish) got underway with a 1260 of Plain Bob Minor at Chediston and nationwide ringing continued through the voting, including a 1320 of Westminster Surprise Minor at Paulton in Somerset which was dedicated to today's happenings.

Which I was really pleased to contribute to, however much or little it may be like ringing a long length peal.

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Wednesday 3rd July 2024

It was a busy day of ringing in Suffolk as four quarter-peals were rung in the county.
Two of them were on The Barn Owl Ring in Norton with a 1260 of Erin Triples in memory of Richard Brown and a 1312 of Yorkshire Surprise Major, whilst the other two celebrated wedding anniversaries.

At Elveden with the 1344 of seven Surprise Major methods spliced that was for the silver wedding anniversary of Cecilia & David Pipe, an occasion I was privileged to be at. Additionally it celebrated North-West District Ringing Master Josh Watkins completing his medical degree and ringing his first of the Project Pickled Egg 'core' seven methods of Bristol, Cambridge, Cornwall, Lessness, London, Superlative & Yorkshire - congratulations on both fronts Josh!

Meanwhile the wedding anniversary of Chris & Mary Garner and the birthday of the former was marked by the pre-practice QP at Pettistree. Nice to do so not just for all they've done for this ground-floor six but all they've done for the Guild as Webmaster, Secretary and much more.

I joined the session that followed the 1272 of Ipswich Surprise Minor. Only briefly mind, as having got there typically late after happily standing in the rain watching Alfie and his teammates at football training, I then left immediately after the practice at St Peter and St Paul had finished, forsaking a drink in The Greyhound with a very early start planned for tomorrow morning.

Nonetheless, I managed a fair bit in that time as although we were short on numbers, with the help of Glenys Fear from Campsea Ashe - who practice on Saturday mornings and have apparently been delving into the world of London Surprise Minor - we were able amongst much else to ring Cambridge Surprise Minor and finish with Stedman Doubles and down. All under the watch of the Cecil Memorial Bell won at Clopton at the South-East District Striking Competitions and the Mitson Shield won at Falkenham in the SGR Six-Bell Striking Competitions, with the latter freshly engraved on the first shield to go on the new base.

And I was glad to participate in Suffolk's busy day of ringing!

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Tuesday 2nd July 2024

With the welcome visit of Bredfield ringers Ann & Mike Pilgrim, we had an abundance of numbers at Ufford's weekly practice this evening. That allowed us to do much on six and especially eight for the benefit of Hollesley learners Daniel Atkinson and Margaret Weeks, including Triples of the Grandsire and Plain Bob varieties and PB Major, whilst we indulged in half a course of Cambridge Surprise Major with rather pleasing results!

Ann & Mike were mainly present to find ringers for the funeral of Peter Ernst, a former ringer on the 11cwt six of their home tower as well as on the 13cwt eight we were practicing on today. For those who may have known him and wish to attend, his funeral is due to take place at 1pm on Wednesday 10th July at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. If you can also help out with ringing, then I'm sure Ann wouldn't mind hearing from you via the contact details for Bredfield on this website.

Whatever the reason for their visit, it was great to catch up with them and we were grateful for them giving us an abundance of numbers this evening!

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Monday 1st July 2024

Next year Alfie is due to go on his school residential trip and of course it takes much planning and communication between teachers and parents. Straight after work then saw a meeting with the aim of outlining the schedule and what they need to take, which was useful and exciting but of course was squeezed into what is already an evening tight for time between employment and St Mary-le-Tower's weekly practice when one throws in feeding a household and preparing the boys for bed!

Still, I made it in good time for a session that was typically productive on ten and twelve bells and was rounded off nicely in the Halberd Inn, whilst earlier in the day, ringing was also productive for the band which rang the handbell quarter-peal of Little Bob Royal in Moats Tye on a decent day of ringing in Suffolk.

Meanwhile, the band in Shetland rang another peal in hand (the second peal in Shetland?), which included former St Mary-le-Tower Ringing Master Simon Rudd and current regular David Sparling in the band.

Hopefully Alfie's school residential trip is as successful as their trip to Shetland!

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Sunday 30th June 2024

Bells, beverages, booze, building plans, birthday celebrations and Bellingham were the order of the day.

Bells at St Mary-le-Tower for service ringing, which included Stedman Cinques, overlooked from its new position hung on the wall behind the tenor rope and box by the pealboard recording the 5042 of Yorkshire Surprise Maximus rung here last year for the coronation of King Charles III. Beverages at Costa Coffee afterwards as we discussed sally colours for the training bells. No bells following that after I forgot that there wasn't ringing at Grundisburgh this morning as it was at Clopton instead where the usual fifth Sunday benefice service was being held. Sadly, having already got out at the former it was too late to get to the latter, park up and be any use to them.

From here, the booze was introduced. Not a ridiculous amount throughout the day (we're too old for that sort of bingeing!), but from when I met Ruthie after she'd finished her choral duties at morning worship in Woodbridge, it was gently constant. The fizz and canapés on offer at St Mary's House were a part of the launch of the appeal for funds for the building works proposed for this and St Mary-the-Virgin church, which includes the addition of a toilet at the bottom of the tower which will hopefully be of use to the ringers at their Tuesday night practices on the 25cwt eight!

More fizzy followed after lunch as we met with Ufford ringers Pete and Susanne, their family and their friends in Kingston Fields for a first birthday party for their son and my Godson Jonathan, an event attended by a mixture of their work colleagues, Susanne's parents and ringers and which was a really lovely way to spend an afternoon.

It was also a great precursor to our final activity of the day, as with The Red Lion halfway along our walk home and showing England's first knockout match of Euro 2024 on the screens there as we were due to be passing, it would be rude not to take advantage. And with Alfie and Josh old enough and currently absorbed by the beautiful game we found ourselves space in the beer garden watching the Three Lions from a public house for the first time for years. Not that it was a particularly enjoyable watch for much of it as they struggled again before the fabulous Jude Bellingham produced an even more fabulous goal with almost the last action of the ninety minutes (beyond in fact) to cancel out our opposition Slovakia's lead to take the game to extra time where we scored almost immediately to ultimately win the fixture and set up a quarter-final due to be played against Switzerland at 5pm on Saturday. Which will hopefully allow the North-West District to finish ringing at Great St Mary in Cambridge on their outing and for interested participants find a nearby pub to catch the climax! For today though, it was a great way to round off a lovely day.

Elsewhere though, other ringers were busier with ringing in Suffolk, with a 5090 of 90th Birthday Surprise, June Surprise and The Mees of Sproughton Alliance Major rung at Henley to celebrate the 90th birthday of June Webb, the granddaughter of renowned Sproughton ringer Charles Mee, as well as her and her husband John's Ruby Wedding Anniversary. Happy Birthday June and Happy Anniversary to her and John!

Meanwhile, former St Mary-le-Tower Ringing Master Simon Rudd was ringing what might well be the first peal rung in Shetland as he rang 7-8 to a 5088 of Bristol Surprise Major on handbells to add a B for Bristol to accompany our day of Bs.

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Saturday 29th June 2024

Ordination is a very special moment for those getting ordained and their families.

Therefore, it was a privilege to be invited to share that moment with our friend Gregory as he was ordained as a deacon in a ceremony at St James and St Edmund Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds and of course with his wife Charlotte and their daughters - and our Goddaughters - Ava & Bea. It was a moving occasion shared with a packed church which included Ufford ringer Elaine Townsend who was supporting a family member who was also being ordained.

No actual ringing though as the local band weren't asked to ring, but standing out in the sunshine beneath The Norman Tower after the service brought back memories of doing the same at the National 12-bell Striking Contest Eliminator here a couple of years ago. It really is a beautiful spot on a sunny day!

Many of us returned to Melton for a meal at the Coach & Horses to celebrate with the new deacon, whilst down in London some of Suffolk's ringers were ringing a quarter-peal of Plain Bob Caters at St Michael's, Cornhill for the start of The Guild of Young Freemen's Annual Garden Party, a Guild which the SGR Public Relations Officer and North-West District Chairman Neal Dodge is a member of. Along with Michael Royalton-Kisch, Ruth Suggett and Katie Wright, he was also ringing his first in the method, whilst Katie was conducting a QP on ten for the first time. Well done Neal, Michael, Ruth and (twice!) Katie!

Meanwhile in Warwickshire, the record for the most number of changes and longest timed peal of Minimus (yes, such records exist!) was destroyed with a 28008 of Plain, St Nicholas and Reverse Bob in 7 hours and 49 minutes with 1166 changes of methods and Elliot Daniel becoming what is believed to be the youngest person to have rung a peal of such a length. Well done to him and Luke on their youthful enthusiasm which should be applauded, even though most of us wouldn't entertain such challenges! More of the same type of endeavour from such youngsters can only benefit the exercise.

I imagine it should appear in a future edition of The Ringing World, but this week's arrived with us today featuring several pages on the recent National 12-bell Striking Contest Final at Chilcompton which further underlined the ability of striking competitions to attract young ringers and non-ringers and why I hope we can make the most here of this medium in the districts and the Guild.

There was just about time to read it after our meal out and before we watched the return of Euro 2024 - the Germany-Denmark game was stormy! - and Ruthie returned home having had to leave dinner at the pub (I did take her home a takeaway dessert!) to sing in an Illuminati concert at the distinctive St Mary's church in Swilland.

Which was a nice way for her to round off a special day.

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Friday 28th June 2024

I was slightly worried how I was going to have anything ringing-related to write about today in this blog predominantly on the ringing done in Suffolk and/or by us.

There was the break-in at St Michael and All Angels church in Framlingham, home to a 16cwt eight and which saw all the church's silver stolen from the safe. Saddened as I was by this for all parties concerned, it didn't involve ringing bar the presence of a ring of bells familiar to us and many reading this.

As I read the Melton Messenger that gets delivered to us on a monthly basis, I was pleasantly surprised (although perhaps I shouldn't be!) to find photos from Pettistree Ringing Master Mike Whitby featuring. However, they were (very nice) photos from the lighting of the beacon at the village's park for the eightieth anniversary of the D-Day landings and didn't involve the exercise at all.

Unusually for a Friday, there wasn't even the latest edition of The Ringing World!

We weren't doing any ringing ourselves either, with the closest we got being equally tenuous as Ruthie sorted choir music in St Mary's House in the shadow of Woodbridge's 25cwt eight.

Nor was there anything particularly unusual or especially notable in the ringing occurring beyond our borders, with only a couple of peals noted on BellBoard nationwide and indeed worldwide.

Mercifully though, quarter-peals of Grandsire & Plain Bob Doubles at Ashbocking and St Clement's College Bob Minor at Wissett came to my rescue, especially the latter which saw Erika Clarke ringing her first in the method. Well done Erika!

And for good measure, some regulars on the Suffolk ringing scene but from out of the county were ringing in Shetland, with St Mary-le-Tower and Essex ringer David Sparling ringing his first QP of Surprise Royal on handbells in the 1280 of Yorkshire. Well done too David!

I don't know what I was worried about!

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Thursday 27th June 2024

It was an exciting day at school for Alfie and Josh. The former was working with his mother on a 'Stay and Make' session that saw them make a 'cam toy', the latter went on an educational trip and all concerned seemed to enjoy themselves, with the cam toy turning out really well!

Ruthie was also having a relatively exciting day with that aforementioned session at school and her choral practicing, but I wasn't up to much exciting.

Not so for Max Thomson who continued his impressive progress with his first quarter-peal of Minor in the 1260 of Plain Bob at Ixworth. Well done Max!

Meanwhile, it was good to see the handbell QP in Bacton conducted by Jeremy Spiller.

It wasn't only Alfie and Josh having exciting day!

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Wednesday 26th June 2024

When a former Deputy Prime Minister is stuffing leaflets through your door you know we must be in the midst of a general election campaign. Thérèse Coffey - our local MP - wasn't the only one in the neighbourhood as the circus was also arriving in Melton, which those of all political persuasions and none might unkindly also suggest is a sign that we are in a midst of a general election campaign, but there were no politicians or clowns involved with our household's ringing activity.

On this occasion, once I'd returned from taking Alfie to his football team's training session, it was Ruthie who was out participating in the exercise this evening as she went along to the weekly practice at Pettistree which was preceded as usual by a quarter-peal and followed by a visit to The The Greyhound.

The 1296 of Annable's London Surprise Minor on the ground-floor six was dedicated to John Mayne, as was a 5008 of Double Norwich Court Bob Major rung for the Suffolk Guild at North Creake over the Norfolk border on another active day for the county's ringers and their politicians.

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Tuesday 25th June 2024

It was a day bookended by sporting endeavour, all of which Ruthie and I were mere spectators to and which elicited a mixture of reactions and emotions.

First up was the youngest two sons' school sports day. Luckily, unlike our only previous experience of school sports day with Alfie and Josh last year, with both of them now in Key Stage Two (which comprises of years three to six) they were both competing at the same time and in keeping with what I believe is fairly standard across primary schools they were on the same team. With each team named after a country, they were on Team India and so we followed them round their playing field undertaking various activities from hurdling to throwing rubber javelins to running, mercifully mostly in the shade, before all the children got into their year groups for some races at the end which saw lots of impressive racers and some falls, although I think everyone was alright in the end. And although their team coming last prompted some disgruntlement from our sons, I think they enjoyed it and we certainly did. They should be chuffed with their efforts.

Conversely, although England's men's football team finished the evening on top of their group at Euro 2024, it was only after another pretty uninspiring performance, this time against Slovenia. That didn't stop our household ending our day watching the Three Lions toil away in Germany on TV though.

That said, Ruthie lucked out by missing the first half to go to the monthly Surpise Major Practice at Ufford where although London apparently didn't go, three leads of Bristol and courses of Cambridge, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire were amongst the successful repertoire of what sounded like another useful session.

And it wasn't the only ringing on eight in the county today, as a quarter-peal of Double Norwich Court Bob Major was rung at Offton in memory of John Mayne. Although I didn't really know John, I was saddened to hear of his death and knew he was a superb ringer who learnt to ring as a youngster at Grundisburgh with fellow youngsters George & Rod Pipe, a friendship outlined in John Loveless' superb biography of George, Shake my hand and I'll show you the ropes. A phenomenal trio to come from a village in deepest Suffolk. His first peal was also for the Guild, rung at the aforementioned 13cwt eight of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 10th August 1945, so it is no surprise his passing was marked within our borders today as well as further afield with the quarters at Dunstable in Bedfordshire and in Poynton in Cheshire.

I imagine that much more ringing was done during the practice on the 8cwt ground-floor eight that would've followed the 1312. Good to see plenty of ringing endeavour as well as sporting endeavour!

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Monday 24th June 2024

It was hot today and warm this evening at St Mary-le-Tower practice. So much so that Ringing Master David Potts issued his customary and sensible reminder to bring bottles of water along. Having badly failed in my clothing choices yesterday, I'd got shorts on for the first time this year bar when I dressed appropriately for heaving the tenor here around for three-and-a-half hours to Surprise Royal in mid-June. And there was a general glow amongst the assorted attendance that comes with British people who have spent the day going about their business in temperatures usually more likely to be found on the Mediterranean. Perfect timing for Mr Potts to produce a sign-up sheet to ring for a couple of Christmas services therefore.

To be fair, when it comes to the busy December ringing schedule at Ipswich's civic church we often get confirmation of timings relatively late and can then struggle to get ringers at a time when their diaries have already been filled up, so the fact that we have already got set-in-stone plans for services on the 2nd and 6th of the last month of the year is an opportunity to be seized upon!

Still, it seems strange to be advertising intended ringing in the bleak midwinter just after we've celebrated the summer solstice and we're leaving ringing practices and even the pub afterwards in daylight, so to balance it out it is worth noting that there are events lined up for July too. If all goes to plan a large chunk of it will be taken up with the North-East District Quarter-Peal Challenge from the 5th to the 14th. Such challenges are good ways of focusing efforts and galvinising support for those looking to achieve in ways that might be possible with their local band or everyday ringing, so if you are in that position then please don't hesitate to contact the NE Ringing Master Philip Gorrod.

Meanwhile, whilst this happening the plan is for the North-West and South-East District to hold outings in a sort of the date swap with the former intending on going to Cambridgeshire on the first Saturday slot usually used by the SE and the latter to North-East Essex on the second Saturday when the NW typically hold ringing! Also on 13th, there is an Open Day planned in South Essex if you fancy a more full-on day of ringing! All being well there will be the bi-monthly Surprise Major Practice being held this time at Helmingham on Friday 26th which could be a lovely evening in a wonderful location if the weather is as it is currently! Then God willing the next day the South-West District will be holding their monthly Practice, on this occasion at Bildeston. And the jewel of the Suffolk July ringing calendar Veterans Day at Debenham is slated for the afternoon of Wednesday 10th. As ever, please do support what you can.

Back in the here and now, there was ringing activity in Suffolk with a quarter-peal rung at Tunstall, whilst at the weekly session on the county's heaviest ring of bells, we were having a productive time with Stedman Cinques and Yorkshire Surprise Maximus only interrupted by the EGM to ratify the St Mary-le-Tower Society of Ringers' revamped constitution. With so many travelling so far to come here regularly and otherwise it is important that what we do is done in a structured, accountable, but not officious way to help ensure that it is worthwhile for those travelling to come and a good constitution should do that. After all the work to put this new constitution together therefore, I was delighted that it was ratified within five minutes, whilst also allowing people to have their say.

We followed our efforts with a refreshing drink in the beer garden of the Halberd Inn, which was the perfect way to finish a hot day and a warm evening.

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Sunday 23rd June 2024

Plenty of people understandably despair when they hear the word 'heatwave' uttered by weather forecasters and I should do really. Sunshine at the height of summer only has to briefly touch me and I find myself burning. However, I absolutely love hot temperatures. Everything seems brighter, people more carefree and nature glints beneath it, at least until it gets scorched by it. One can arrange outside events with the only thing necessary being a bit of shade, rather than heaters, jumpers, coats, wellies and all the other paraphernalia that one needs to consider in the depressing, grey, wet and cold conditions which beset this country for all bar a few glorious weeks of the year.

It made it possible for us to attend a birthday BBQ for our niece Katelynn in comfort and even to walk to the abode of her mother Clare and other half Chris without having to carry lots of extra clothing, although we still had extra clothing for Alfie and Josh who were having a water-fight with their cousins! It brought in much business for Mason at work. It allowed for washing to hang outside to dry instead of clogging up the house making it damp or using up our electricity. It made the view from the tenor box at Woodbridge even more magnificent at ringing the morning service and Christening of baby Hugo which we were privileged to witness.

Nonetheless, such temperatures are difficult to ring at length in, so much kudos and respect to those who rang in peals or quarters today. Beyond our borders that included an under-30s Cumberland Youths peal at All Saints in Worcester of David Pipe's particles composition and is yet more encouraging evidence following the recent under-30s Suffolk Guild peal at Horringer that there are multiple talented and enthusiastic young ringers God willing poised to take the exercise forward deep into the future. Here within our county though, a top effort from those who rang the 1271 of Erin Cinques at The Norman Tower and the band who were successful with their 1260 of Doubles at Blythburgh which I imagine accompanied many walkers.

Hopefully no need to despair at any potential heatwave!

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Saturday 22nd June 2024

Ever seen a referee drinking a beer during the game? Or had a ten-year-old disallow two goals for offside during an adult's match whilst being an assistant referee? Well Ruthie and I did today on a day spent outside at events dodging rain showers and getting in the shade from roasting sunshine in almost equal measure.

It began with the Melton Fete, local to us and also a very nice occasion that every time I go along I think I should've looked into booking The Vestey Ring. Whilst there are no bells hung for changing in our village of residence - with it only possible to chime the 10cwt three at St Andrew's 'New' Church - it is essentially now a suburb of Woodbridge where there is a regularly rung 25cwt eight and people flock to this annual event from the surrounding villages, so it is ripe recruitment ground for people who live near to active towers locally. It certainly wouldn't be out of place with the other stalls and activities here, with a brass band performing, archery and a Punch & Judy show and there is plenty of space for it to be prominent but not too noisy and overwhelming for others there, which has been the major stumbling block to it being a part of the Church of England tent at the Suffolk Show since its one and only appearance there in 2011. Indeed, it would be great to have it at more fetes like this, of which there are usually many held in the county over the summer, although it is important to note that one would need to get enough ringers to man it.

The Guild's mini-ring would be more out of place at the football funday being held at Wickham Market that we then went onto, but of course this was something the boys in particular had been looking forward to attending. In sight of the octagonal tower of All Saints' church which houses a 12cwt six, it was here that a friendly match had been arranged for the occasion, during which the referee enjoyed his pint as he officiated and Alfie ended up running the line, seemingly because he and his friend had picked up the flags for the second half!

As you might have gathered, it didn't leave any time for ringing, but across the county at Polstead the South-West District Striking Competition was being held with eight teams, with the judges Neal Dodge and Maurice Rose awarding Little Cornard C first place. Congratulations Little Cornard C, whose home tower and new band has apparently been a real success story since the 2018 augmentation. Special mention also to Higham who came fourth with half the band so early in their ringing progression that they were only elected to the SGR today! Indeed, lots of people were entering their first ever striking competition which is extremely encouraging and hopefully motivation and inspiration for other members and teams from the SW District and the Guild.

Most importantly though, I hope they had a fun day. Even if they didn't see a referee drinking a beer during a match or a ten-year assistant referee disallow two goals.

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Friday 21st June 2024

Happy Suffolk Day!

The now firmly established annual celebration of the county on 21st June was marked by ringing. A peal was rung on the 7cwt eight at Felixstowe of Suffolk Day Delight Major, a method first pealed on this day two years ago at Framlingham and most of today's pealband were ringing in the 1260 of Grandsire Triples at The Norman Tower later in the day, whilst the ringing headline act was at the recently-visited Tostock where Dawn Gillett rang her first quarter-peal. Well done Dawn!

Meanwhile, one of the first voices I heard on this warm sunny Friday was that of ringing vicar the Reverend Max Drinkwater as he was interviewed by Wayne Bavin 2 hours 10 minutes and 56 seconds into his breakfast show on BBC Radio Suffolk which for the occasion of this Suffolk Day was being broadcast outside Max's church of Haverhill and its 12cwt six.

No mention of ringing from within our borders in The Ringing World which arrived with us this morning though, bar in the special section on the recent eightieth anniversary of the D-Day landings which ringing here and beyond our borders marked so impressively. Still lots of other interesting content to check out though!

There was no ringing for us on this occasion, impressive or otherwise, although with both of us off work this afternoon we took advantage of the sunshine to sort out the garden a bit, take the boys down the park after school and whilst Alfie went round his classmate's house for a bit, Josh, Ruthie and I enjoyed some refreshment outside The Coach and Horses.

It was indeed a Happy Suffolk Day!

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Thursday 20th June 2024

England's 5pm Euro 2024 match against Denmark was much anticipated by our household, but by the end of it even our footy mad sons had drifted off to other things, Ruthie couldn't wait to get off to her choral practicing and I wished I was ringing somewhere. The 1-1 result isn't disastrous and we're still likely to qualify for the next stage largely thanks to already having a win under our belts, but the performance was pretty dreadful. Still, all being well I imagine we shall all be ready and raring for the final - now crucial - group match against Slovenia on Tuesday evening.

Nonetheless, others who were ringing today will have been more satisfied with their day's activity I expect, regardless of whether they also took in the footy from Frankfurt, especially those from Suffolk who made up half of the band with ringers from Norfolk to mark the summer solstice with a quarter-peal of Cambridge Surprise Major at Lowestoft where the eight are in this county but fall under the Norwich Diocesan Association and - more pertinently for this performance - are the most easterly ring of bells in the UK.

Meanwhile, the second Guild peal of Surprise Royal of the last week was rung, this time of Yorkshire at Grundisburgh where a 5040 was rung in 2 hours and 56 minutes. And was probably more entertaining than watching England's men play football.

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Wednesday 19th June 2024

CCCBR President Tina Stoecklin's latest blog is well worth a read, encouraging ringers to talk more about ringing to non-ringers. When at school, it was rarely something I would talk about as it was perceived to be very uncool and I suspect that is still the case now, but whilst I probably hold back on going into detail about my weekend ringing on the first morning back in the office (trying to explain what I was doing on Saturday morning at St Mary-le-Tower and why to my work colleagues would probably unbalance the work-conversation ratio too far for the boss's liking!), I discovered that from university onwards others do seem curious and genuinely interested. And Tina outlines how much is being done in schools, with the Touring Tower and YellowYoYo to promote the exercise in what is an upbeat entry that also covers ringing for the recent eightieth anniversary of D-Day, the National Call Change Competition and data on ringing beyond peals.

As I said, it is well worth a read as indeed I did as well as listening to the clip of ringing on the back six of the rarely rung Framsden which was recorded at the ringing for the D-Day anniversary and has been added to the tower page on this website. All taken in once I was back from Alfie's football training where for the first time he had a one-on-one session with a goalkeeping coach and Ruthie had then gone out to Pettistree practice. Whilst there she rang a typically eclectic range from spliced to London & Wells Surprise Minor and Grandsire Doubles before rounding her evening off in The Greyhound and coming home with some of the ice cream accompaniments from Hilary Stearn's recent party, which Hilary very kindly gifted to my wife!

Sadly the pre-practice quarter-peal attempt of spliced Surprise Minor was lost, but there was success on Suffolk bells elsewhere as a 1260 of Plain Bob Minor was rung at Great Barton, which I'm sure the band will enjoy telling non-ringers about!

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Tuesday 18th June 2024

Like thousands of Ipswich Town supporters I was giddy with excitement this morning as the fixtures were released for the 2024/25 season. Of course, for the first time in twenty-two years, ITFC are penciled in to play in the Premier League, the top division in English football and indeed usually referred to as the best, most exciting and popular league on the planet where they are due to take on some of the greatest teams on Earth and various superstars are bracing themselves to play in an otherwise nondescript corner of Suffolk's county town just yards down the hill from the 10cwt six of St Matthew's.

Obviously we have known who we would be up against for a few weeks, but to discover at 9am today when we would be up against them has truly brought home that this is really happening. Rather than planning my ringing around matches against the likes of Accrington Stanley, Forest Green Rovers and Morecombe as we were a couple of years ago, we have been designated Liverpool (European champions more than any other English club) at home and Manchester City (Premier League winners for the last four years running and reigning world champions) away to start and I have made a note to avoid booking myself for anything on dates like 23rd November when Manchester United are slated to come to Portman Road or 19th April when Arsenal are planned to be the visitors, whilst relieved that the Tractor Boys are scheduled to play away a week later when the plan is for the Guild AGM to be held in the South-East District. And I was glad to see that there is no game at all lined up for the day of the 2025 National 12-bell Striking Contest Eliminators on 22nd March and all being well both the South-East District and SGR Striking Competitions will fall on days when Town are supposed to be visiting elsewhere, providing those events are held on their usual dates of the first and third Saturdays of May respectively. Although it may be very busy on Saturday 21st December when I imagine the traditional Christmas ringing around Ipswich's towers is intended to take place and Ruthie and me might have to miss one fixture which as things stand clashes with a wedding we've been invited to. To add to the logistics, a lot of these games will probably be moved to be shown on TV or to accommodate opposition playing in European competition, but it does allow me to get back to some peal requests I've had to put off up to now!

No need to check the fixture list for my ringing today which was the normal Tuesday evening of Ufford practice. On this occasion that was with a big crowd that allowed us to do much on eight including Plain Bob Triples inside for Vince Buckman who didn't even know that Plain Bob on seven was a thing at the start of the session! There was also Plain Hunt on four (with two bells bonging behind) for Mary Leaming, Daniel Atkinson trebled to the PB7 and Margaret Weeks rang inside to Plain Bob Doubles for the first time since she injured her wrist six months ago, as the day ended also ended in giddy excitement!

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Monday 17th June 2024

The pressure was really on Paul Bray today!

When his wife Anne asked us all on the St Mary-le-Tower ringers' WhatsApp group to remind Paul that he had an announcement to make at this evening's practice, it predictably elicited multiple responses along the lines of "Paul, you've got an announcement this evening" which wasn't exactly what Mrs Bray was after and a building anticipation of the announcement completely disproportionate to its likely gravity.

Come the notices at practice and it was inevitably an anti-climax! Although actually it was interesting information as he was imparting details of the Guild of St Agatha - the organisation for Roman Catholic ringers, although they do welcome non-RCs as they did when I joined them on a visit to Suffolk a few years ago - Outing & AGM which is due to happen on Saturday in London. Please contact Anne on president@guildofstagatha.org.uk for more info.

The session itself was a productive one run brilliantly by Lucy Williamson despite low numbers that limited our repertoire a bit but still enabled us to ring Stedman Caters for Graham Ridgway and Yorkshire Surprise Royal before we retired to the beer garden of the Halberd Inn.

Meanwhile earlier in the day a quarter-peal of Kent Treble Bob Major was rung on handbells in Bury St Edmunds. Hopefully it wasn't more pressure than it was for Paul Bray making his announcement this evening though!

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Sunday 16th June 2024

Gifts in bed, takeaway, a pint in a sunny pub garden, a trio of football matches and ringing at three towers. For me, it was the perfect Father's Day.

Those gifts were carefully and perfectly researched by my sons who were working on the premise of presents with a beer and footy theme and thus I unwrapped a new England football shirt, some beer-themed socks and four bottles of ales, whilst they also cleverly picked up on my love of 'Only Fools and Horses', which due to my wife's disliking of it (we can't all like the same things!) I don't make a big deal of or even watch much. They did very well!

It set me up for my morning's ringing which for the second time in the last three Sundays began at Ufford. On this occasion it was to help mother-in-law and Ringing Master here Kate Eagle get all eight bells ringing for the visit of the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and therefore President of the Suffolk Guild, The Right Reverend Martin Seeley. Having called some call-changes on eight, I then took Alfie, Josh and myself to Grundisburgh where - once we'd popped into the village shop for milk that was sadly lacking for the morning cuppa that Ruthie was going to make for me - I contributed to some Plain Bob Doubles and call-changes on ten.

Having picked Mrs Munnings up from St Mary-the-Virgin in Woodbridge where she had been singing at the service, there was then time to watch some of our first football match of the day on TV, which was of course part of Euro 2024 - as all three were - before we were on the road again. This time it was to Tostock where my wife was singing with the Jubilate choir at the Evensong there and with an hour's practice beforehand that left myself and my two youngest sons with needing to find something to do. That something was unanimously decided upon as a walk to The Gardeners Arms in the village and where with sunshine and warm conditions (there was even an appearance from an ice cream van!) I treated myself to a Father's Day pint and sat in the garden there whilst the boys ran around, before we retreated inside to watch another fixture on the television from the European Championships.

Again, not all of it though, as we returned to St Andrew's church where rehearsals had ended and Alfred & Joshua's mother was enjoying a cup of tea. At which point we noticed the local ringers climbing up to the lovely easy-going light gallery-ring six to ring for the service. I couldn't resist popping up to have a quick ring at a place that I regularly mention due to the frequent quarter-peals here but haven't rung at for years. Those present were incredibly welcoming too, indulging me and allowing me to ring the fifth to rounds on six, the kind of welcome you can rarely get in other pastimes. Thank you to them!

I left them to carry on with their usual ringing which was a lovely backdrop to more and more people arriving for what proved to be an awesome sound in a relatively small and very atmospheric building over the following hour. Wonderful to be able to listen to my wife singing with this choir for the first time.

There were refreshments laid on for afterwards and obviously usually we would have enjoyed leisurely partaking in them, but we needed to be back for the third and final game of footy today and the most important one as England began their tournament. Fish 'n' chips purchased on the way back, we settled down to watch the Three Lions beat Serbia 1-0 over our food and a drink, which for me included a couple of those beers so kindly gifted to me at the start of the day.

Elsewhere in the county meanwhile, congratulations to Pettistree regular Pippa Moss on ringing her 1,200th quarter-peal in the 1260 of Grandsire Triples at Orford, a well-deserved landmark for this extremely useful ringer. And well done to Wayne Thomson who followed in his son Max's footsteps by ringing his first QP in the success at Bardwell, with Max ringing the treble, which seemed apt and a nice thing for a father and son to do today.

Hopefully Wayne had a great Father's Day and I know that I certainly did. My day was a beautiful reminder of how blessed I am to have three sons who I pray will grow up into kind, thoughtful adults and so far seem on track, as well as how fortunate I am to have Ruthie alongside me to help guide them in that endeavour. It truly was the perfect Father's Day.

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Saturday 15th June 2024

I found myself saying two prayers this morning in all seriousness.

"Lord, give me the strength to get through this."

"Lord, give me the strength to say no to ringing this bell to a peal in the future."

These pleas were issued as I toiled on the heaviest bell in Suffolk to the 5040 of Cambridge Surprise Royal at St Mary-le-Tower, 3 hours and 25 minutes of lots of pulling. Quite why it was so hard on this occasion I can't tell you. I've never been a natural ringer of big bells. However, according to the superb Pealbase, this was my eleventh peal on the 34cwt tenor of Ipswich's civic church. Absurdly, I am one of the leading ringers for those having pulled this bell into peals, level - as far as I can tell from my limited research - with George Pipe and John Loveless and two behind George's father Jim and over those 38 and a half hours I have largely enjoyed the ringing and been vaguely competent I believe, but today was a struggle. It is always harder to ring such a size of bell to ten bells, but I have done it before. Summer peals can be tough with the higher temperatures and the humidity, but frankly that isn't an issue with the current weather! If ringing is uneven such a big bell can be really tough to pull in for a few hours, but whilst today's efforts weren't perfect, if I'm honest there have been times I have negotiated more uneven ringing on this bell and for longer periods in peals and been fine. And I'm not convinced my struggles weren't more the cause rather than consequence of uneven ringing this time round! Both the back two bells here do have a tendency to 'blow and suck', to drop and go over, especially when they come together, but that isn't unusual and I've never had that much trouble with the issue before. Today there were times when it didn't seem to matter how hard I pulled, the bell just wouldn't get up. Others of more mature years than me are pulling in bigger bells, but they are also much better ringers, so I suspect I am just getting too old to maintain my limited big-bell ringing 'abilities'!

At some points I don't mind admitting to considering giving up. From about four or five courses and around an hour from the end my energy was utterly sapped, my body was aching all over and every dodge was a feat and that only increased as we went along. Conversely, what also increased as we got closer to the end was my desire not to let the rest of the band down. People had spent much time on organising this, preparing for it, taking time out of the day to ring. Many had travelled distance, some from quite far and I wasn't the only one who had worked hard to get to this point. Besides, it was a very special attempt as it was South-East District Ringing Master Hal Meakin's first as conductor. So I dug deep, made those prayers and powered on and although my ringing wouldn't win any striking competitions I somehow managed to keep my bell in roughly the right place until Hal called "that's all" and then - mercifully quickly - "stand" by which point I was just about able to set it. Very well done to Hal, who kept his head even on the rare occasion others were losing theirs, concentrating throughout and bar one when he called a bob a couple of blows early, put all the calls in the right places with assuredness. Hopefully the first of many!

He deserved his drinks in the Halberd Inn afterwards where conversation veered from three-bell towers to music, whilst I was just relieved to sit down, stop pulling and wrap my hands around a cold drink before I further boosted my energy levels with a trip to McDonald's and then made sure I got a bit of relaxation in as we visited my Aunty Marian where we interrupted her reading this week's edition of The Ringing World.

We then made it home in time to listen - via Matthew Tosh's fantastic live broadcast - to the hosts ringing in the National 12-bell Striking Contest Final at Chilcompton as they rounded off what sounded like a wonderful day of twelve-bell ringing, before the boys returned from their day out at Colchester Zoo where Granny Kate had very kindly taken them whilst we were busy ringing. Thank you Kate!

Whilst our sons watched more football, Ruthie and I prepared tea whilst watching the comments and results being read out from Somerset by the Head Judge Tom Griffiths and his fellow judges Julia Cater and Andrew Mills. Usually this is a few minutes of offering thanks and polite critiquing of the ringing before Birmingham are announced as the winners, as they have been seventeen times out of the previous twenty-two competitions and for the last two years. There was genuine joy therefore when it was announced that the winners were the Cumberland Youths for the first time since 1997, both in the church (the judges begin their bit 7 hours 33 minutes and 54 seconds into the broadcast) and in our household where my wife was delighted about her society winning, as was I who once was a member and have fond memories of my time with them. Great for Ian Mills who has done much ringing in Ipswich, whilst one-time Exning learner Jimmy Yeoman was ringing for the Brummies who only just finished above Bristol who had one-time Grundisburgh ringer Molly Waterson (who is interviewed 3 hours 16 minutes and 50 seconds into the broadcast) in the band, whilst resident Guild members and Norman Tower ringers Liz & Phil Orme were ringing for Cambridge.

As ever, it looked like everyone was having fun and for all that this is the closest to professional sport that ringing gets, it is still a bit of friendly fun, underlined by the handbell peal rung in Yatton with participants from three different teams before proceedings began this morning.

Meanwhile, back within our borders, ours wasn't the only performance to make it onto BellBoard, with Jill Apter ringing her first quarter-peal of Grandsire Doubles in the 1260 at Troston. Which almost certainly didn't induce as much toiling as my efforts!

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Friday 14th June 2024

A day of anticipation for events much anticipated in our household, even though we don't plan to be at either one.

One was the men's football European Championship, which is due to run in Germany across the next few weeks with the final scheduled to take place in Berlin in precisely a month. I'm aware that there has been too much football mentioned in this supposed ringing blog over recent months, so I don't intend to mention anymore than necessary, but if past experiences are anything to go by it will probably impact upon my ringing on occasions.

Friday evenings don't usually see us go out ringing anyway, so it can't be said that the footy prevented our participation in the exercise on this occasion, but all five of us gathered round the TV tonight to watch the beginning of what should hopefully be a festival of the beautiful game, a gathering of colour, song and fans from across the continent to enjoy the atmosphere of the tournament, an escape in these troubled times. The hosts certainly enjoyed the first match as they beat Scotland 5-1, but it seems that the Scottish supporters also enjoyed Munich throughout the day in good cheer in the style it should be.

As hopefully will be the case in Chilcompton tomorrow when it is planned that the National 12-bell Striking Contest Final will see ten bands produce high quality twelve-bell ringing on the 19cwt ground-floor twelve. My Facebook feeds were filled with ringing friends arriving in the area at campsites, pubs and outside the church itself, with photos of sun, rain, pint glasses filled to various levels and blackboards listing the beer and cider choices lined up for the big day.

Here within our borders there was already ringing going on. Well done to Neal Dodge, Andrea Alderton, David Steed, Lesley Steed, Clare Gebel and conductor David Howe on ringing their first quarter-peal of Single Brookhouse Bob Minor and belated birthday wishes to former North-West District Ringing Master Maureen Gardiner who has been in the wars lately having been in hospital with a broken hip. Hopefully she is on the mend now and our best wishes go to her.

There were further achievements in another QP rung in the county as Erika Clarke rang her first of Surprise Minor inside in the 1272 of Cambridge at Wissett - well done Erika! And congratulations to Sal Jenkinson on ringing her one hundredth in the medium in the same performance.

Meanwhile, this week's edition of The Ringing World was dropped off at ours this morning. Nothing much Suffolk-related, but still packed with interesting content. We hope to see next week's edition with much anticipation.

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Thursday 13th June 2024

Further to my mentioning of the National 12-bell Striking Contest Final due to happen at Chilcompton on Saturday and Matthew Tosh's planned live broadcast, today I saw the trailer for it which can also be found on the YouTube channel. Just to build the anticipation!

Another striking competition is happening a week later and within our borders, as the South-West District hold theirs and the rules were added to SW District page on this website. Even more importantly, those planning on attending should note that the venue has been changed from Higham to Polstead, which those who went to the Guild Striking Competitions in 2019 will remember are a very easy-going ground-floor six. The time has also changed, but I imagine the same welcome will be extended, so please do consider entering a method or call-change team and even if you aren't competing but are free then please do go along for good ringing, socialising, food and probably a pint or two! Contact District Secretary Christine Knight for any queries.

It may not have been competitive, but there was ringing going on in Suffolk today. Most notably in Beccles where Chrissie Pickup, Mike Cowling and Philip Gorrod were ringing their first quarter-peal on handbells to include Treble Bob, whilst at Horringer a 1320 of Cambridge & Norwich Surprise Minor was rung celebrating the birthdays of Deborah Blumfield's granddaughter Persephone and Troston ringer Claire Free. Happy Birthday Persephone and Claire and well done Chrissie, Mike and Philip!

No ringing for us as Ruthie was practicing with her choral colleagues whilst I oversaw the boys doing homework and their bedtime routine. And watching ringing striking competition trailers.

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Wednesday 12th June 2024

On Saturday ten of the best twelve-bell bands in the world and hundreds of supporters and hangers on are due to gather in a village in Somerset. Yes, it is National 12-bell Striking Competition Final time, a bit earlier than normal in order to avoid Glastonbury Music Festival which is planned to take place less than ten miles away over several days across the usual Final weekend and which apparently brings the area to a complete standstill.

Things are coming together by all accounts. Local ringer, bellhanger and organiser Matthew Higby imparted on Facebook that beer and cider are purchased, t-shirts and glasses have arrived, the souvenir booklets are printed, the cash & carry has almost been emptied, certificates are typed out and tomorrow morning he intends to supervise the delivery of toilets. Although the weather forecast isn't too brilliant, judging by the website for the event there will be indoor space, so I hope he and his team are rewarded with a big turnout for their considerable efforts.

As for who will win, in the absence of the Ipswich team it is hard to see past Birmingham winning it for the twenty-seventh time, but taking my tongue from its position firmly lodged in my cheek, it is not the foregone conclusion that many will see it, as I'm sure the Brummies themselves will acknowledge. The College Youths and the Cumberlands both also have considerable talent to call upon and I imagine will also be driven on to beat each other in their 'local derby'. Bristol, Cambridge and St Paul's Cathedral have all been placed in high positions over the last few years and can be considered potential outsiders if the favourites slip up. Melbourne are seasoned finalists (this is lined up to be their fourteenth consecutive appearance at this occasion) and very capable of reaching a high position, whilst having surprised many by qualifying for the first time, Portsmouth may do the same on Saturday and of course the hosts will have an advantage on bells and surroundings familiar to them, especially as this year no one has had a practice on them as they would've done before. Sadly the form guide from their last few appearances (bar their decent showing on home bells two years ago) suggests Guildford might struggle, but who knows? They qualified pretty comfortably from their eliminator at Reading so are obviously able to produce great twelve-bell ringing and they ought to play their part on a day which should be filled with great twelve-bell ringing.

These days it is the norm to be able to listen to it all live on the contest's YouTube channel with Matthew Tosh's fantastic broadcast that usually also features interviews with judges, participants and other people involved in the day and that is the plan for this Saturday too, with the link already up and raring to go. It takes true dedication to listen to the entire show which typically comes in at over eight hours long, but in the past we have enjoyed having it on in the background if we're at home, sometimes even cracking open a beer and imagining we were there! In particular it is exciting to see and hear the results being announced. And they are interesting to watch back in parts, as I found myself doing today to bits of the 2022 Final at Guildford Cathedral which we took part in.

There is no video of it as far as I know, but I imagine there was also good ringing at Offton today as a peal of Cambridge, Lincolnshire, Rutland and Yorkshire Surprise Major spliced was rung. Congratulations to Rowan Wilson an Alan Mayle on ringing their one hundredth together, but even more so to North-West District Ringing Master Joshua Watkins on ringing his first of Surprise, which is an impressive way of doing it! Well done Joshua!

Later in the day meanwhile, a quarter-peal of Double Court Bob Minor was rung at Pettistree ahead of a practice that after we'd been to Alfie's football training session Ruthie attended with her mother Kate and which was rounded off with a visit to The Greyhound, leaving me at home to look after the boys and also giving me the chance to read up on this Saturday's National 12-bell Striking Contest Final.

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Tuesday 11th June 2024

11th June is a significant date for birthdays of ringers from Suffolk or with Suffolk connections.

Of course it is the anniversary of Dad Alan's birth in 1945 and he was often in my thoughts as I went about my business today, although that didn't involve any ringing with Ufford practice cancelled with a substantial proportion of regulars away.

It is also the birthday of my Becky Munnings, wife of my brother Chris and a ringer at Pakenham.

And former Ringing Master of the North-East District Maggie Ross has been celebrating her fiftieth birthday with a now famous 'things to do before I turn fifty' list and a big party at the weekend. Although we couldn't make that due to our Ridgman Trophy commitments, we were delighted to meet up with her recently.

Meanwhile, there was ringing on the 8cwt ground-floor eight of Offton where the weekly session was preceded by a quarter-peal of Cambridge, Lincolnshire, Rutland, Superlative and Yorkshire Surprise Major spliced.

For us though there was nothing so exciting going on without that ringing or anything else out of the ordinary, but 11th June remains a significant date.

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Monday 10th June 2024

There is usually an upbeat feel about ringing at St Mary-le-Tower, where I think most of us understand how privileged we are to regularly ring on such a good ring of twelve and the opportunities it gives us. At this evening's weekly practice though, there was a particularly positive atmosphere as many of those present reflected on their efforts at Biggleswade on Saturday and/or Horringer yesterday, especially Claire Haynes with the former and George Heath-Collins the latter.

On top of that, Ringing Master David Potts was keen to replicate what were apparently very well rung pieces of Stedman Cinques and Yorkshire Surprise Maximus on Sunday morning, which I think we did quite successfully, whilst Cambridge Surprise Maximus was also rung. Not everything went to plan of course, as a course of Little Bob Max began with the third ringing Grandsire instead of joining me on the eighth to dodge in 5-6 prompting conductor Amanda Richmond to call it round immediately whilst the ringer of the sixth carried on trying to ring Little Bob having not heard the instruction! However, although I have no actual figures to back this up, through ringing on twelves around the country and talking to people who ring on others, I don't believe there are huge numbers of twelve-bell towers regularly ringing Stedman Cinques and Surprise Maximus, let alone on Sunday mornings. It is particularly impressive for a provincial town geographically out on a limb far from major cities and with no long established university providing promising young ringers to support us. Not forgetting that we also practice on the same night of the week as three other twelves in the region Cambridge, Chelmsford and Norwich.

I'm always impressed with our turnout in the pub afterwards, which may be a result of the good numbers at ringing or the cause of them! Or perhaps both. Tonight was no different as we went to the Halberd Inn for post-ringing refreshment, daylight still lingering as midsummer and of course Suffolk Day on 21st June approach. Hopefully there will be lots of ringing in the county for that.

There was plenty of ringing going on within our borders today though and not just in Ipswich at the civic church, with a quarter-peal of Kent Treble Bob Major rung on handbells in Bury St Edmunds in memory of Guild Life Honorary Life Member Rev Canon Geoffrey Tarris on the day of his cremation.

And beyond our borders, congratulations to former Exning learner Jimmy Yeoman on ringing his one hundredth peal of Maximus - one of which was rung for the SGR at The Norman Tower in 2019 - in the 5136 of Queenscliffe Surprise at Birmingham Cathedral. Where I imagine there was also an upbeat feel.

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Sunday 9th June 2024

I've occasionally lamented in recent years at the lack of active young ringers in Suffolk. 2016 was the last time a Guild team entered the Ringing World National Youth Contest and I can't pinpoint the last time anyone under the age of eighteen and resident rang a peal for the SGR. Mercifully things appear to be slowly improving, with (some very) young ringers ringing quarter-peals, whilst I have noticed more youngsters ringing around the county. And today pleasingly saw a peal rung at Horringer by a band entirely under the age of thirty, a group of ringers that God willing will help form the basis of the exercise in the county through the next few decades. Well done to our under-30s!

Especially well done to George Heath-Collins who was ringing his first peal. Since taking up the art after going out with his now fiancée Lucy who rang the second to this afternoon's 5040 of Grandsire Triples, George has swiftly progressed whilst fitting in fantastically with our band at St Mary-le-Tower, even taking on the role of Steeple Keeper and running the St Mary-le-Tower Society of Change Ringers website, so this is a well earned achievement and hopefully not his last one!

My day of ringing consisted of taking in the finest view within our borders when ringing a bell, in my humble opinion, as I rang the tenor at Woodbridge. If I'm being honest I didn't need the box supplied for this as the rope was far too long, but without standing on it I wouldn't have been able to enjoy the wonderful outlook through the window and down the River Deben and so I adjusted for the few minutes of ringing. Nice that we could once again ring all eight too, although that was ultimately curtailed by the fourth slipping wheel before the boys and I returned downstairs for the service where Alfie read a prayer impressively clearly and confidently and both boys produced very recognisable drawings of us in junior church!

Meanwhile twelve miles away in Aldeburgh, the 75th Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts was being marked as it usually is by a peal on the 11cwt eight at St Peter and St Paul's, with Rushden Surprise Major rung on this occasion in precisely three hours.

Two of the band - Guild Chairman Mark Ogden and Membership Secretary Mary Garner - then joined us at the home of Hilary Stearn deep in rural Suffolk with nothing but gorgeous green countryside on view. Hilary had very kindly invited us to a party with food and drink and acres of space for the boys to run around in their beautiful garden, whilst we we caught up with my Godson Jonathan - who had very kindly brought along his parents Pete & Susanne - and her many ringing friends from the various towers she takes herself to in order to further her progress, such as Debenham, Halesworth and Pettistree. Thank you Hilary and her helpers for an afternoon not even spoiled by the chilly, damp weather of a typical British summer!

Her proactiveness in ringing is an example of what I wish more ringers would do and how those of us on this side of thirty years old can still achieve in the art!

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Saturday 8th June 2024

Saturday 21st June 2025. Save the date. For that is when The Ridgman Trophy - the ten-bell striking competition for territorial ringing organisations bordering onto The Ely Diocesan Association - is planned to (finally!) be held at Boston in Lincolnshire. The fact that this was where the contest was due to go in 2020 should serve as a reminder that we can't assume anything, but going on the basis of what is intended, I hope that people from across the region and even beyond not ringing can be encouraged to come along and sample what is a showpiece occasion for ringing in East Anglia and the East of England generally, because it is one that deserves to have a bigger audience.

It is also a difficult occasion to host by the nature of its format, with the draw done in advance and the temptation for people to turn up, ring and leave straight afterwards. Great for individuals who have lots to do and feel that they can slot representing their association, guild or society in with other stuff, but not so much for creating an atmosphere. Not doing so risks putting potential participants off for something that can require much travelling for those of us right on the edge of the geographical qualifying area, but it would be great if there was enough to not only keep participating ringers there all day but also attract hangers on along in much the same way as the National 12-bell Striking Contest does, even if of course this would be on a smaller scale. On occasions in the past, not enough (and sometimes nothing at all) has been put on by the hosts and we've ended up with a handful of folk left for the results, but it is possible to encourage people to stay longer. Out of all I've been to, probably the best hosts were The Cambridge University Guild in 2017, admittedly aided by wonderful weather and the superb location of Great St Mary's church. They put much on including plenty of beer and were rewarded with a vibrant, lively and well attended competition.

And today, the Bedfordshire Association also put on a good show at Biggleswade that led to a pretty decent attendance for the results read out by Leeds ringers Graham & Wendy Bloom at the end of a lovely day out. Unlike our friends from the CUG seven years ago, they weren't particularly blessed with warm weather. Although it was pleasant enough to stand out in, Ruthie instantly regretted not bringing a jumper until I gallantly offered her mine (shamed into by James Smith doing likewise for his wife Claire!), but our hosts had things covered for the chillier conditions with the superb facilities attached to the church that offered food, tea and best of all beer!

Admittedly we had taken advantage of knowing that we weren't expected to meet until 12.15pm to drop Mason off for work and do a quick check on mother-in-law Kate's animals in her absence, but were delighted to arrive in good time as the second team up the CUG were ringing. A refreshing cuppa enjoyed and all our band present and then it was our turn. It isn't as straightforward as simply turning and ringing for this with a considerable process to go through, albeit never begrudgingly from my perspective as I quite enjoy it as it gets me in the right frame of mind to ring in something like this. First we gather at a designated point which here was where the entrance to the church and church rooms meet. Then you sign in the book that records the names of the bandmembers and on what bell they are ringing. After that we were led by the competition organiser Alan Winter round to the base of the tower and then up the stairs as The Lincoln Diocesan Guild were ringing their test piece, which for all of us was the same 179 change touch of Grandsire Caters we rang in the 2021 competition that we won at Braintree. Even having entered the ringing chamber we have to wait until our allotted time which for us today was 12.30pm before we could practice and then couldn't start the test piece until 12.40 but by 12.45. It sounds long-winded, but after all of that we produced a really good bit of ringing that regardless of the result we could be very pleased with.

First we had to wait for The Ely Diocesan Association who were the only team to ring after us and for the judges to make their deliberations which were prolonged by them needing to listen to some of the recordings again, suggesting that the results were close, so we enjoyed some of the beer on offer and caught up with more ringing friends as we waited.

They were worth the wait too. When the judges imparted the usual constructive comments, they noted that the little bells rang well together at the back and that the roll-ups were the best of the day, which was particularly pleasing for those of us on the back bells! However, they also pondered if we had somewhere to be, suggesting that we were ringing very fast - reiterated by the revelation that we had the quickest peal speed of the day at a straight three hours compared to the slowest of 3 hours and 27 minutes - and that also we weren't always ringing at the same speed together. We assumed from those observations that we'd do OK, but probably wouldn't be troubling the leaderboard.

One might therefore imagine how far up our eyebrows rose with the announcement of each place that we didn't appear until it came down to us and the host team. There was a suitable dramatic pause before it was revealed that the winners were... Bedfordshire. Congratulations to them who were presented with the trophy (freshly retrieved from Essex by Andrew Kelso after it had been left behind!) by the local vicar the Reverend Liz Oglesby-Elong, but also to us, especially to Claire Haynes who only rang her first quarter-peal on ten on a working bell last month yet rang assuredly and confidently in the second best bit of ringing in the east's biggest ten-bell striking competition this year! Well done also to SGR Ringing Master Katharine Salter getting this band together at a busy time for her!

It capped a superb day which highlighted the talent in this region. Multiple winners of the National 12-bell Striking Contest, some promising young ringers ringing for the CUG including one of the most promising Jadd Virji, two Past Masters of the Cumberland Youths in the form of Linda Garton and former Suffolk learner John Loveless and the CCCBR Vice President Vicki Chapman were all there and it was great to catch up with some of them as well as others like Lesley Boyle, Gareth Davies, Nick Elks and Sue Marsden. Additionally it was great to meet Keith Brown from Lincolnshire who as an Ipswich Town fan made a beeline for me in my ITFC shirt and it was also nice to chat with Jim Benner, another Lincolnshire ringer.

Following all that we returned home via the returning Mrs Eagle's to find chicks hatching and dogs returned at the end of a wonderful day. God willing we can have another one in Boston on 21st June 2025 with many, many others.

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Friday 7th June 2024

The latest edition of The Ringing World arrived today. Nothing Suffolk-related on this occasion, although the editorial explanation that their mailing house "suddenly and unexpectedly went out of operation" shed light on the new packaging and possibly the understandable delay of the issue from a fortnight ago.

Future editions should feature the quarter-peal at Earl Stonham rung this evening and also a peal of seven Surprise Minor methods rung on the 15cwt six of Mobberley in Cheshire on Wednesday, which might seem an odd performance for me to highlight but which does have a Suffolk connection. For the village is where the famous mountaineer George Leigh Mallory was born, with his father and grandfather having been rectors at St Wilfrid's church and a century after his death attempting to be the first mountaineer to climb to the summit of Mount Everest, a band of hillwalkers and mountaineers were ringing this 5040 to mark the anniversary. That band included St Mary-le-Tower ringer and Past Guild Ringing Master Amanda Richmond who along with the conductor Peter Ellis became what is believed the first summiteers of the world's highest peak to ring a peal together. Congratulations Amanda!

Their mountaineering particularly but also ringing exploits were far more energetic than anything we managed during our evening especially, as we slumped on the settee, drunk beer and watched England's men's football team's last match before they are due to leave for Germany to play in the European Championships this summer. However, as they lost 1-0 at Wembley against Iceland in a fairly dire game, I was glad to have The Ringing World to read instead!

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Thursday 6th June 2024

What would life be like if 'Operation Overlord' had failed? There is no real way of telling exactly of course and it probably doesn't bear thinking about in too much detail, but it certainly wouldn't be good. What the various documentaries I've watched on the subject over the last week or two have reiterated, for all the incredible plans, strategies, diversions, deceptions and the like, it wouldn't have succeeded if it weren't for all those who went ashore on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day precisely eighty years ago and - like mine and my brother Chris' maternal grandfather Cyril - in the days that followed who were prepared for the strong likelihood that they would die trying to liberate western Europe.

It is only right therefore that every five years the anniversary is marked and a big deal is made of it and indeed an even bigger deal than previously. Inevitably time is reducing the numbers of those still around who were there, with the few left now at least in their late nineties or in their second century and of course 6th June 1944 is fading further into history and so the importance of keeping the sacrifices others made for modern day freedoms fresh in the minds of new generations increases with every passing year.

Today in bright sunshine and beneath clear blue skies, royalty, prime ministers, chancellors and presidents joined frail and often wheelchair-bound veterans on coasts that precisely eight decades ago were awash with gunfire, bombs, smoke, death and blood, with moving speeches and music, flowers from local primary school children and bagpipers. And here in the UK and indeed across the world, ringers participated in 'Ringing Out for Peace', a super initiative that (once I'd worked out how to get in!) saw me at Woodbridge helping ring all eight at 6.30 this evening with the boys watching on.

As is normally the case on such occasions, throughout Suffolk there was far too much to list absolutely everything on here but there were five quarter-peals rung within our borders I shall mention. Amongst those, the headline act from a ringing perspective was Helen Mower ringing her first QP in the 1280 of Plain Bob Doubles at Aldeburgh, making it even more special. Well done Helen!

Well done also to Georgina Inglis on ringing her first of Grandsire Doubles in the 1260 rung at Redgrave, whilst a quarter of spliced Cambridge & Yorkshire Surprise Royal was rung at The Norman Tower, another of Grandsire Doubles at Great Barton and appropriately at Woolpit a 1320 of D-Day Delight Minor was successfully completed. Great work by all who did some ringing for today's events!

The way that the events of eighty years ago have been marked not just by ringing but generally has been heartwarming, but I have to admit it wasn't the absolute highlight of the day. Rather, that goes to the hour or so I spent with Josh at school for his class's 'Stay and Make' session and where the pair of us worked together to make a Stone Age scene from a shoe box. We were rather pleased with our efforts with one of Joshua's many strengths being his creativity and it was precious time spent together which seemed particularly poignant on a day like today.

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Wednesday 5th June 2024

Last week saw Alfie's football team's final training session of the season and so we had been looking forward to less hectic Wednesdays over the summer, maybe even taking in a pre-practice quarter-peal or two at Pettistree.

That was the hope anyway. Until a message from the coach announced that it was the intention for Alfred and his teammates to train on Wednesdays after work and Saturday mornings. To be fair, this isn't the three-line whip and no one is expected to rearrange any plans, but we are keen to support our children in all their endeavours and activities, so we shall try to get him to as many as possible and so our Wednesdays and Saturdays may remain busy and challenging logistically for the foreseeable!

On this occasion, there were a few absent and we were in a different location to usual on a beautifully sunny evening, so it felt a little like a trip out, but with us also needing to battle with an egg incubator after it meant I didn't make it to the session at the aforementioned ground-floor six until very late.

Still, I'm very glad I did, quite apart from dropping the last couple of editions of The Ringing World off and helping with a practice that was low on attendees but still managed an eclectic range of ringing from call-changes for Catherine to Berwick Surprise Minor and spliced Minor, whilst for the second night running my ringing was rounded off by calling a nice 120 changes of Stedman Doubles.

And in beautiful summer conditions like these it was a reminder of how blessed we are to have such a pretty place to go ringing on our doorstep, including one of the oldest taverns in Suffolk next door to the church, The Greyhound. That was where I had a drink with the Garners following my short evening of ringing and a practice which was preceded by a quarter-peal of Doubles which on the eve of the eightieth anniversary of the D-Day landings was dedicated to the occasion, as was the very impressive peal of eleven Surprise Major methods spliced rung for the Guild at Elveden, whilst a brace of quarters were rung on The Barn Owl Ring in Norton with 1260s of Stedman Triples and St Clement's College Bob Triples on a hectic Wednesday for others too.

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Tuesday 4th June 2024

A spot of dishwasher trouble briefly threatened to derail our evening's plans, but with a potential solution identified I continued on my way to Ufford's weekly practice. Which was important, as there was a lot of responsibility on my shoulders to ensure the session went ahead. With usual Ringing Master Kate Eagle not about tonight, I needed to get the tower keys from hers and collect Susanne Eddis and with rain starting to come down I was anxious to avoid anyone waiting around getting wet.

I at least succeeded in that aim and as the rain got heavier outside I was pleased to also succeed in helping to guide a relatively productive practice inside with Doubles and Cambridge Surprise Minor for Daniel Atkinson and Margaret Weeks to treble to, but with only seven there and Margaret still needing to take it easy as her recovery continues we called it a night a few minutes early. Not before we finished with an extremely well rung 120 of Stedman Doubles as requested by Susanne though. A particularly pleasing way to end proceedings considering the low numbers there on this occasion.

Over at Offton, I hope they were also pleased with their practice this evening and it certainly started well enough with a quarter-peal of Cambridge, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire Surprise Major spliced.

Hopefully there were no dishwasher troubles to derail their evening's plans!

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Monday 3rd June 2024

St Mary-le-Tower's weekly practice had a busy feel to it this evening. Including the visit of Essex ringer Brian Meads who joined us after Chelmsford Cathedral's practice was cancelled, there were well over twenty ringers in the ringing chamber for Ringing Master David Potts to keep happy, which I think he probably managed with much rung from call-changes on twelve to Stedman Cinques and separate pieces of Cambridge and Yorkshire Surprise Maximus.

In the corner behind the tenor rope and box, pictures were being moved about on, off and around the wall and measurements being made in preparation for hanging our new pealboard marking the 5042 we rang for King Charles III's coronation last year.

And on the day that Neil Thomas from Matthew Higby & Company Ltd visited to do some measurements for the training bells planned for this ringing chamber, we received an update on the project, whilst notice was given of an EGM planned for during the practice in three weeks time to hopefully ratify the new St Mary-le-Tower Society of Change Ringers new constitution. All being well the ringing shouldn't be much more disrupted than with normal notices, so all visitors are still welcome.

Afterwards, we retired to the Halberd Inn, where we busied ourselves with socialising.

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Sunday 2nd June 2024

We are used to logistical challenges, but 11am today was a considerable one as the boys needed to be at a birthday party whilst Ruthie was in Woodbridge singing for the service at St Mary-the-Virgin and I was in Ufford for a Christening. Not just any Christening either as I was becoming Godfather to Jonathan, the son of local ringers Pete and Susanne, so it was imperative that I was there!

In the end, Granny Kate came to the rescue, as she often does as with her also going to Jonathan's special landmark she quietly took them out of proceedings at the appropriate moment and ensured they arrived at their much anticipated engagement. With their mother having taken the car with her, Mrs Eagle also very kindly picked Alfie, Josh and myself up at the start of the morning, in the process taking me service ringing at Pettistree and then at the aforementioned Ufford where she is Ringing Master and where with the help of my new Godson's parents, Pete's sister, Peter Harper and the Rapiors from Aldeburgh, we were able to ring on all eight, even ringing a touch of Grandsire Triples.

And so I was able to relax and undertake my duties under the instruction of the Reverend Paul Hambling before we enjoyed a post-service cuppa and then retired to St Mary's Parish Hall opposite where precisely a month ago I spent almost all day being a poll clerk. This was an altogether shorter and more relaxing affair though, with lots of tasty food (pretty much all made by Pete) and a glass or two of fizzy very generously laid on by Jonathan's family.

Eventually my wife arrived too with Alfred and Joshua having picked them up, to find me trying to console my Godson. A bit of time with Mrs Munnings and then back with me and he seemed fine, which I hope is a good sign. Blessed as I am to already be a Godparent, it doesn't make it any less special and a privilege to take on this role. As with my own sons, I pray that I can use my foibles, mistakes and misjudgments to guide and advise him if called upon and on a less profound note hope that perhaps one day I can help teach him to ring or get him supporting Ipswich Town. Or even better both!

Meanwhile, others were ringing elsewhere in Suffolk. Well done to Erika Clarke on ringing her first quarter-peal of Little Bob Major inside in the 1256 at Halesworth and well done again to Max Thomson who impressively followed up his first QP only last weekend with his first away from cover in the 1260 of four Doubles methods at Bardwell today. Congratulations also to Guild PR Officer & North-West District Chairman Neal Dodge on ringing his fiftieth quarter on the bells and Happy Birthday to Ixworth ringer Louise Whitehead!

Hopefully there weren't too many logistical challenges involved with these successes!

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Saturday 1st June 2024

Part two of the South-East District Double Header either side of May turning into June, as following last night's trip to Offton the monthly practice took members to Earl Stonham and then Stonham Aspal today. Two rings of bells less than two miles apart along the A1120, but otherwise worlds apart, the former being an easy-going lightish gallery-ring six 'overhauled' by Taylors twenty years ago, the latter a heavy ten in a tight ringing chamber at the top of a steep ladder and perceived at least to be very hard work.

We arrived at the first tower after a leisurely start to the day for a family used to dashing about to football fixtures early on a Saturday morning, although it was still not without some drama as we parked up outside our destination with blood pouring from Josh's mouth following an exuberant though accidental incident involving Alfie and ultimately led to his wobbly tooth coming out a little earlier and more dramatically than we were expecting! Still, despite the lack of tissue that we could really have done with in the facilities beneath the ringing chamber, our youngest son was happily fixed and we were able to join in the ringing before a brief meeting that saw a long list of new members, many of whom were there to be welcomed (back in some cases) by the turnout present.

From there that turnout made the short journey to Broughton Hall Farm to park up for ringing the 23cwt ten. These have a pretty dreadful reputation amongst many which is rooted partly in jest but also partly in seriousness. One does need to work hard at these, but with that bit of work they can be immensely satisfying and whilst this afternoon they did catch out ringers of varying abilities, there was some very reasonable ringing culminating in a decent touch of Grandsire Caters.

Meanwhile down in the church, there was an abundance of delicious cake on offer and opportunity to catch-up with friends, although with only room for those ringing and two or three others upstairs it does make running the ringing difficult as you are largely reliant on whoever is in the ringing chamber at the time. Well done therefore to SE District Ringing Master Hal Meakin, not just on today but last night too.

Our day of ringing wasn't finished just yet though as we travelled straight into Ipswich to ring for a wedding at St Mary-le-Tower. Well, to meet some of our fellow ringers for a drink in the beer garden of the Halberd Inn before making our way over to the county's heaviest ring of bells. We had been asked to ring out the happy couple after what we had been told would be a short service, which was perfect for our plans this afternoon. With a couple of bits and pieces we needed to get before tomorrow and thought we could purchase from the nearby shops in the town centre, it would even give us time to return home for me to make myself presentable for an important day planned for tomorrow, ahead of wandering up to mother-in-law Kate's for tea. Except...

All ten of us were there before the appointed start time of the ceremony as requested and waited for the bride. Us ringers are used to brides being late of course, so we waited patiently. On the back of their order of service they had a very precise timetable of events for the day. Service at 2pm. Photos at 2.30 outside the church. Still no bride, though she did arrive not long after and we even gave her a quick burst of ringing as she arrived, seeing as we were all there and frankly slightly bored by this point. Yet proceedings didn't get going until 2.45. And as we passed 3 when their reception was supposed to begin and 3.30 when they were meant to be having more photos and still they were in the church we were wondering if they were even going make their food at 5!

Eventually they did finish and it transpired that the cause of the delay had been an accident involving a child, some orange juice and the bride's dress, which was very unfortunate and probably added quite a bit of stress to what can be an already very stressful day! Hopefully the rest of the schedule went better, but it did leave us a lot shorter on time than we had expected or would've liked. We managed to hurriedly do our shopping, but once we'd very kindly been given tea by Ufford Ringing Master Kate, the considerable efforts to make myself look respectable had to wait until we got back to our abode as I tried to keep half an eye on the Champions League Final on the TV.

I hope they had better luck ringing for the wedding at Campsea Ashe that appears on BellBoard, whilst there were quarter-peals of Plain Bob Doubles, Bristol Surprise Major and Buxton Bob Minor rung at Hacheston, Horringer and Woolpit respectively in memory of Helen Brookes, Adrian Knights (on what would've been his seventy-seventh birthday) and Daisy Arcilla Brett-Holt. Well done also to Astrid Gale on ringing her first in the method in the latter 1260 on the 8cwt six.

And well done to the South-East District for a very enjoyable double-header yesterday and today!

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Friday 31st May 2024

On the eve of meteorological summer, there are few better places to spend an evening at this time of year then Offton and we were delighted to be going to this small pretty, isolated, quiet village during the eventide of today and indeed of this month. Except the weather wasn't really playing ball, as it rained for much of the day. It had at least largely stopped by the time we arrived to ring at the South-East District Surprise Major on the 8cwt ground-floor eight. That allowed the boys to play football outside and of course mercifully ringing is a predominantly indoor activity and so we still had a typically lovely time out here.

Much was rung with a reasonably sized crowd in attendance from Pudsey to Superlative to three leads of Bristol and the 'standard' eight spliced. As is often the case at such events - and arguably as it should be if ringers are looking to progress - some things went better than others, but it seemed a productive session and I hope everyone was satisfied with their hour-and-a-half on this occasion.

The last time I had been here was for the funeral of Adrian Knights earlier in the year and today he was remembered the day before what would've been his seventy-seventh birthday with a nod to one of his many ringing achievements as a peal of seven Surprise Minor methods acrostically spelling ADRIAN K was rung at Grundisburgh, scene of the groundbreaking 12240 of forty-one Surprise Minor methods spliced rung in 1988. Today's 5040 was rung by the other five members of the band from over thirty-five years ago plus another good friend of his Gill Sparling.

Arnie definitely would have approved of our visit to The Limeburners - a place he knew well - following our ringing and understandably so as we sat in a pleasingly busy country pub on a Friday night chatting to David Lugg, Brian Whiting, SE District Chairman Stephen Christian, David Stanford and Abby Antrobus over a pint. Everyday life doesn't get much more enjoyable than this.

There was other ringing going on across Suffolk too, with three quarter-peals rung. Well done to Judith Raven on ringing her first of Minor and congratulations to Jonathan Iles and conductor & North-East District Ringing Master Philip Gorrod on ringing their one hundredth together in the QP of Plain Bob at Wissett, whilst the Memorial Service for former Rougham ringer Brian Coley was preceded by a 1260 of Grandsire Doubles on the 15cwt six and Andrea Alderton's husband Michael was remembered with the 1320 of Cambridge Surprise Minor rung at Tostock. Andrea herself rang the second and our thoughts are with her and their family. As I've said before, I think it is so nice that ringers are able to remember loved ones in such a way. That quarter was also the second in two days on the easy-going 5cwt gallery-ring six, with a 1320 of Norwich Surprise Minor rung there yesterday.

Meanwhile, such is the power of my blog that even before my entry for Thursday lamenting the non-arrival of last week's edition of the RW had gone up, that issue and this week's both arrived in the post this morning. 24th May's features a wonderful piece from Laura Parker who many will recall judged the Guild Striking Competitions recently, writing about the experience of her husband Stuart - who we also met at Falkenham & Felixstowe that day - learning to ring with a condition Retinitis Pigmentosa, which leaves him with reduced vision, as well as the introduction of his guide dog Woody to ringing chambers!

The latest copy came with a report and photos from the NE District Striking Competitions at Theberton adorning the back page and gives notice that all being well there will be an extract of Pudsey Surprise Major at Aldeburgh on BBC Radio 4's 'Bells on Sunday' on 23rd June, appropriately just two days after Suffolk Day which hopefully the county's bells and ringers will celebrate in numbers.

By which point I hope we will be in the midst of a hot, sunny summer!

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Thursday 30th May 2024

Unusually, last week's edition of The Ringing World still hasn't arrived with us, but as if aware that there was a gap in our ringing reading, along has come the new edition of Tower Talk, edited of course by Bardwell Tower Captain Ruth Suggett . As usual it is packed with so much feelgood content from around the country, including here in Suffolk, with the Sole Bay Ringing Hub in the North-East District featuring on this occasion.

There was also ringing audio to enjoy, as I listened to the 6 minutes and 39 seconds extract of the 5040 of Plain Bob Triples rung at Framlingham recently by the L Martin Daniels Peal Tour and has now been added to the 16cwt eight's page on this website.

There was no actual ringing for our household today though as Ruthie practiced with her choral colleagues, sang for a service at St Mary-the-Virgin's in Woodbridge and then had a drink at The Bull Inn afterwards and things were quiet elsewhere in Suffolk from a BellBoard perspective.

At least there was Tower Talk to occupy us all instead.

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Wednesday 29th May 2024

Interesting fact about today's Suffolk Guild Peal at Gressenhall in Norfolk, at least to me. It is the fifth SGR peal on this isolated 9cwt ten in the last nineteen months, whilst the last Norwich Diocesan Association peal there was in 2018. I wonder if there is any other tower where so many peals have been rung by a single ringing organisation not from its territorial area since it's 'home' territorial ringing organisation last rang one there?

Whilst the county's Guild of Ringers was being represented north of the border, we and a number of Guild members were at Trinity Park on the outskirts of Ipswich for the Suffolk Show. Whenever this comes round I can't help but lament that circumstances mean a ringing presence here isn't practical, but I hadn't actually been since The Vestey Ring was set up with the Church of England tent in 2011 when I came and 'helped' with manning it on the second day and even rang in a quarter-peal. Sadly the noise was deemed to be too much for those in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich's tent and the cost of having our own plot is far too prohibitive for our finances, so there hasn't been any Guild representation since.

Which is a pity. When we walked past the CofE stall this afternoon, it seemed to be missing anything attention grabbing unlike so many other tents, but it was pretty packed so I did consider all the potential audience that we and ringing were missing. Hopefully one day we can find a way to be involved in the future, even if it is just with an exhibition, handbells, leaflets, etc.

Even in the absence of bells, we still saw ringers apart from Ufford Ringing Master Kate Eagle who we were there with along with Ruthie's gran, my wife's sister and her other half and our nieces. Woolpit ringers Astrid & Nigel Gale were discovered near some toy diggers retrieving pipes from a sandpit and Graham & Veronica Downing from Chediston were looking very smart when we happened across them, whilst judging by social media there were more than enough ringers present from within our borders to have manned a Guild stand!

Beyond bumping into friends ringing and non-ringing, we generally had a lovely day in between dodging the occasional downpour, seeing much from Ipswich Town Football Club to lots of the wonderful animals (including the stubborn sheep!) on display to the wildlife nature reserve to the food tent, which was my personal favourite! And Alfie was chuffed to briefly be top of the leaderboard for the keepy-up challenge at one tent!

Once we'd eventually found where we'd parked the car, we were back home in time for me to take Alfie and tagger-along Josh to the former's footy team's final training session of the season which involved an all-in match between the adults and the players and their younger siblings including Joshua, who despite being hit in the face twice by the ball (and that without Alex Riley anywhere nearby!) really enjoyed himself.

With it being half-term, we rounded our busy Wednesday off by all going out to Pettistree practice where it was nice to see Woodbridge ringer Peter Mayer during another eclectic practice which on this occasion was accompanied by chocolate cake very kindly supplied by Guild Chairman Mark Ogden for the forthcoming sixty-fifth anniversary of his birth. Thank you Mark!

That landmark birthday was further celebrated with the pre-practice quarter-peal of Ipswich Surprise Minor and then afterwards with a drink at The Greyhound. All very enjoyable, although I can't find any interesting facts about it!

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Tuesday 28th May 2024

Today we bade farewell to Windsor, a town perfect for history buffs and planespotters alike. It has been a lovely few days for which we are very grateful to Ruthie's mother Kate for making it possible, but although we'd got today off work and thus allowing us to extend our bank holiday weekend a little, the trip had to end at some point. So it was today as we travelled the still busy M4, M25 and A12, accompanied all the way by rain.

It meant for a subdued arrival back home as we set about all the mundane tasks necessary when one arrives back from time away. There was also no ringing for us, with Ufford practice cancelled due to a lack of available regulars, although on this occasion we actually appreciated the rest following all that travelling as we bade farewell to Windsor.

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Monday 27th May 2024

When in Rome and all that...

Well when in Windsor there is plenty to do and see and we have very much enjoyed it. However, whilst down this way, it would have been extremely remiss of us to not meet up with former Halesworth ringer Maggie Ross, who now lives in Maidenhead just five miles from our base of the last couple of days.

And so today we did just that at the end of a very successful weekend for her. On Saturday she rang in a peal of thirteen Surprise Major methods spliced at Burnham in Buckinghamshire in what is planned to be a step on the way to a hoped for attempt of Chandler's famous composition of twenty-three Surprise Major methods. Then yesterday she watched on TV from a pub her team Southampton join Ipswich Town in next year's Premier League by winning the Championship Play-Off Final against Leeds United.

Therefore it was an upbeat Maggie we met with her other half Tim Palmer who I also know well from when we rang in Birmingham together and who others in Suffolk will know too.

It was lovely to see them and especially as we had a lot of fun in the process as we had a picnic at Ray Mill Island, refreshment outside Lake House Cafe in Taplow and then eighteen holes of dinosaur themed mini-golf in Maidenhead before returning to Maggie & Tim's for food before we returned to Windsor and they went off to their local practice at Bray. Very kind of them and a great end to a great few hours.

Meanwhile, back in the homeland a brace of handbell quarters of Bob Royal were rung in Moats Tye, with a 1280 of Plain which remembered long-time Offton ringer Kevin Hohl a year after his death and a 1296 of Little.

Further afield there was also considerable ringing activity as the usual selection of eye-catching peals for a Bank Holiday Monday were rung, with five peals of Maximus and one of Cinques at some of the big rings and cathedrals.

When in Worcester and all that...

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Sunday 26th May 2024

No ringing for us this morning as we got up at a leisurely pace in our Airbnb in Windsor before heading straight off to the Castle. We were booked in to join the tour of some of the most famous parts of one of the most recognisable landmarks in the UK and indeed the world! The state apartments including St George's Hall and the Quadrant were explored in our own time with the boys as engrossed as we were in the surroundings. And also spectacular views to the north that looks like takes in Eton College and the spire of St Mary's in Slough where there is a 17cwt ten.

Sadly we couldn't go in the Chapel as being a Sunday it was in use and we also couldn't get anywhere near the Curfew Tower where a 26cwt hang, but it was a wonderful few hours, even when it did rain as we were outside having lunch.

From a ringing perspective it was quiet in Suffolk too, at least judging by BellBoard, although of course there will have been much service ringing done, as there will have been across the country.

Just not by us!

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Saturday 25th May 2024

Congratulations to Norman Tower ringer Craig Gradidge on his marriage today to Renée Bird. Many of us have known Craig since he was a child and been privileged to watch him grow into a lovely young chap whilst also maintaining his presence and progress in ringing.
Their big day was celebrated with a 1282 of Yorkshire Surprise Royal at The Norman Tower and an entertaining band photo, but it wasn't the only quarter-peal rung in Suffolk today.

For at Troston, young Max Thomson was ringing his first in the medium in the 1260 of Doubles on this lovely 5cwt six. Congratulations Max and keep it up - hopefully it's the first of many!

There was also the South-West District Practice at Edwardstone on a busy day of ringing in the county, but we weren't within our borders to participate in any of it. Or at least not for much as we passed the 16cwt six of Stratford St Mary on the Essex border pretty early on our way to Windsor, our destination for this long bank holiday weekend with mother-in-law Kate and the boys' Grandad Ron.

Initially this was planned as a gentle ringing trip, but that hasn't worked out so instead it is simply now a tourist break. That began immediately after we reached the famous Berkshire town with a few hours to pass until we could get to our accommodation. Jumping on the Tour Bus we took in the community from the Castle and the Curfew Tower which holds a 26cwt to Eton College and the Guildhall via the other ring of bells in the town at St John the Baptist church. And following a bizarre mixup over tickets we took a trip down the River Thames.

By the time we'd returned from that, our home for the next three nights was ready for us. On this occasion we are making our Airbnb debut and so far so good as we had a BBQ on a hot afternoon in the back garden as we watched the regular planes that are a constant feature in this town on the flightpath.

It was a lovely day for us. And even more lovely day for Craig and Renée.

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Friday 24th May 2024

A couple of noise complaints caught my attention today.

One was about ringing as Steve Upton at Cromer shared an angry note on the Bellringers Facebook page that had been left following the practice on the 11cwt eight in Norfolk last night. There was the usual reference to disturbing residents of course, most of whom probably actually enjoy the bells or at worst are ambivalent to them and the few who don't like them having apparently pitched up next to a church tower without realising that the purpose of that tower may be occasionally noisy. However, bizarrely they complained about how it terrifies the birds, who presumably if bothered by the noise will sensibly go elsewhere. That's if they are bothered by bells. Numerous people responding to the online post from Steve noted how peregrines nest quite happily atop active ringing towers without so much as flinching and many of us will note how birds like pigeons will seemingly happily perch in the louvres throughout even the most dreadfully struck ringing.

The other news of a noise complaint was on the radio about - incredibly - the sound of ice cream vans. Such is the staggering levels of intolerance in society to anything but that which they like. For all that the natural and understandable reaction is to roll one's eyes, we have to be wary that such people are out there and prepared to react in a way that isn't likely to further inflame a delicate situation. In Cromer my personal belief is that they ought to continue as normal seeing as the complainant has apparently left no name or contact details, with the only reference to their identity being that they claim to be a member of the RSPB. If that complainant were to present themselves then arguing shouldn't be the way forward, but rather increasing understanding on both sides. Hopefully the situation won't escalate.

Having the church onside should also help and to that end the news that Graham Ridgway has been elected to the PCC at St Mary-le-Tower to join fellow local ringer Rosemary Caudle is good news. That was announced at Monday evening's weekly practice, but also in the weekly 'Tower Times' which I received by email today and which also included photos of and a piece on the pealboard being blessed by the Reverend Tom Mumford on Bell Sunday. Great PR for ringing!

Meanwhile, well done to Isis Holmes on ringing her first quarter-peal inside in the 1260 of Plain Bob Doubles at Holbrook, whilst a 1308 of St Clement's College Bob Minor was rung by the FNQPC at Ashbocking.

Hopefully everyone locally enjoyed both performances.

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Thursday 23rd May 2024

Ringing can literally and metaphorically take us to all sorts of places that we wouldn't usually go to or indeed even heard of. Higham on the border with Essex is such a place. Small, without a pub but lots of massive posh houses well above the level of anyone we would know well. However, it has a 9cwt six and is due to be the scene of the South-West District Striking Competition on Saturday 22nd June and so when I saw that listed on the What's On link emailed to members by John Taylor and Chris Garner today and having not been there for years (I have a vague memory of it being scribbled in my dreadful childlike handwriting in my early ringing records) I tried to find out a bit more about the place. Well, it is - unsurprisingly for the SW District - in a very picturesque location, in the Dedham Vale AONB, so if you aren't ringing or have a long wait to compete there is plenty to explore. And although the village doesn't have any hostelries, the neighbouring village of Stratford St Mary has The Anchor Inn and The Swan which ought to be open for post-contest drinking if you so choose! South-West members, make sure you enter a team and even if you aren't ringing in a team for whatever reason, do consider going along!

Working backwards through the month, Saturday 8th is penciled in as the date of the North-East District Outing to Wickham Skeith, Gislingham and Redgrave, all towers in the North-West District who earlier in the day intend to hold their monthly practice at Lakenheath, all on the same day as the Guild hopes to enter a band for The Ridgman Trophy at Biggleswade in Bedfordshire. And one week earlier is slated to be when the South-East District hold their monthly practice at Earl Stonham and Stonham Aspal to kick-start June, the day after they are planning on rounding May off with a Surprise Major Practice at Offton, whilst the SW also still have a practice lined up for this Saturday evening at Edwardstone. Please do support whatever you can.

A note also that Thursday 6th is the eightieth anniversary of D-Day, which the Central Council are encouraging ringers to mark. It would be wonderful to have lots of the Suffolk's bells ringing for this important day in the history of democracy at a time when of course that has been pushed to the forefront in the UK following yesterday's announcement.

Ruthie was practicing with her choral colleagues so there was no ringing for us today, but I did enjoy looking at the new features on Andrew Craddock's superb Pealbase. One is a list of those who have rung peals for fifty or more consecutive years. The late Michael Moreton impressively tops the charts on that with an incredible seventy-six years of peal-ringing between 1944 and 2019, whilst Barrie Hendry is the highest place ringer once resident within our borders in fifth with seventy-two years and I'm pleased to say still going, most recently ringing a peal on Monday at Edgbaston in the West Midlands. Of those still living and ringing in the county, Stephen Pettman and Brian Whiting feature highest at joint 106th with fifty-six contiguous years of peal-ringing. At thirty-three years, I am a long way behind!

The other new feature does include me though - just. That is a list of ringers who have rung fifty or more different peal lengths, with me having rung exactly fifty different peal lengths, including my longest of 5824 changes of Yorkshire Surprise Major at Grundisburgh back in 1999. Although I can't for the life of me remember why we rang that length! Robert Brown and the late Jeffrey Knipe top this list with 101 different lengths, whilst twice Past Ringing Master of the SGR Mr Pettman again comes out highest from Suffolk with seventy-nine different lengths.

He wasn't adding to that today, but he was unusually ringing a quarter-peal as he conducted a 1250 of Yorkshire Surprise Major on the lovely 8cwt ground-floor eight of Horringer.

Meanwhile, I was pleased to see The Touring Tower being used at a school somewhere. This is a new mobile ring funded by Taylor's and the CCCBR which are heavier and thicker than other mobile rings of bells to try and give a sense of actual church bells, but obviously light enough to be pulled by a car. In part that is helped by its design, which is demonstrated on a video recently shared on YouTube.

Imagine the places that we wouldn't usually go to that it might take ringers!

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Wednesday 22nd May 2024

There was a lot going on in the news today. We have been asked to vote for the next government on 4th July in a General Election. And having last night been voted the best manager in the country (ahead of Guardiola, Klopp and the like), Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna is apparently due to manage Brighton, Chelsea and Manchester United next season. Or become Prime Minister on 4th July.

Meanwhile, a peal of Turramurra Surprise Major was being rung for the Suffolk Guild beyond our borders in Cambridgeshire on the 10cwt eight of Fulbourn, which congratulated former SGR Peal Secretary Alan Mayle on his recent marriage to Charles, which was lovely news to hear about on Friday. Exciting times!

For us though, it was Wednesday as usual. Alfie had his football training and one of us went to Pettistree's weekly practice, which on this occasion was me as I joined a session that whilst low on numbers was high on endeavour. We did ring some spliced Minor, but mainly stuck to ringing relatively simple stuff as well as we could, including Single Oxford Bob Minor at the request of Peter Harper. All preceded by a 1260 of Double Oxford Bob Minor and followed by a few of us going for a drink in The Greyhound.

Where the only vote I needed to worry about today was whether I had a 'Balmy Days' or 'Tumble Home' to drink.

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Tuesday 21st May 2024

It was Surprise Major Day in Suffolk today.

That's not a thing of course, although perhaps it ought to be. Rather, it's just that there was a lot of Surprise Major going on.

Including two quarter-peals. One was at Hopton where the 'Pickled Egg Core Seven' - Bristol, Cambridge, Cornwall, Lessness, London, Superlative and Yorkshire - spliced was rung to a Mark Bennett composition of 1568 changes conducted by Simon Rudd and the other was before the weekly practice at Offton of Cambridge, Lincolnshire, Rutland and Yorkshire spliced. I imagine more Surprise Major was rung in the session that followed.

There was even more at Ufford where once a month a Surprise Major practice is held. Generally this is an invite-only thing, but not meant as a closed shop. Mainly it is to prevent too many people coming and not getting a proper go but also to ensure there is enough experience to help. We didn't quite achieve the latter this evening with some unable to join us due to various reasons including illness and as such, it was a bit of a struggle at times, to the extent that Mike Whitby felt the need to give us a pep talk at the end as we look to move on from blowing the cobwebs away to progressing. Nonetheless, I thought the course of Lincolnshire was rung well and there were three leads of Bristol which was invaluable experience.

And it all contributed to Surprise Major Day within our borders.

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Monday 20th May 2024

Another productive weekly practice at St Mary-le-Tower with numbers again on the slightly lower side to usual. That gave opportunities for those at the beginning of their ten and twelve-bell progression such as Sonia Docherty and Claire Haynes, the latter fresh from her achievements yesterday, as well as some Cambridge Surprise Maximus before I left with a very early birthday present (it's not until October, but much welcomed!) and the Mitson Shield under my arm. That was because no one had thought to take it to Falkenham on Saturday having held it from last year's competition in Troston and so I had been charged with it's safe transition to this year's winners Pettistree, thus seeing our house being briefly home to a bellringing trophy again following on from the Ridgman Trophy.

Once that was stored in my car, I enjoyed a drink in the Halberd Inn at the end of a day that saw ringing elsewhere in Suffolk, with a quarter-peal of Plain Bob Royal rung on handbells in Moats Tye and at Haverhill eighty changes of Plain Bob Doubles were rung as part of the collation, induction and installation of the Reverend Max Drinkwater as rector of the Haverhill with Withersfield Benefice, with Max himself in the band. The ringing can be seen about 47 minutes and 30 seconds into the livestream.

A productive day of ringing in the county all round.

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Sunday 19th May 2024

Not everything 'goes', even on a Sunday morning when we are naturally drawn to safety-first as it is more important when ringing for services to ring something well than to ring something complicated. It doesn't always go to plan though. This morning at St Mary-le-Tower  my arrival allowed for the Little Bob Royal they were about to pull off for could be upgraded to Maximus, which seemed reasonable and eminently achievable. I was handed the tenor rope and we set off, before for some reason it collapsed within a few changes. As we considered our options, a tug from Josh indicated that he needed the amenities and so I handed control of the heaviest bell in Suffolk to James Smith who in the meantime had also arrived and took my youngest son to do what he needed to do whilst they attempted the LB again. Before we had even got back to the bottom of the tower, the second piece had also collapsed though. Having climbed back up to the ringing chamber, the rope to the eighth was thrust in my direction amongst other band shuffling and finally we were successful!

Mercifully the rest of the service ringing went much better with call-changes on twelve and Stedman Caters ahead of refreshment in Costa Coffee where we were joined by South-East District Chairman Stephen Christian clutching certificates for the SE Ringing Master Hal Meakin. 'Podge' - as Stephen is affectionately known - had earlier been ringing at Tuddenham St Martin with his predecessor in the role and now current Guild Chairman Mark Ogden, who the boys and I joined afterwards at Grundisburgh where I helped to ring Plain Bob Doubles and Grandsire Doubles on the back six of the county's lightest twelve. And had a conversation about anti-clockwise rings within our borders, present and lost.

Ruthie was collected from her choral duties in Woodbridge amongst the usual crowds for the start of the annual 10k race and then after a spot of lunch was off to Kettlebaston to sing with the Jubilate Singers for evensong at St Mary's church where a 9cwt three can only be chimed, whilst back here the boys had a water fight in the sunshine and I read CCCBR President Tina Stoecklin's latest blog.

Elsewhere other ringers were busier, especially back at St Mary-le-Tower where Claire Haynes was ringing her first quarter-peal on ten in the 1259 of Grandsire Caters - well done Claire!

Well done also to former Ringing Master at the 34cwt twelve in Ipswich Simon Rudd who has had an impressive weekend of Simon peal-ringing, with peals of twenty-three Surprise Major methods spliced with bands made up entirely of Simons, first on towerbells at St James Garlickhythe in London yesterday and then today in Birmingham at former Central Council President Simon Linford's pub The Woodman on handbells. Which prompted the amusing footnote to the 5152 at Gosport in Hampshire this afternoon!

Always great when ringing 'goes'!

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Saturday 18th May 2024

We were having one of those days of trying to be in two places at once. And if I do say so myself, I think we just about managed it!

As ever, the conflicting events involved us ringing and Alfie footballing. Indeed, they were exactly the same events as we found ourselves juggling twelve months ago as the Guild Striking Competitions and Alfred's team's end of season prize presentations were again held on the same day. Of course there's nothing that can be done about it and we really wanted to go to both, but it does present logistical challenges.

We succeeded last year and on this occasion we were helped by geography as the ringing was being hosted in the South-East District with the six-bell competitions held at Falkenham and the eight-bell at Felixstowe, so we had the time to drop AJM off with his teammates on the way to the lovely easy-going light ground-floor ring at the church of St Ethelbert King of East Anglia in time for the draw very picturesquely done overlooking the River Deben. With the two teams we were ringing for very kindly allowed to ring early after the home team, Ruthie and I rang first for Pettistree and then on different bells for St Mary-le-Tower as Josh patiently waited outside before ourselves and Granny Kate dashed off to catch the end of a friendly match they were playing against the other under-10s team at the club, the presentations and a picnic.

Meanwhile, back at the contest, a further five teams were ringing, lunch was had and the results were announced by the judges Sally Brown and Laura Parker, with Pettistree awarded the Mitson Shield and Bardwell the Lester Brett Call Change Trophy, ahead of everyone moving onto the seaside resort where we were able to rejoin them for the second-half of today's ringing competition. My wife and I were ringing for St Mary-le-Tower again, but this time we were at the mercy of a completely random draw and thus found ourselves drawn last, so there was a fair bit of waiting around for the other five teams to ring. Not that that was a problem, with plenty to occupy us. The town and its seafront is a couple of minutes walk from St John the Baptist church and whilst we didn't take advantage of that ourselves, the boys were taken down to the beach for an ice cream by their Granny after she'd rung for the South-East District. We meanwhile enjoyed the welcome refreshments being magnificently served by Lesley Barrell and Jacky Savage and chatting to some of the many ringing friends we are blessed to have as the sun shone and good ringing rang out from the 7cwt eight. I even got to do some timekeeping in a flashback to my Ringing Master days at these events!

Eventually Mrs Munnings, myself and six others climbed the stairs to ring in what transpired to be a very good 224 changes of Grandsire Triples, with George Heath-Collins ringing particularly well in bonging behind. That it wasn't good enough to win is a testament to the standard of the competition generally, but especially The Norman Tower who won the Rose Trophy. Congratulations to them, Bardwell, our fellow Pettistree ringers and indeed anyone who participated today. Frankly if you are able to take part in a striking competition at all then you have already achieved something. Thank you to SGR Ringing Master Katharine Salter on running proceedings in what I know from personal experience is a tough gig and to the judges Laura and Sally on what we also know from experience is a long day. Having the six and eight-bell competitions on separate days in recent years seemed to go quite well, but I have to admit that having them both on the same day does seem to make them both a part of a much bigger occasion generally. Well done to the SE District and especially the Falkenham and Felixstowe ringers on their tremendous hosting.

However, we weren't able to witness firsthand the results for the eight-bell being given either as Ruthie needed to be back and out to All Saints church in Great Glemham, home to a 13cwt gallery-ring five and the venue tonight for Illuminati's latest concert, whilst I was at home looking after the boys and reading The Ringing World, the latest edition of which arrived with us this morning. In amongst much other typically interesting content there was quite a fair bit of content from the county in there, with a piece from Little Cornard - where incidentally the L Martin Daniels Peal Tour was rounded off yesterday - about their Bell Sunday activities, whilst a photo taken by Charlie Apter of the church set against the backdrop of the Northern Lights was 'The image of the week' and the Woodbridge ringers had sent in a report on their recent outing to Cambridge.

All whilst between us we were in two places at once.

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Friday 17th May 2024

A quiet day on the ringing front for us and for Suffolk's ringers generally, at least judging by BellBoard. Even beyond our borders there wasn't anything particularly out of the ordinary, although still some impressive stuff.

Instead our evening was occupied with arranging a potential meet-up with a ringer once of this county for what will hopefully be a less quiet day...

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Thursday 16th May 2024

If you get a spare forty-seven minutes to listen to the interview with Ernest Ambrose recently added to the Archive page on this very website, I strongly encourage you to do so. Well about forty minutes for reasons I'll mention in a moment.

For this isn't just an interview with Ernest, fascinating as listening to the voice of a ninety-four year-old ringer from over fifty years ago speaking is in itself. That as someone born in 1878 he will have known characters from our rural county and indeed our ringing chambers who themselves experienced life far back into the nineteenth century blows my mind. This is also possibly the most wonderful snapshot I've ever come across of ordinary Suffolk ringing from a period when unlike today where even the most mundane ringing can be found on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and the like, audio and even visual records are at a premium. The interviewer Tom Howlett attends the 1972 South-West District ADM being held at Lavenham and you get introductions from ringers present, including the current SW District Secretary Christine Knight who must have been a mere child at the time! What follows is then the sounds of a district ringing event 1970s style, with Grandsire Triples, Stedman Triples and three leads of Kent Treble Bob Major heard including the good and not so good bits, the calls, detailed descriptions of who was grabbing hold for pieces and snippets of chat which on occasion the participants didn't seem aware was being recorded. Although once Tom had taken Ernest back to Sudbury and described how the ringer in his nineties had once cycled out to Lavenham to ring, the last six or seven minutes are taken up with Mr & Mrs Howlett singing to "use the tape reel up," it is well worth listening to every moment up until that point. I hope one day that this blog can offer a similarly fascinating insight into ringing within our borders from 2007 until whenever my ramblings cease, but for now enjoy this marvelous bit of history and indeed the other content on the Archive page.

Today's local ringing history seems to have been restricted to the various weekly practices that usually go on around the county on a Thursday but which ringers in fifty years time may be curious to look in on, whilst the visiting L Martin Daniels Peal Tour took in 5040s of Grandsire Triples and Merchants' Return Delight Minor on the 16cwt eight of Framlingham and 6cwt ground-floor six in Theberton respectively to add to the 5088 of Yorkshire Surprise Major they rang at Grundisburgh yesterday.

Much for interested people to perhaps put aside some time looking back at in a few years time.

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Wednesday 15th May 2024

Standard Wednesday fare for us, as Alfie went to football training and then one of us went out to Pettistree practice.

On this occasion that was Ruthie where she rang much including Norwich Surprise Minor and called a course of Hexham Surprise Minor which apparently caused much confusion despite considerable checking beforehand that everyone knew that Hexham is sixth-place Surfleet! And there was chocolate from Jane Harper as she celebrated her birthday. All followed by a visit to The Greyhound and preceded as it usually is by a quarter-peal.

Standard Wednesday fare for Pettistree.

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Tuesday 14th May 2024

Many ringing chambers have a ringers' prayer hanging up on their wall, an important reminder that most of the bells we ring are hung in churches and that their primary purpose of being there is to ring for the church. The one at Ufford prompted discussion before the weekly practice there this morning as to whether they are ever actually read these days. I imagine once upon a time saying the ringers' prayer was as much a part of ringing as getting the bells up and some of us present tonight had a memory of John Girt regularly reading the one at St Margaret's in Ipswich. However, apart from occasionally ahead of the St Mary-le-Tower Society of Change Ringers' AGM when it has been held in the ringing chamber and led by the vicar, I'm struggling to recall when I last heard one read out at ringing. (A prayer is said before service ringing at Wickham Market every Sunday. Ed.)

It wasn't read out on this occasion either, although it did encourage me to actually look at it and it gave food for thought as we set about a session that saw Mary Leaming bonging behind to Plain Hunt on Five for the first time, a touch of Reverse Canterbury, Plain, St Martin's & St Simon's Bob Doubles spliced rung and some call-changes on eight called by myself in an atmosphere boosted by most in attendance having been part of winning bands at Saturday's South-East District Striking Competitions at Clopton. A good moment to remind people about the Guild Striking Competitions planned for this Saturday at Falkenham and Felixstowe, which I would encourage folk along to even if you're not in a team, as it is usually a lovely day out!

As I'm sure the ringers on the L Martin Daniels Peal Tour were having in Suffolk today where they rang a 5040 of three Minor methods at Kettleburgh and perhaps said a ringers' prayer beforehand.

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Monday 13th May 2024

Following my day of ringing Grandsire yesterday, you can imagine my delight when arriving at St Mary-le-Tower practice this evening to be asked to ring in some... Grandsire Cinques. I did manage to grab the treble for that, but in case I hadn't had enough, there was more Grandsire Cinques (where I succeeded in nabbing the tenor behind!) and some of the Triples version on the front eight. Mercifully there was some other stuff rung too, including a touch of Cambridge & Yorkshire Surprise Royal spliced with Little Bob on a night when we were considerably short on numbers, with at least four away and another in a pub somewhere near Halesworth celebrating a family birthday amongst other absentees.

There was still a decent crowd in the Halberd Inn afterwards though, with conversation including the observation that Mark Liebenrood rang his first first peal yesterday since the end of 1996. Mark was - and it appears still is - an extremely clever ringer, with the 5184 of Cambridge & Superlative Surprise Major spliced rung at St James Garlickhythe marking the centenary of the first peal of spliced Surprise Major rung to his composition and we were extremely privileged that he was a regular on the Ipswich ringing scene in the 1990s before he disappeared from ringing. Having commented on my blog last year how nice it was to see him back in ringing, I'm glad to see him back peal-ringing, as all of those in the pub who could remember him were. And as you can see from the photo from the peal in London and the band photo from the early 1991 that hangs in the ringing chamber at St Mary-le-Tower, he has barely changed either!

I was also glad to see another quarter-peal on handbells in Suffolk, this time of Plain Bob Major in Moats Tye. And a brace of peals were rung, albeit by the Lancashire Association on the L Martin Daniels Peal Tour as the first of Surprise at Troston was rung and a 5040 was rung at Hitcham of (you've guessed it!) Grandsire Triples on another day of Grandsire.

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Sunday 12th May 2024

Bell Sunday today. Wissett featured on 'Bells on Sunday' on BBC Radio 4 with an extract from the quarter-peal of Cambridge Surprise Minor rung on the 7cwt ground-floor six in a round tower in July 2022. The hymn 'Let bells peal forth' was sung at morning worship at St Mary-the-Virgin in Woodbridge. Little Cornard's ringers were holding 'have-a-go' handbell ringing and chiming for children. And at St Mary-le-Tower the new pealboard recording the 5042 of Yorkshire Surprise Maximus we rang last May for the coronation of King Charles III was blessed in the 10.30am service.

It was a service that myself and the youngest boys attended that saw the usual Sabbath morn ringing routine tweaked. Mason dropped off for work, we couldn't make it in time for the usual ringing and so we met those who did in Costa Coffee for refreshment before returning to the heaviest ring of bells in the county to bong behind for a quick blast of Grandsire Cinques ahead of the service with the board blessing, which came at its climax. The Reverend Tom Mumford got all us ringers present (plus Alfie and Josh) to the front and as he usually does spoke wonderfully about ringing.

Bell Sunday continued for us with making use of Suffolk's newest ten-bell tower as we went to Stowmarket to practice for the Guild's entry into The Ridgman Trophy, the ten-bell striking competition for territorial ringing organisations which border onto The Ely Diocesan Association, which essentially makes it an East Anglian contest. Despite the realisation that across morning and afternoon, two different towers, several pieces and nearly a couple of hours my ringing was entirely made up of Grandsire in something that constitutes some kind of ringing nightmare for me, this was a valuable session helped by Clare Veal's other half Alban Forster accompanying his girlfriend and the most extensive ringing Ruthie and I have done here since their augmentation on our third visit of the last month and a half. I also enjoyed the vibrant summery outlook through the south window of the ringing chamber!

Not everyone within our borders was ringing Grandsire though. A quarter-peal of Stedman Caters was rung at The Norman Tower for the good cause of the fortieth anniversary service for St Nicholas Hospice, whilst there were a brace of peals on the county's bells. One was the usual second-Sunday one at Aldeburgh, whilst the other was at Marlesford by the Lancashire Association. I had only noticed the other day that we hadn't had the usual visit from the L Martin Daniels Peal Tour, but it follows on from 5040s at Chediston and the now famous Wissett yesterday, so I imagine there may be more in the coming days!

And it's nice to see the county's bells ringing out on Bell Sunday!

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Saturday 11th May 2024

Competition day.

For us that was at Clopton for the South-East District 6-bell Striking Competitions, having first dropped Alfie off for his own bit of competitive action as he and his teammates played their last match of this football season, watched on by big brother Mason. With Josh accompanying us, we then got parked up in the field behind St Mary-the-Virgin church overlooking the beautiful countryside of this part of the world in time for the draw for the ringing order.

That draw conveniently put both our teams on early, with Pettistree on second and St Mary-le-Tower fourth, which meant that we could ring for both and then with the contest continuing Joshua and I left to pick Alfred and Mason up after the former's victorious match before returning to the 11cwt six for a picnic and the results. Either side of collecting our ten-year-old, I was able to enjoy the refreshments very kindly put on by the locals and the delightfully charming churchyard facilities, catch up with various ringing friends and take in the gorgeous weather in lovely picturesque surroundings, all to the backdrop of lovely ringing on nice bells.

Well done to Hollesley on winning the David Barnard Memorial Trophy in the call-change competition, especially to the four members of the band still very early on in their ringing progression, some of whom it has been great to see growing in confidence at Ufford on Tuesday nights. And we were delighted to be part of the Pettistree band which won the Cecil Pipe Memorial Trophy in the method competition. I am conscious of ringing in two bands, which I feel should be avoided if possible, but we ring at both towers one way or another whenever we can and it is worth noting that if we didn't ring for both Pettistree and St Mary-le-Tower then there would've been four ringers unable to participate this morning and one less team entering. On this occasion it was particularly pleasing that that allowed Chris Garner to ring for the former and George Heath-Collins the latter. This is what these events are all about. Anne & Paul Bray from Essex were the judges and the former summed up it perfectly when she said that whilst there are elements of teams and ringers wanting to win, the main purpose of striking competitions is the experience to help improve bands and ringers and it was wonderful to see and hear how much ringers from our hosts, Otley and bellsashen Teaching Hub enjoyed this event.

I hope the same sentiments were experienced in the North-East District Striking Competitions this afternoon, where they had the same wonderful sunny, hot weather we had in another picture-postcard location with the 6cwt ground-floor six in the thatched church of St Peter in Theberton, once they got in after a mix-up between the keyholders! Following the announcement of the results from judges Chris Bassett and Tim Munt from Kent, well done to Halesworth on coming out on top and thus winning the Trevor Hughes Trophy, to Yoxford on winning the call change trophy and Reydon on claiming the Harry Archer Trophy for being the most improved band as half their team today weren't even ringing a year ago! Seventeen entries across two district striking competitions on the same day is impressive and hopefully it inspires more entries to the Guild Striking Competitions which are due to take place at Falkenham and Felixstowe in precisely a week.

Meanwhile, our afternoon saw AJM go round his friend's house for a birthday gathering, allowing me to read this week's edition of The Ringing World which arrived with us this morning. Bar the usual peal and quarter-peal reports there wasn't anything Suffolk-related in this issue, but still plenty of interesting content. And come the evening, Granny Kate had very kindly come round to look after the boys to enable Ruthie and me to go round to the nearby home of my wife's schoolfriend Verity and her wife Jade for food, drink and an introduction to their tiny, energetic, adorable puppy.

It was a fantastic night and we were even back in time to watch the results of this year's Eurovision Grand Final, where it was competition day for Europe's singers.

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Friday 10th May 2024

Everyone across the UK was marveling at the Northern Lights from their gardens and windows tonight it seems. Except for us. Not for the lack of trying. With social media and even our various WhatsApp groups awash with amazing photos of the beautiful natural phenomenon, we kept glancing outside, even standing in our back garden for a period, but it seems that although there was a definite greenish tinge to the otherwise darkened skies, the surrounding buildings and trees were blocking any meaningful view of it.

Meanwhile, not atypically for a Friday there was no ringing for us, but relatively unusually for Suffolk there was no ringing noted on BellBoard today from anywhere within our borders. Perhaps everybody was too busy gazing at the Northern Lights.

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Thursday 9th May 2024

I awoke to St Mary-le-Tower making the news online and on the airwaves. Or Ipswich Minster as it has been named. Although I suspect most of us will continue to refer to it as St Mary-le-Tower! The title appears to have been bestowed upon the county town's civic church partly because it is a big and important church in the town, but also for the work that it has been doing in the community, especially since The Reverend Tom Mumford became the vicar there in 2021. Otherwise I'm not sure what tangible differences we shall notice, but it is clearly another bit of positive news in a positive week for the town which has already prompted talk of celebratory ringing on the ringers' WhatsApp chat!

No ringing for our household today with the focus on Ruthie practicing with her choral colleagues, the closest we got being the sound floating across the village of one of the three bells at Melton St Andrew's New Church being chimed on this Ascension Day.

Meanwhile, there are two striking competitions due to happen this Saturday, with the South-East District planning on holding theirs at Clopton in the morning and the North-East District theirs at Theberton in the afternoon. Please note the parking arrangements for the former in particular and consider entering a band to SGR Ringing Master Katharine Salter by Tuesday 14th and Friday 17th respectively for the Guild Striking Competitions planned for Falkenham and Felixstowe on Saturday 18th. These are such fun ways of enjoying ringing - they aren't professional sports events, so give it a go and see how you get on and even if you don't finish as high as you'd like then you'll hopefully have enjoyed meeting friends, making friends and listening to good ringing!

Today though there were a couple of quarter-peals rung in the county. One was at Brandeston, which must have been a very moving one as a 1260 of Plain Bob Doubles was rung at Brandeston for Woolpit ringer Alastair McArthur by a band featuring friends and his father Chris. His passing was desperately sad news, but hopefully it is a comfort to his family that the ringing family has been paying tribute. That has even included a peal rung at Ambleside in Cumbria by a band that featured his fellow Woolpit ringer Nigel Gale and some of the biggest names in ringing, but I expect today's quarter is the most special.

The other QP within our borders was at Horringer where a 1280 of Falmouth Surprise Major - the second-place version of Cornwall - was rung for the first time (in this medium at least) by all the band. Well done to Sally Crouch, David Steed, Louise Whitehead, Lesley Steed, Ruth Suggett, Deborah Blumfield, Martin Kirk and conductor Stephen Dawson!

There's lots of good stuff going on in Suffolk ringing. God willing there is still more to come at Ipswich Minster.

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Wednesday 8th May 2024

We were unusually short at Pettistree for this evening's weekly practice. So short indeed that for the first time for a long time that I can recall there was not enough to ring Minor and we called it a night a few minutes early before nearly half the number present retired to The Greyhound. Still, in the absence of Mike Whitby, Mary Garner fashioned a very productive session that was especially useful for those up to trebling, ringing inside and/or bonging behind to Doubles, all following on from a successful pre-practice quarter-peal which was dedicated to Joan Peck. She was a villager initially against the bells, but who warmed to them thanks to the ringers - particularly Chris & Mary Garner - keeping the channels of communication open with her, letting her know about extra ringing and generally staying on friendly terms with her. A fine example of how to deal with complainants. "You've got better" was a quote attributed to her about the ringers, hence the footnote! And at the practice that followed that QP we had fun too as Elaine Townsend did her 'Grandsire thing' and there was much satisfaction with how Saturday's open morning went.

It came on a strange night for us with Alfie not attending his team's football training due to an unfortunate coming together of his face and someone's knee whilst playing footy at school and there was something different occurring elsewhere in Suffolk ringing as the first peal was rung on The Barn Owl Ring in its current location, having had none rung on them in Shelland but fifteen in Claydon before then, eight of which I rang in. Congratulations to Mike Cowling on ringing his two hundredth peal for the SGR.

Elsewhere within our borders and featuring some of the same band, a quarter-peal of the 'standard' eight Surprise Major methods spliced was rung at Elveden, where as usual they had just the right number of ringers.

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Tuesday 7th May 2024

Another productive practice at Ufford this evening. Or at least once we'd got started when I had to return home for the tower keys I'd forgotten we had.

When we had got underway, Margaret Weeks rang the treble to Cambridge Surprise Minor for the first time for months, Daniel Atkinson trebled to spliced St Martin's & St Simon's Bob Doubles and Mary Leaming rang call-changes on eight with confidence and control.

Meanwhile at Offton, another Suffolk eight-bell tower with a Tuesday night practice, the session was preceded with a quarter-peal of Cambridge Surprise Major which was Caroline Goodchild's first of Surprise inside. Well done Caroline!

Hopefully the keyholder turned up with the keys on time!

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Monday 6th May 2024

A weekend of footballing celebration continued on this Bank Holiday Monday as the Ipswich Town men's team and the staff who helped them went on an open top bus parade through the town from the Portman Road stadium that should be hosting some of the world's best players and teams next season to Christchurch Park. Along with Granny Kate, Ruthie's sister's other half Chris and the boys' cousins, we decided to try and get a good spot at the latter, which we succeeded in doing and although it meant we were there for a couple of hours waiting, we were helped in passing the time with some glorious weather, music and a big screen relaying the parade's progress.

That progress unsurprisingly took them past the ring of six at St Matthew's on the same road as the ground - albeit at the east end of the church on Civic Drive rather than the west end where the tower is on Portman Road - as well as giving glimpses on the screen of the spire of St Mary-le-Tower and considerable prominence to the tower of St Margaret's where a 14cwt gallery-ring of eight hang, from about 1 minute and 53 seconds into an interview with the manager Kieran McKenna.

Not long after that, the buses turned into the park to wild cheers and much flag-waving from the estimated 35,000 present there that added to what is thought to have been about 50,000 on the streets of the town centre. We got a wonderful view of them as they came past and got a good sight of them doing interviews and starting singalongs. Last year we missed the celebrations in the park as I was ringing a peal at All Saints in Sudbury as part of a busy weekend of ringing for King Charles III's coronation, so I was particularly pleased that we could be here today, especially as that the only way I can envisage another parade next summer would be if we won the Premier League or a trophy next season. The team's done some extraordinary things over the last couple of years, but that does seem a step (or fifteen or sixteen steps) too far!

Meanwhile, the Bank Holiday typically saw a number of twelve-bell peals, most notably at Exeter Cathedral where John Hughes-D'Aeth impressively pulled in the 72cwt tenor there - the second heaviest bell in the world hung for change-ringing - to a 5044 of Stedman Cinques spliced with Bristol & Zanussi Surprise Maximus. Either pulling this tenor in or ringing that combination of methods are impressive in their own right, but doing both simultaneously is phenomenal.

Nothing noted on BellBoard from within our borders today, but I was later back in the county town and beneath the spire briefly glimpsed by the world on TV as I went along to the weekly practice on Suffolk's heaviest twelve. Practices on a Bank Holiday Monday can be unpredictable with us just as likely to be joined by a multitude of visitors holidaying or looking to ring here with their usual Monday practice cancelled as we are to meet with barely enough to make it worthwhile to ring. This evening it was somewhere in the middle pulling towards the latter. Not quite enough to do anything substantial on twelve, but an opportunity for much on ten, from George Heath-Collins building on his success yesterday by trebling to much Caters and Royal, David Lugg ringing some Stedman Caters and me calling some Cambridge & Yorkshire Surprise Royal spliced before we retired to the Halberd Inn which was still bedecked with flags and bunting for this weekend of footballing celebration.

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Sunday 5th May 2024

Following my acknowledgement in yesterday's football-heavy blog entry that my blog entries were getting very football-heavy, I don't intend to mention footy too much today. However, Saturday's success had its effect on today's ringing.

Primarily for me as having left the car in Ipswich before the match, almost certainly not being below the drink-drive limit following our celebrations anyway and no way of getting into town via public transport in time, I couldn't get to St Mary-le-Tower for morning ringing and with two young but tired boys after the excitement of twenty-four hours earlier, walking into Woodbridge to ring on the 25cwt wasn't practical, though Ruthie managed to join her choral colleagues for the service there after getting a lift from her Gran.

Additionally, a quarter-peal of Grandsire Caters rung on the back ten of Suffolk's heaviest ring of bells and Ipswich's civic church later in the day was dedicated to the town's professional men's team's promotion to the top flight, as well as being George Heath-Collins' first on ten. Well done George!

There were even congratulations for the Tractor Boys from Italy where twice past Guild Ringing Master Stephen Pettman and St Mary-le-Tower supporters Anne & Paul Bray were ringing on the Veronese mobile belfry at the Raduno of All Italy in Agnone.

Meanwhile, back within our borders, a 1280 of Yorkshire Surprise Major was rung at The Norman Tower, whilst the same number of changes was rung in Kent Treble Bob Major at Halesworth, which was a first quarter of TB Major for Erika Clarke and Sal Jenkinson. Well done Erika and Sal!

As mentioned though, no ringing for us, with another day of sorting stuff out and me (eventually) catching a train into Ipswich to retrieve the car, as yesterday continued to effect today.

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Saturday 4th May 2024

This is a ringing blog, honest. And I feel quite sheepish about the amount of football that has crept onto here recently. I suppose it does fit into my remit with this blog to show how an active ringer tries to fit the exercise in amongst other aspects of life and I am pretty pleased that although I can't be quite as active as I once was (when I started writing back in 2007 we were generally going together to four practices a week, I was in the middle of my busiest ever peal-ringing year and as Guild Ringing Master I was often at district events around the county), I am still able to get to three weekly practice nights regularly, as well as most South-East District events and have been able to keep my peal-totals ticking over.

Nonetheless, the last two or three years have seen Ipswich Town's fortunes gradually improve and Mason, Alfie and Josh's interest and enthusiasm increase and indeed coming along to Portman Road to watch the Tractor Boys has become a lovely family occasion. As my blog entries from this week will have alerted you (and again, apologies for the football overload), today saw all of that reach fever pitch.

Anyway, ringing blog and all that, so the long and short of it was that ITFC needed to at least draw against already relegated Huddersfield Town at Portman Road. We were there, 29,000 others were there, thousands of other fans from across Suffolk, the country and the world were in town simply to soak up the atmosphere. The world's media were there hoping to catch the moment a team earnt a spot in the most watched, most popular football league on the planet. Most footy fans worldwide were hoping that 'little old Ipswich' would go up rather than Leeds United, one of the big teams only relegated from the Premier League just last year, even a lot of our visitor's fans who weren't keen on their local rivals getting promoted. We won 2-0 to return to the Premier League for the first time in twenty-two years. Or 2,189 SGR peals. Cue massive pitch invasion, blue flares, eventually a trophy presentation, lap of honour and lots of noise. Incredible, memorable stuff.

With it being a 12.30pm kick-off and Alfred's team playing away, our morning was a logistically challenging one. Ruthie and Joshua headed into town with Granny Kate and my wife's sister's fiancé Chris for breakfast at the Mermaid, the trains already packed with supporters making merry, the bars of the town centre heaving and apparently queues to get in them. Meanwhile, myself, Mason and AJM drove out to watch the latter narrowly lose but play a blinder and win player of the match before we drove into Ipswich, dumping the car and joining the rest of our party in the Fanzone just as the team coach arrived to a cacophony of noise and a blue fog of pyrotechnics and some beer in two-pint glasses. Afterwards, having realised that we were unlikely to get a drink in any of the heaving pubs in the town centre before our train back, we joined many others in grabbing some celebratory drink from a small local shop and having walked back from Melton railway station to home accompanied by just about every passing car hooting their horns in celebration, we made an unplanned trip to The Coach & Horses for a meal outside on a beautiful evening, where we were joined by the boys' Grandad Ron.

It all left no time for ringing (despite the request to ring the bells at St Mary-le-Tower for the promotion, we certainly weren't in any state to help out!), including the Pettistree open morning which nonetheless sounds like it was very successful with an estimated forty-to-fifty people through the doors. However, we did meet up with my brother and Norman Tower ringer Chris beforehand and for the celebrations post-match and briefly bumped into Debenham ringers Robert & Tom Scase on the way out of the stadium, whilst the 1320 of Ipswich Surprise Minor rung at Woolpit was dedicated to the Superblues' historic success today, neatly giving me something ringing and football related to report in this supposed ringing blog.

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Friday 3rd May 2024

Lots of people are getting very excited about Ipswich Town potentially being promoted back to the Premier League tomorrow. As am I of course, but also anxious, nervous and slightly sick at the possibility that we won't do it. Nonetheless, it has been heartwarming to see the support being shown by the town and the county from all sorts of places and folk in the hope that it might help the team get over the line. A local school was having a 'Blue Day' which featured on a report on the BBC's national news coverage. Shops are decking themselves out in blue and white. And my favourite of all, the tower of St Mary-le-Tower was lit in blue this evening.

That said, I'm trying not to think too much about it for want of getting too excited or too frightened about it, not to mention that it is healthy to put it all into perspective. Whatever happens at Portman Road tomorrow, it is only football. Therefore, I was actually quite grateful for a day of work and the arrival of The Ringing World, which this week features on the back page Erika Clarke's photos of Judith Raven and her knitted models of her fellow bandmates from the recent quarter-peal at Wissett. Additionally, the 7cwt ground-floor six in a round tower is in a list of towers due to feature on BBC Radio 4's 'Bells on Sunday', with their turn planned for Bell Sunday on 12th May.

Meanwhile, a 1320 of Beverley, Cambridge, King Edward and Surfleet Surprise Minor spliced was rung at the gallery-ring of Tostock. Which reading about helped distract me from getting too excited or terrified about tomorrow.

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Thursday 2nd May 2024

Congratulations to Lizzie Wood as she rang her first quarter-peal in the 1260 of Reverse Canterbury Bob, Grandsire and Plain Bob Doubles on the lovely 11cwt ground-floor six at Chediston.

There was no time for me to do any ringing though or indeed pretty much anything else as I was undertaking poll clerk duties today. That meant I was at the polling station for sixteen hours, unable to leave, as I helped oversee the voting process for Suffolk's Police and Crime Commissioner election.

On this occasion I was back at St Mary's Parish Hall in Ufford where I had done the same job last May and opposite where I had been just two days ago at the weekly practice at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This time I wasn't doing it with Christine from the village who was sadly at a family funeral, but the fact that she wasn't doing it and that the table we were sat at was on the other side of the hall from normal caused quite a stir amongst locals coming in to vote!

Instead I was with a lady called Emma who was (thankfully because it's a long day!) good company and we were kept surprisingly busy with an election which is apparently normally an election that has a very low turnout. As with last year, timekeeping was aided by the 13cwt tenor next door chiming on the hour, even if was in the knowledge that it was a couple of minutes fast and Ringing Master there and mother-in-law Kate Eagle was carrying out her usual role as Polling Station Inspector and very kindly killed two birds with one stone by making Ufford her first port of call and giving me a lift in.

Meanwhile Ruthie was again gallantly picking up all of the parental duties for which I am very grateful and she had certainly earnt the cup of tea I made her once Emma had kindly dropped me off at the end of a day that was long for us, but exciting for Lizzie Wood!

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Wednesday 1st May 2024

Suffolk's ringing in May got underway straight from the off with three quarter-peals rung in the county on the first day of this month. One on handbells in the garden of The Fox in Pakenham, one at The Barn Owl Ring in Norton and the usual pre-practice attempt at Pettistree.

We weren't contributing to any ringing today though as with an early start planned at the beginning of what is due to be a long, logistically challenging day tomorrow we chose not to join the session at the aforementioned ground-floor six in order to prepare, with the main highlights of my day being a farewell buffet at work for a departing colleague and taking Alfie to his football training.

At least others have got Suffolk's ringing in May underway.

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Tuesday 30th April 2024

I may not have been great company in recent days for which I apologise. Mainly because my cough is really, really annoying me now. But also because I have been more distracted than ever before by Ipswich Town. Following Saturday night, the Tractor Boys needed four more points from their last two games (with three points for a win, one for a draw) to be ensured of returning to the Premier League for the first time since 2002. The nerves have been unbearable at times and the excitement of what could happen mixed with self telling-offs for thinking too far ahead and nightmarish visions of worst case scenarios have been exhausting. Although that probably is the cough.

This evening the first of those two fixtures was being played as ITFC played away at Coventry. There were plenty of options to watch it on TV, whether round Chris & Clare's, at a local pub or more practically with the children on a school night purchasing a Town TV pass to view it at home. However, with numbers short at Ufford for the weekly practice with Ringing Master Kate Eagle absent on this occasion, it seemed a good idea to distract myself from what could otherwise be a long night of following every kick of the ball.

Not that I was completely cut-off from proceedings with my phone on me, but the ringing offered pockets of ignorant bliss for a few minutes. And despite the low numbers it was a productive session. Mary Leaming rang Plain Hunt for the first time, Margaret Weeks continued her rehabilitation by trebling to a couple of courses of Plain Bob Doubles and Daniel Atkinson did some more Plain Hunt.

However, with just seven present which included Mary at a very early stage of her ringing progression and Margaret who has to take things easy with her recovery, it was challenging to eke out a full hour and a half practice and so we called it a night at 8.30.

By then the Superblues were 1-0 up and I couldn't resist listening to the commentary on BBC Radio Suffolk for a match where every minute seemed like an hour, as our hosts equalised and we then got what transpired to be the winner, meaning that we now head into Saturday's planned final fixture against Huddersfield Town at Portman Road needing 'just' a draw. Which is about as well as things could've gone tonight, but as I try to stop getting over-excited or thinking of worst case scenarios now may mean - cough or no cough - that I might not be great company over the next few days either. For which I also apologise.

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Monday 29th April 2024

At the back of the box from which the ninth at St Mary-le-Tower is usually rung, there is a hole in the shape of a little doorway which looks a little like the mousehole in the sideboard you'd see on Tom & Jerry cartoons. It fascinated me as a little child when my brother Chris and I used to accompany Mum & Dad to Sunday morning ringing, long before we were gripped by the art, much as Alfie & Josh usually accompany me now and Mason did before. This evening at the weekly practice on the heaviest ring of bells in Suffolk, I found myself sat behind it and I was transported back to my childhood. Much has changed in that time of course. Memories of those sadly no longer with us came flooding back, ringing styles, voices, mannerisms and all, such as George Pipe, Adrian Knights and of course my father Alan. Ringers have come and gone. Peals rung, University attended. The internet. Ipswich Town promoted and relegated multiple times. Marriage, children, many different houses. Through it all, this ringing chamber has been a constant in my life like no other place apart from the house I grew up in. There has been the odd sprucing up, new ropes, new carpet and new pealboards, but pretty much it has remained the same in that time. The dizzying array of pealboards recording some of the most historic peals in twelve-bell ringing, the window benches, the boxes with the marks of the feet from ringers past worn into them. And that little 'mousehole.' I pray one day that I shall be an old(er) man looking at that hole and transporting myself back.

Indeed, most of us are privileged to ring in rooms and buildings marked by history and with that privilege comes the responsibility of looking after them, as our forebears would have done in the centuries before us and God willing our successors as caretakers will do in the centuries after us.

Tonight's session in the famous old ringing chamber that bore witness to two world wars, the arrival of the motor car, the passing and coronations of monarchs, many Prime Ministers and the first peals of various Surprise Maximus methods including Cambridge and Yorkshire, saw one of those who was a regular here when I was small and being fascinated with that hole returning as I was pleased to see Amanda Richmond ringing for the first time since her recent skiing accident.

Along with others who also bridge that span of time such as Diana Pipe and my mother Sally, this evening she helped those we hope will take ringing here into the future, such as George Heath-Collins who trebled to Grandsire Cinques being conducted by his fiancée Lucy Williamson. We also rang in some really nice pieces of Stedman Cinques and the aforementioned Yorkshire, whilst additionally a few leads of London No. 3 Surprise Royal was rung on a productive night of ringing. Although at one point a ringer had a coughing fit that meant they had to set their bell and hand their rope to someone else. It's not just me who is suffering from this long-lasting cough that is far more annoying to us suffering with it then it is to anyone around us believe me!

Earlier in the day, a quartet of talented handbell ringers from within our borders rang a quarter-peal of Kent Treble Major in Bury St Edmunds, whilst the highlight of our household's day pre-ringing was Alfie playing his first match for the school football team which is another potential (welcome, as anything for the boys is!) element to our Monday afternoon and evening before I get into Ipswich for ringing!

That said, before I left for there today, Ruthie and I got the chance to listen to a completely ad-hoc bit of ringing publicity as Past (and all being well and usual, future) Master of the College Youths Susan 'Swaz' Apter was stopped in the street for an impromptu interview by Catherine Carr, who seems to approach random people to ask where they are going for her rather appropriately named 'Where Are You Going?' podcast. On this occasion I don't think she could believe her luck when she asked that question to an unassuming lady carrying sticks and bags and got the answer "I'm going to ring the bells at St Paul's Cathedral!" In just a few minutes Swaz was able to impart a wonderful sense of the ringing family and particularly how they helped her through losing her husband Alan Flood and her cancer. And there is the sound of the famous bells ringing out afterwards as runners were being cheered on by spectators in the London Marathon.

Meanwhile, after ringing, another big crowd went to the Halberd Inn where I chatted with my Mum about how my old secondary school has been knocked down and completely rebuilt. Another reminder of the timeless nature of the ringing chambers we are privileged to ring in, 'mouseholes' and all!

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Sunday 28th April 2024

More Suffolk coverage on BBC Radio 4's 'Bells on Sunday' as the 10cwt six of Earl Soham rang out to Cambridge Surprise Minor for all the world to hear. I'm assuming its from the quarter-peal rung there in 2022, but I don't know for sure. Either way, it's about three minutes of really well-struck ringing.

I was doing some ringing myself today, as the boys and I climbed the many steps to Woodbridge ringing chamber for me to help the local ringers ring the front six. Although to be fair they didn't really need me with a big crowd present, albeit not enough time and back bell ringers to ring the back two up. Still, it was pleasing to hear Meg talking of her recent visit to Carlisle where she actively sought out ringing and ended up ringing at the Cathedral there, doing something that I try to encourage all ringers to do as much as they can and taking advantage of the welcome that ringing and ringers offer.

Elsewhere in the county meanwhile, a 1282 of Yorkshire Surprise Royal was rung at The Norman Tower conducted by Guild Handbells & Mini-Ring Trustee Brian Whiting to his own composition with a band that included a number I suspect were responsible for that well-struck ringing on BBC Radio 4's 'Bells on Sunday'.

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Saturday 27th April 2024

OK, football numbers incoming, perhaps more than is justified in a ringing blog, but I'll try and keep it short.

Following Leeds United incredibly losing 4-0 last night, Leicester City have mathematically banked one of the two promotion spots to the Premier League automatically earned by teams finishing in first and second. Barring an incredible altering of the basis of maths, that means that the second of those spots is going to go to either Leeds or to Ipswich Town. Coming into today and thanks to yesterday's most unexpected result, it presented the Tractor Boys with a definite target. Get five points out of their last three games of the league season that are due to be played in the next week and they will have more points than our friends from Yorkshire (which includes some actual ringing friends) would be able to amount from their one remaining game. With one point awarded for a draw and three points for a victory, it meant that one win and two draws from our trio of fixtures would be enough.

The first of those matches was tonight, as 8pm on a Saturday was introduced to the list of strange kick-off times we've been subjected to as ITFC travelled to Hull City for a game being shown on the TV and hence the reason that we found ourselves round Ruthie's sister Clare's house joining her other half Chris, our nieces and Ufford Ringing Master Kate Eagle. These are indeed giddy times for all us Town fans who have endured a miserable couple of decades following the Superblues, with that nickname ambitiously applied for most of that time. Even more so for us with the boys enthusiasm off the chart and we're keen to take as much of it in whilst the going is good. This evening's thrilling 3-3 draw was a must-watch and at least gives us one of those five points needed, even if it was disappointing that we lost two of those points a couple of minutes from the end as a 3-2 lead for us was wiped out.

It also gave us a footballing bookend to a day which began with Alfie playing really well in goal for his team before a rather mundane few hours of household chores and the like, but no ringing.

Hopefully things were more interesting for the South-West District Practice at St Gregory in Sudbury, whilst further afield it looks like much fun was had on the Isle of Wight for an open day that had seen my Facebook feeds filled with excited tower grabbers making their way on the ferry over the last day or two. And things were definitely more interesting for Portsmouth ringer David Mattingley who is someone I've rung with on occasions (including a couple of quarters in Suffolk on tour when the ringing visitors stayed in my little pink cottage in Tunstall!) and I usually have a good time with socially when I see him, often at the National 12-bell Striking Contest. Some time ago he had decided that to mark his recent forty-first birthday he wanted to attempt a peal of the standard forty-one Surprise Minor methods on a 41cwt bell. That bell was the tenor at St Mary-le-Bow in London and the task is no mean feat. In its own right, it is a hard enough bell to ring on twelve, but on six where there is a lot more heaving around to get into place it is a huge challenge. Also in its own right, ringing the forty-one is far from simple. Combined it is a phenomenal achievement and indeed it is the heaviest peal of the forty-one yet rung. Additionally, for all that he is a superb ringer, David isn't a habitual ringer of big bells to peals in the sense of John Loveless, Andrew Mills, George Salter or Michael Wilby, so that achievement is all the greater. He had sent an open invitation for his friends to join him afterwards, including me and tempting as it was, a drinking session in the capital wasn't practical with our evening's plans. I did wonder if he got forty-one people to join him though!

For this blog, it also gives me some more suitable ringing numbers to impart.

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Friday 26th April 2024

Fancy taking on a role in the CCCBR? The PR Officer's role was being advertised by its former holder and now Central Council Deputy President Vicki Chapman today and is an increasingly important job for ringing's image generally. As with anything ringing-related though, I expect it can be fitted into one's life and not necessarily be as all-consuming as you may fear. Do take a look at the summary of the role and seriously consider taking it on or if there is someone else you know who might be suitable for it.

Meanwhile, the latest edition of The Ringing World arrived with us and whilst there was nothing Suffolk-related in this issue - bar peals and quarters - I enjoyed reading the various pieces on the history of The Lincoln Diocesan Guild as it celebrates its 125th anniversary. The LDG is another of those ringing organisations close to my heart as it represents a part of the world that holds fond childhood memories from visiting Mum's sister Janet and her other half Mick, which nearly always involved a visit for Sunday morning ringing on the 23cwt twelve at Lincoln Cathedral (which they could see from their front window in one of their houses!), a fine building that appears on the front page of this week's RW. Some of the ringers we rang with on such occasions feature in the content inside, such as Jack Millhouse, Geoff Parker and Les Townsend.

Due to go into a future edition of 'The Comic' is the 1440 of Cambridge Surprise Minor at Ashbocking rung today, but there was no ringing from our household. I don't think we'd be great PR for the new CCCBR Public Relations Officer to work with!

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Thursday 25th April 2024

Today was a quiet one from a ringing perspective on a typically bell-less Thursday personally as Ruthie went to her choral practices whilst I willingly stayed at home spending time with the boys and then getting them to bed.

Not so for other ringers in Suffolk, with quarter-peals rung at Redgrave and Tostock. Well done to Georgina Inglis on ringing her first of Plain Bob Doubles inside in the former and to Dee Smith and Martin Kirk on ringing their first of King Edward Surprise Minor in the latter.

If all goes to plan, May should see busier days of ringing for us too. Unusually, it doesn't start with a South-East District event on the first Saturday as it usually would. Although last year they were held in June due to King Charles III's coronation, typically in May that day would be host to the SE Striking Competitions. This year though, Ipswich Town are due to play their final league match of this exciting season at Portman Road at the same time and as I have noted, there are quite a few SE members who can typically be found at the home games, including the District Chairman and Secretary!

Therefore, it was decided to move the competition back a week to the 11th, which makes for a potentially busy day for ringing within our borders, as on the same day that teams from the SE District are planning on competing in the Cecil Pipe Memorial Bell Method and David Barnard Memorial Trophy Call Change Competitions at Clopton, teams from the North-East District are intending on challenging for The Trevor Hughes, The Call Change and The Harry Archer Trophies at Theberton, whilst in between the competitions (the SE's is slated for the morning, the NE's the afternoon), the North-West District have lined up their monthly Practice for Troston from 10am-noon.

If you still have the energy, the following day is penciled in as Bell Sunday and it would be great to get a good response to this from the county's ringers and to see plenty noted on the BB event set up for the occasion!

And then on the 18th, the intention is to hold the Guild 6-Bell and 8-Bell Striking Competitions at Falkenham and Felixstowe respectively. As with the venues the previous week, two light, easy-going rings of bells that I hope encourage lots of entries from across the county. They may be at the far end of the county for those in the west (as many of us near the coast can testify after gladly travelling out to Exning and Dalham for the 2009 competitions!), but they are right next to the A14 and the latter in particular easily accessible by rail. Kirton & Falkenham Village Hall intends to be open for refreshments down the road from the 5cwt ground-floor six whilst teams compete for the Mitson Shield and Lester Brett Call-Change Trophy, whilst in the seaside resort the plan is for refreshments to be served in the Community Room at the church as teams challenge for the Rose Trophy and of course there will be plenty open nearby, including pubs!

A week later the South-West District hope to hold their Practice at Edwardstone (another light, easy-going ring of bells) from 7-8.30pm on Saturday 25th and the month is due to be rounded off with a Surprise Major Practice at another set of friendly bells, Offton, with proceedings set to run from 7.30-9pm on Friday 31st, whilst an event with a difference but still ringing-related is lined up for the previous Friday with a Wine Tasting by former SE District Ringing Master Jonathan Williamson at Drinkstone Village Hall for the Bell Restoration Project at the nearby 11cwt six. Anyone who has watched Jonathan do one of these will know it is well worth attending if you can, so please do support it and in the process support a good cause!

Meanwhile, looking even further ahead, the Southern District of the Essex Association today asked members via the SGR's Facebook page to put Saturday 13th July into your diaries as that is when they plan to hold an Open Day with more than twenty towers to visit from Leigh-on-Sea to South Benfleet.

There is potentially lots of ringing for ringers to enjoy over the next few weeks and I would encourage you to support as much as you can and avoid days as quiet as today has been for us from a ringing perspective.

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Wednesday 24th April 2024

As brought to my attention by past Guild Secretary Carl Melville on Facebook, today's date is one of those pleasing ones to those as nerdy as me on such things - 24.4.24.

And on it the SGR rang a 5040 at Gressenhall in Norfolk of Albanian Surprise Royal, which the much-missed Don Price of Reydon rang the first quarter-peal and the first peal of, as is mentioned in the footnote. It was also the 2200th peal for the now no longer immediate Past Peal Secretary of the Guild (twenty years after he left the position!) Alan Mayle and a one hundredth together for Mike Cowling and Rowan Wilson. Congratulations Alan, Mike and Rowan!

Also on this memorable date, a 1250 of Cambridge Surprise Minor was rung at Pettistree and dedicated to the recent fiftieth wedding anniversary of tenor ringer Peter Harper and his wife Jane. Jane & Peter have been so supportive of ringing since they moved to the area seventeen years ago, leading things at the geographically isolated eight at Hollesley impressively, taking on roles in the South-East District and being strong supporters of the Guild, so I'm pleased to have seen this QP rung for them.

After taking Alfie to his football training and returning him home, I joined the practice on the ground-floor six which followed that quarter, where despite the absence of a number Surprise Minor regulars we still rang some spliced in amongst much else. Afterwards, I was pleased to have my first beer for a while in The Greyhound as I heard about the new Priest in Charge due to come here and to neighbouring Wickham Market, The Reverend Craig Shaw and his planned licensing on the evening of Wednesday 24th July, whilst tonight mother-in-law Kate and others were ringing the bells at Grundisburgh for the installation there of the Carlford Benefice's new Rector the Reverend Mark Cresswell.

I wonder what excitement might occur on 25th May 2025?

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Tuesday 23rd April 2024

The last few days have felt a little like the pandemic lockdowns, isolated away from the rest of the world. Except the rest of the world (including my household!) has been getting on with life and going out and about! Today though, I finally got to do things too.

That included going into the office at John Catt Educational for the first time since I fell ill, but also my first ringing in a week. Being a Tuesday, that naturally meant I was back in Ufford.

On this occasion it was for the monthly Surprise Major practice that Ringing Master here Kate Eagle has been trying to get up and running. Successfully so on the basis of this evening as a sizeable though not overwhelming number gathered to ring on this 13cwt eight, including Linda & Nick Thomson from Cheshire who had been pointed in this direction by Richard Rapior - who was also here tonight - when they visited Aldeburgh's weekly practice yesterday. They were very useful for a repertoire of Cambridge, Lincolnshire, Superlative and Yorkshire, as well as them spliced and three leads of Bristol, with lots of good ringing.

There was more Surprise Major splicing going on across Suffolk at Offton meanwhile, where the session on the 8cwt ground-floor eight was preceded by a quarter-peal of five methods.
Hopefully they had a super night, as did I. I'm a bit conscious of my cough which I sheepishly explain has hung around for several weeks already, has been checked by a doctor and which was made worse by whatever I have recently suffered with, but I was delighted to just be out and about again!

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Monday 22nd April 2024

I'm not 100% sure what I've been laid low with over the last few days, other than it definitely wasn't Covid (I tested for that) and I've never felt so wiped out for so long in my life. However, God willing it appears to be improving and although I'm still coughing lots, I felt ready to work and ring again. My symptoms suggest it was flu-like though and so regardless of whether it actually was, I took up the NHS' advice and held off releasing myself into rooms with crowds of people and therefore undertook my employment from home and sent my apologies for St Mary-le-Tower practice.

As became apparent on the St Mary-le-Tower ringers WhatsApp group, I wasn't the only one not going to Suffolk's heaviest twelve this evening. One had a cold, another a "head/sinus thing", whilst a third had a painful sounding encounter with a dog through a letterbox! Hopefully plenty turned up to make up for our absences.

Elsewhere in the county, ringing headlines were being made at Beccles where Marie Owen was ringing her first quarter-peal and Kate Bungay her first on a working bell in the 1260 of Plain Bob Doubles - well done Marie and Kate! Whilst in Moats Tye, QPs of Little Bob Royal and Plain Bob Royal were being rung on handbells.

Meanwhile, my family were being more active than me again, with Ruthie enduring a stressful though satisfying day at work, the boys going to school and Josh joining a classmate to celebrate their birthday, although the venue had to be changed after the star of the show's little brother went down with a sickness bug this morning. It's not just me being laid low at the moment unfortunately.

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Sunday 21st April 2024

An even better day today as I felt alright throughout without the aid of tablets. I still didn't feel I could or should go ringing this morning, but I left the house for the first time for days as I took Ruthie to playgroup as unusually she had to do some work and later dropped Alfie off at his classmate's birthday party and then picked them up again. Although being a football-loving bunch of partygoers the finish-time was unexpectedly delayed whilst they watched the FA Cup semi-final on TV!

Otherwise though, it was another day (a Sunday I think, although they've all started blurring into one another!) at home as I rested up watching the London Marathon on television as my wife went to church to sing. Although I only briefly heard a bell ringing at one point, there was lots of ringing in the capital and beyond for the event and at least two ringers that I knew with Cecelia Pipe and Fiona Wheeler both successfully negotiating the 26.2 mile-long course. And in my current state I was inspired by the energy of the 50,000+ runners, although not enough to consider doing it myself, particularly as some of them looked a little I've felt over the last couple of days by the end! Congratulations to all who ran though, especially Cecelia and Fiona.

Well done also to Harriet Aves who rang her first quarter-peal of Minor today by trebling to the 1260 of Plain Bob rung on the front six of the 19cwt ten at Stowmarket where the Guild AGM was recently held.

Indeed, well done to anyone who got out to ringing today, unlike me. God willing I shall be joining you all again soon if I continue getting better.

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Saturday 20th April 2024

Today was the best I've felt for the last couple of days, but that is all relative and there was no way I was going to be getting up and about, with rest and recuperation the watchwords of the day.

Unfortunately that meant missing a full day of activity that I had lined up, starting with Alfie's football match which his team won to make the final of the competition they were playing in. Well done AJM and chums! I was very sorry to miss that though.

As I was to miss the South-East District Practice at Clopton where there was cake, cuppas and ringing hoodies on a lovely six, with this event being held on the third Saturday rather than the first due to the Guild AGM being held then. It sounds like a good time was had however.

My wife and I were also due to ring for a wedding at Grundisburgh, so I was grateful to mother-in-law Kate Eagle for taking my place for what was apparently some really good ringing to be a part of the happy couple's big day. Although I did wonder if the congregation singing 'Stand by Me' and 'Lean on Me' was a premonition of how they expected the evening to pan out!

After very kindly popping home to check how I was, Mrs Munnings and the boys then went off with Kate to Clare and Chris' abode to celebrate our niece Anna's birthday which given the cool weather conditions ambitiously - but seemingly successfully - came in the form of a barbecue, all whilst I necessarily stayed at home, although I consoled myself with listening to and watching football going on across the country with no Ipswich Town match on this weekend.

And kept on eye on BellBoard with some notable performances rung including David Pipe and his sons Alfred & Henry who today completed a quartet of peals on handbells in Willingham over the Cambridgeshire border from us. In so doing they completed a set of all-the-work peals of each of the four regular Treble Dodging Minor groups (which collectively make up the 147 'standard' TD Minor methods) in twenty-four hours for the first time in hand, with three of them scored this side of last night.

Nothing from Suffolk, but there was a Guild peal rung beyond our borders as a 5019 of Stedman Caters was rung on the ten at All Saints in Loughborough in Leicestershire which was Alan Mayle's one hundredth peal with Mike Cowling and Andrew Stone - congratulations Alan, Mike and Andrew! Interestingly it is also already the second peal of Stedman Caters for the SGR in 2024 following on from the 5055 at The Norman Tower last month. That after it had been a decade since the previous one!

I'm pleased to see so much ringing going on, even if I can't take part in it.

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Friday 19th April 2024

Gosh, even after the heaviest night out I don't recall feeling as wiped out as I do at the moment! Probably because of (medical!) drugs I had moments of feeling OK today, but I didn't feel up to working, even from home. Indeed, I didn't really move much from bed or sofa all day.

It is frustrating as I can imagine that whenever I get back to work (God willing Monday, but I'll guess we'll see) that I'll have huge backlog to work through. Frustrating also to watch Ruthie having to carry out both our duties at home whilst I pathetically lay around. She has been a fantastic nurse!

Mercifully other ringers in Suffolk were able to be more active, most noticeably at Wissett where not only was the 1260 of Plain Bob Doubles a first inside for Judith Raven, but she also brought along wonderful looking knitted versions of the band and allowed for one of the cleverest band photos I think I've seen! Well done Judith on both counts!

Elsewhere on a busy day of ringing in the county, well done to Norfolk ringing vicar Richard Turk on calling a quarter-peal of Bristol Surprise Major in the 1280 at Bardwell and congratulations to tenor ringer David Carter on the birth of his granddaughter. On a sadder note though, Alastair McArthur was again remembered with a QP, this time at Tostock with a 1272 of Primrose Surprise Minor and the 1320 of Stedman Triples at Ixworth was dedicated to the memory of church warden and ringer here David Reeve.

Meanwhile a lovely report of the Woodbridge ringers' 'Spring Ring' to Cambridge last Saturday now appears on the church's website, giving some great local PR, whilst I felt grateful that the latest edition of The Ringing World arrived with us today and helped gently occupy my ailing senses.

Although such is my illness that it feels like reading about ringing is the closest I'm going to get to the exercise at moment!

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Thursday 18th April 2024

I don't usually call in ill for work. In fact, without poring painstakingly through my blog entries (although I do like to read back some of my older entries as a form of nostalgia/interest/vanity) I couldn't tell you last time I did. Personally I feel such a fraud, even when I am genuinely poorly, perhaps going back to my days as a temp when if I didn't go to work I didn't get paid. Or maybe - just maybe - I'm a conscientious worker! It is particularly unlikely when these days one can work from home when feeling a bit under the weather.

Today though, I had to make that rare call. I'd been feeling cold and tired over the last day or two, but put it down to the unseasonably chilly conditions and that we'd had a disturbed night earlier in the week when our neighbour had (inadvertently I think) been playing music quite loudly until the early hours. This morning I got gradually worse until I wasn't really much use to anyone and so I finished work early and went straight to bed and didn't wake up until Ruthie and the boys got back.

Whilst I felt better by that point with my first meal of the day down me, I wasn't up to ringing, even if I was able to with my wife out practicing with her choral colleagues and thus me at home getting the boys to bed. Hopefully for different reasons, there wasn't anything on BellBoard in Suffolk or by the Guild either.

However, I did feel well enough to read the information recently released about travel to Chilcompton in Somerset on Saturday 15th June when it is due to host the National 12-bell Striking Contest Final. The 19cwt twelve is set in a village with no railway station, so they were announcing tickets for coach travel from Bristol Temple Mead for £12 return to be booked by 30th April. Except they already seem to have sold out. Don't let that put you off going down there if you fancy it though. A superb website from the local ringers for the event outlines camping details on the same page as the now sold-out coach tickets, whilst elsewhere on the site there are details of other nearby railway stations, bus routes and taxi firms, as well as more accommodation in the area. There are also details of where one should be able to find ringing on the Friday evening and a menu of the onsite catering.

Although I don't think I'm quite well enough yet for a chicken thigh bap and a side of guacamole!

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Wednesday 17th April 2024

A Wednesday with a difference. Josh was very excited about going on a school trip to Trinity Park along with lots of other schools in the area, whilst this evening Alfie was playing football, but instead of the usual training a friendly match had been fixed up. It was certainly a useful exercise for our goalkeeper son as shot after shot was put in his direction from a very talented opposition and although they were heavily defeated he made a lot of great saves, as well as some good passing, as is expected from the modern GK. He and his teammates also got to play in most weather conditions known to the UK as this evening we experienced sunshine, rain, hail and apparently a rainbow (it was behind me according to Alfred), all accompanied by the cold wind that has been prevalent over the last two or three days. Incredibly AJM imparted that he "sort of" enjoyed it!

They were perfect conditions for ringing in fact, but the under-10s fixture was later in the day than their training normally is and so there was no chance of either of us getting to Pettistree, where the weekly session was proceeded by a 1272 of Norwich Surprise Minor rung in memory of Woolpit ringer Alastair McArthur - our thoughts are with Chris and his family.

I imagine the practice that followed was productive and featured it's normal eclectic range of methods and was hopefully followed by a drink in The Greyhound on this Wednesday with a difference.

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Tuesday 16th April 2024

Ufford this evening for another productive practice that myself and Peter Harper briefly ran as Ringing Master Kate Eagle needed to take a work call. It was a session that saw the usual learners from Bredfield and Hollesley continue their super progress as well as Anne Buswell calling a 120 of Plain Bob Doubles. Like so many others she doesn't call much, but as she showed tonight she is perfectly assured at it. Perhaps generally throughout ringing we ought to be sharing out the conducting duties more often.

Across the county at another eight-bell tower that practices on a Tuesday, the session at Offton was preceded by a quarter-peal as it regularly is. On this occasion it was a 1250 of Cambridge, Lincolnshire, Superlative and Yorkshire Surprise Major composed by the conductor Brian Whiting.

I expect they also had a very productive practice afterwards.

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Monday 15th April 2024

Today was a fairly challenging day of weather with high winds and more rain, but as I arrived in Ipswich for the weekly practice on Suffolk's heaviest ring of bells, the towers of St Mary-le-Tower and St Lawrence were bathed in lovely evening sunshine as the front eight at the former rang out.

It was a nice start to a night where we were a little short on numbers, but still rang some Stedman Caters and Yorkshire Surprise Royal, whilst it was fun to have a go at London (No.3) Surprise Royal again.

And although we were missing some regulars, we welcomed back Graham Ridgway after a couple of months in New Zealand that also took in ringing in a show of how welcoming the ringing family is - how many other hobbies/crafts allow you to join in with a local group on the other side of the world in such a way?

Whilst we were ringing on one twelve, former Exning learner Jimmy Yeoman was achieving on another across the country at Birmingham Cathedral as he conducted a peal on that number for the first time. Not 'just' to Yorkshire or Cambridge like most of the rest of us who have called a peal on twelve (mine was the latter in 2006 with a straightforward Rod Pipe composition), but rather to a much more complicated composition from the famous son of Grundisburgh of Avon Delight, Bristol, Rigel and Strathclyde Surprise Maximus. Well done Jimmy on yet another impressive achievement!

Back here in his home county, a quarter-peal of Plain Bob Major was rung on handbells in Moats Tye, which one imagines ought to feature in an edition of The Ringing World in the coming weeks, but the latest issue arrived with us today with an obituary for Jean Nixon, a lovely lady and ringer who I had the pleasure of ringing with on Rambling Ringers and regularly in Staffordshire when I lived and rang in the Midlands.

Nothing specifically Suffolk-related though and my efforts this evening won't contribute to any future content in the RW, but I still enjoyed it as well as joining my fellow ringers in the Halberd Inn afterwards. A lovely way to end an evening that began with those towers bathed in evening sunshine.

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Sunday 14th April 2024

When we entered St Mary-the-Virgin church in Woodbridge this morning, we were greeted by a stand exhibiting proposed plans to improve the facilities in the church and at St Mary's House, which has hosted at least one South-East District ADM that I've been to. In the church itself the work seems to be around the north door and at the bottom of the tower which includes a toilet, hopefully offering this amenity for the ringers on Tuesday evenings, whilst I did wonder if a hatch or trapdoor was planned in case the bells ever need taking down and brought back. These are just proposals at the moment and I imagine it'll take quite a long time for it to happen if it does, but all being well not too long.

The plans prompted me to wonder how feasible it would be to lower the ringing chamber as a gallery ring to help make the ringers more visible and make it less of a climb, but of course we would also lose what is in my opinion the best view in Suffolk when ringing a bell as I believe it is ringing from the tenor box here and which I got to do today as all eight were rung again. The sound of the tenors ringing out over the Market Hill as they were when we arrived is a lovely sound and I'm glad to say happening more often as this band of many learners from the Platinum Jubilee and Ring for the King develop, I imagine benefitting further from their outing to Cambridge yesterday.

Following the service which we stayed for, it was then a fairly mundane afternoon of housework and shopping for us whilst others were being more interesting from a ringing perspective. There was a 1260 of Plain Bob Minor rung on the ground-floor six at Chediston and well done to Ann-Malena Webb, Betty Baines and David Webb on ringing their first quarter-peal of Rochester Treble Bob Minor in the 1320 rung at Redgrave. Well done also to the entire band who rang their and the Guild's first peal of Jowkin Surprise Major in the second-Sunday attempt at Aldeburgh and congratulations to two of the SGR's stalwarts Mary Dunbavin and Richard Rapior.

Mary was celebrating sixty years of peal-ringing, with the first of her now 1688 peals (thank you to Andrew Craddock and his superb Pealbase for that!) rung on 21st March 1964 at Higham Ferrers in Northamptonshire. She has always been so willing to help with a peal when she can - hence she is third in the list of ringers I've rung peals with at 189 - as well other aspects of ringing and been an important part of the second-Sunday peal attempts which have long been a beacon of high-standard peal-ringing in the county.

Meanwhile, Richard was ringing his three hundredth peal on his local bells. Mr Rapior has long been a good Surprise Major ringer and in his three hundred in the tower where he is also Ringing Master he has rung countless different treble-dodging Major methods, but he is also a really nice guy, always polite, cheery and encouraging - I don't think I've ever heard him say anything critical about anyone! He is very modest too, which may be why he hasn't mentioned that according to Pealbase today's 5088 was also his five hundredth peal for the Guild!

My five hundredth peal for the Guild is the next peal-ringing landmark that I am due to reach with 'just' fifteen to go. Hopefully I'll get there, but I wonder if I'll reach that before Woodbridge's ringers get a toilet at the bottom of the tower!

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Saturday 13th April 2024

Without a match for Alfie and no ringing on that we could get to practically, it was the most leisurely of Saturday mornings for a long, long time. Indeed, I had a lay-in until 10.30am, which I can't remember the last time I was able to do! It allowed for a gentle perusing of Ringing Forums as prompted by my weekly email from them, although there was still no copy of The Ringing World to enjoy.

In theory we could've gone to the North-West District Practice at Bardwell, but we wouldn't have been able to spend enough time at the 11cwt eight before leaving again for our only engagement of the day, which was going to watch Ipswich Town's latest home fixture and the usual pre-match socialising with ringers. A meal was enjoyed with Ufford Ringing Master Kate Eagle at the Mermaid before bumping into Offton ringer Caroline Goodchild at the stadium and then having a drink with former St Mary-le-Tower RM Simon Rudd in the Fanzone.

Simon was fresh from having circled the tower at Debenham to peals with the 5024 of Bristol Surprise Major he conducted from the second and followed the 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough with his journey back to Norfolk, but we delayed our return home for a special treat for the boys and to be honest us too! It is now usual for the ITFC players to very kindly sign autographs for and have pictures with fans waiting outside post-match, sometimes up to an hour and a half after the games finish. Such dedication is to be admired as I'm not sure that I'd want to hang around for an hour and a half after I'd finished work, but it means so much to the youngsters especially and the boys had been constantly asking if we could do the same. Frankly it is less appealing in the depths of winter, particularly when relying on someone else driving us back as we usually are, but in lovely spring warmth and early evening sunshine and with this likely to be the last opportunity of the 2023-24 season to do it, we gathered with hundreds of others outside the players' entrance to meet the footballing heroes, with thanks to mother-in-law Kate for hanging around for the boys to meet their favourites.

Everyone happy, we did go home eventually and enjoyed a leisurely evening to follow-on from that leisurely morning.

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Friday 12th April 2024

Well done to Mary Oliver-Barratt on ringing her first quarter-peal on a working bell in the 1260 of four Doubles methods at Great Barton, following on from her first QP at the same tower last year.

Without even this week's edition of The Ringing World arriving with us, it also gives me something ringing-related to write about today bar it being precisely a month until it is due to be Bell Sunday and the tenuous link of celebrity ringer Timmy Mallett being mentioned on the radio and the even more tenuous link of the villagers of Framsden announcing their plans to reopen the old Doberman pub under its original name of The Greyhound, precisely six months after I mentioned plans to sort out the floor in the tower at St Mary's church may see all eight being rung there and potentially going hand-in-hand with the pub reopening!

Otherwise though, it was a quiet day from a ringing perspective with the main action being me picking mother-in-law Kate, the boys' Great Granny, their Grandad Ron and his sister up from Ipswich after a coach trip to the Netherlands and subsequently hosting Ufford's Ringing Master for a cuppa and tales of Holland.

Thank you to Mary Oliver-Barratt therefore on giving me something ringing-related to write about today and well done again!

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Thursday 11th April 2024

I noticed today that a link to the North-East District Striking Competition rules has been added to their page on this website and it is a timely reminder that all being well striking competition season locally is about to begin. Indeed, a month today the NE and the South-East Districts are both slated to hold theirs at Theberton and Clopton respectively and whilst I can't see mention at the moment on What's On about competitions in the North-West or South-West Districts, the intention is that just a week later the Guild 6-Bell and 8-Bell competitions will be reunited on one day for the first time for five years, with the planned venues being Falkenham and Felixstowe.

Pretty much every aspect of ringing seems to motivate grumbling from someone. Peals are too long for some. Quarters are too short for others. Outings involve too much travel for a number. Open days are the perfect breeding ground for bad ringing in the opinion of those who don't like them. Weddings don't pay enough for the time and effort required according to ringers reluctant to ring for such occasions. All have elements of truth to them I suppose, but without all these aspects then ringing would struggle to hold the attention of as many as it does.

Striking competitions also have their detractors and again I can see the reasoning behind their complaints. They just miss the point of what striking competitions are all about. Yes St Mary-le-Tower win a lot, but not as much as people think. There is some crossover of team-members, but again not as much is often thought, certainly as much as there used to be and only to help maximise the number of ringers who can take part - there's no point having five enthusiastic learners keen to participate but unable to because one of their regular fellow bandmembers is already ringing for another tower where they also regularly ring at. There will be nerves (even after all the ones I've rung in I still get a bit nervous when I set off in a competition piece), but they aren't scary occasions. Judges are there to judge what is the best piece of ringing but not the ringers - indeed the expectation is that they offer advice or 'constructive criticism' and are there to help. Indeed the whole experience is there to help and it has been wonderful to see new bands entering in recent years. Ultimately these aren't professional sporting events, they're just a fun way of getting folk to concentrate on striking and a good way of getting people together in an informal atmosphere. And this year on some really nice, easy-going bells. Please do enter a band if you can and enjoy the occasion!

Today was altogether quieter from a ringing perspective than God willing those days will be as a quarter-peal attempted at Horringer actually was too short as instead 216 changes of Stedman Triples were rung to celebrate yesterday's 93rd birthday of Don Kirk.

That was at least more than we were doing as I stayed at home with the boys whilst Ruthie practiced with her choral colleagues. Hopefully we'll get to practice some ringing too in the near future in case we're asked to ring in some of those striking competitions!

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Wednesday 10th April 2024

I still vividly recall a decade ago watching a tiny baby boy sleeping in his little green vest, twitching every now and then from our clinical, sterile environment looking out from Ipswich Hospital over the north-east of the town. Going from that moment straight to this, it seems difficult to equate that fragile being to the boy who turned ten today who has almost forged a life for himself. A popular character in the football team he plays in goal for, it appears also good at cross-country running and quick-witted, but kind-hearted. God willing it is a good foundation for him growing up to contribute positively to society and those around him.

His big day was celebrated with present opening, takeaway pizza and watching the film Wonka on TV before being rounded off in near-perfect style by going to watch Ipswich Town playing at Portman Road, the only thing letting the celebrations down being the 0-0 result against our visitors Watford. Still, it was a lovely day and a lovely evening out reminding us of how blessed we are to have all three boys who were together tonight.

One thing Alfred hasn't taken to - yet at least - is ringing, but the exercise again noted his birthday as the quarter-peal at Pettistree was very kindly dedicated to him and although our attendance at the footy meant we couldn't make ringing on the ground-floor six, we were in the presence of ringers. Not mother-in-law Kate who couldn't make it on this occasion, but we met with my brother Chris and St Peter Mancroft Norwich Ringing Master Simon Rudd in the Fanzone pre-match and the latter at half-time on a day that Simon also rang in a peal of Cornwall Surprise Major at Henley.

And a day when we celebrated the tenth anniversary of that tiny baby. Happy Birthday Alfie!

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Tuesday 9th April 2024

The opportunity to be the talk of the fashion world presented itself today with the announcement of a new range of Suffolk Guild clothing. If you would like to be at the forefront of this movement for the ages then it is a relatively straightforward process that is just a few clicks away from this website!

There was no sharing of mine or Ruthie's fashion prowess in any ringing chambers today with Ufford practice cancelled due to a lack of numbers, but resident Suffolk ringers were busier beyond our borders. Phil & Liz Orme were particularly busy down in London, with not only a peal of Bristol Surprise Major at Spitalfields but also a quarter-peal of Bristol Surprise Maximus, Zanussi Surprise Maximus and Stedman Cinques spliced at St Paul's Cathedral and in North Yorkshire six Scases rang a 1260 of Plain Bob Doubles on the 9cwt six of Scalby in celebration of Tracey and Mervyn's son Alex's wedding yesterday. Congratulations Alex!

Such ringing in the future might offer the opportunity to model the Guild's fashionistas!

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Monday 8th April 2024

Across North America the most watched total eclipse of the sun was occurring, complete with live streaming so that we could all watch it as it happened. I find these things fascinating and I did take in the build-up, but I missed the actual eclipse as I needed to get into Ipswich for the weekly practice at St Mary-le-Tower.

I'm glad that I did too, with Lucy Williamson running the session for the first time and doing really well with quite a lot of regulars away due to work, pleasure and illness. As is so often the case when short on numbers though, that offered up opportunities. This evening those opportunities were particularly fruitful for George Heath-Collins, David Lugg and Sue Williamson as we rang Plain & Little Bob Royal spliced, Plain Hunt on Eleven and Stedman Caters (the last attempt of which was particularly well rung) amongst other stuff, including three leads of Bristol Surprise Major on the back eight which improved as it went along and was very enjoyable.

And it was all topped off by a drink at the Halberd Inn which was also very enjoyable.
Nothing to eclipse events in North America though.

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Sunday 7th April 2024

Each year I aim to arrange a peal on or near the boys' birthdays of an appropriate number of changes and/or methods and of course each year makes that increasingly challenging from a ringing perspective. Wednesday is the tenth anniversary of Alfie's birth and so I was looking for a 5010, ten methods or both. Last year, the three boys all got peals of an appropriate number of sixteen, nine and seven Surprise Minor methods for Mason, Alfred and Josh's birthdays respectively, with all three needing rearranging after initial losses in amongst the not inconsiderable time needed to arrange the twelve-bell peals I was arranging for the Guild's centenary, whilst the eldest's seventeenth birthday in January was best served in the circumstances by a 5040 of seventeen Surprise Minor methods, so ideally I wanted to do something else for this one. However, long-term planning during the football season has become extremely difficult, with AJM often having matches arranged at short notice and Ipswich Town's success meaning that fixtures are rearranged for TV coverage just a few weeks beforehand.

So it was with arranging one for Alfie this year. Weekends are usually best of course and I did briefly consider organising it for the Easter weekend, but notwithstanding how busy that got for us, it is tricky to arrange peals over a few days when often towers don't ring for some of it and many peal-ringers can get booked up for special attempts. Next weekend more football is planned at Portman Road and so this weekend long seemed ideal. Except for the local derby against Norwich. For all the anxiety that it would turn out just as it did turn out, amongst the current enthusiasm for the Tractor Boys I wanted to tune in for that and it was pretty much certain it would be moved for Sky TV. It was just to when and that wasn't confirmed until only a month ago. That didn't leave time to arrange anything too ambitious like ten Major methods spliced or a 5010 of Stedman Caters or Cinques or anything like that and so I immediately approached Stephen Pettman about what would be possible with a suitable length on eight and he came back with the idea of an Alliance method which due to the different length of their leads would fit in with a 5010 without any funny starts, amenable as I am to those too.

Therefore I set about organising a band, relatively confident that I could get enough from the large pool of great eight-bell ringers in Suffolk and just beyond, until it became apparent that unbeknown to me Ben Keating was also fixing up a peal attempt at Southwold! On top of that, I was aware of others who were going for a quarter-peal attempt at St Mary-le-Tower, but in the end - in an exhibition of the strength in depth of the county's ringing abilities - I had got a great band together at Grundisburgh for what turned out to 2 hours and 55 minutes of some super ringing as we successfully rang a 5010 of Yorkshire Alliance Major. As the name suggests, this is based on the Surprise method of the same moniker with the only difference being that when the treble gets to the back it does cat's ears (point eights, two blows in sevenths and another point eights) instead of dodge-lay-dodge which has the effect of taking the half-lead dodges out and reducing the length of the lead. Inevitably there was the occasional trip as people added taken out dodges, but they were immediately rectified and in between, the striking and rhythm was of a good standard. Mr P did a typically grand job of conducting, I got to ring round the front for a change and we had a drink in The Dog across the green, with The Turks Head closed (hopefully) temporarily.

Meanwhile, I was delighted to see that the peal at Southwold and QP at St Mary-le-Tower were both successful, as were the 1288 of Grandsire Triples at Halesworth and 1272 of Oxford Treble Bob Minor at Rougham and at Bardwell well done to Max Thomson, Marion Knight-Dixon and Wayne Thomson on ringing their first of Coronation and to Marion on conducting it on a busy day of ringing within our borders.

Earlier I had rung at the aforementioned heaviest ring of bells in the county for the morning worship and after refreshment at Costa Coffee picked Ruthie up from St Mary-the-Virgin in Woodbridge to find her chatting with The Reverend Tom Mumford, the vicar from whence I had come! He had been to the service there as he was having a day off and I'm now looking forward to having a day off peal arranging!

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Saturday 6th April 2024

Suffolk Guild AGM Day. A day I have been approaching with a sense of dread.

Not due to proceedings in Stowmarket I hasten to add. Rather events just over thirty miles away in Norwich where Ipswich Town were playing their local rivals. It is a fixture the Tractor Boys haven't won since 2009 and we haven't won on their patch for eighteen years. Pre-children, pre-marriage, even pre-blog. I still hadn't become SGR Ringing Master since we last won in Norfolk. Even in this incredible season, we still couldn't win at Portman Road and today our record at Carrow Road continued with a disappointing 1-0 defeat.

Still, as it has done so many times over the last twenty years or so, ringing provided a respite to the disappointment as we immediately set off from the home of Ruthie's sister Clare and her fiancé Chris where we'd watched the footy and headed towards the county's newest ten. Unfortunately not in time to ring on them though, with the service touch just starting as we arrived.

Nonetheless, we appreciated the lovely service led by The Reverend Richard Stretch and enjoyed the tea provided afterwards in St Peter's Hall, with a vast choice of tasty curries (I particularly enjoyed the pheasant one!), chilli con carnes, jacket potatoes and quiches followed by an array of scrumptious puddings that raises the bar for the South-East District who are lined up to hold the 2025 AGM on Saturday 26th April. Even the meeting back in St Peter and St Mary's church was pleasant as some of us relaxed on the sofas (some more than others!) at the back during what must surely be the shortest Guild AGM on record at less than forty minutes long in what was an extremely straightforward bit of business indicative of what I've long said about these occasions in the modern age when so much is already debated, discussed and dealt with online and via email beforehand. Those meetings of hours and hours from years gone by seem to be a thing of the past.

That's not to say that nothing was sorted. The Norman Tower won the St Edmunds' Clapper and it was announced that there is no SGR Social planned this year for various reasons, whilst the Guild Striking Competitions due to be held at Falkenham and Felixstowe on Saturday 18th May were advertised. Meanwhile, due to entirely understandable reasons, Katharine Salter intends to stand down as Ringing Master at next year's AGM, whilst this year Kate Gill's five years as Secretary came to an end, Chairman Mark Ogden officially gave up the role of Annual Report Editor as he warned he would at last year's AGM in Beccles and after an incredible twenty years in the job, Christine Knight signed off as Peal Secretary.

Thank you to Kate, one of those poor officers who were thrown into the unprecedented circumstances when the pandemic hit but helped guide the Guild through those uncharted waters, as well as being one of those who organised the superb Centenary Dinner last year. I think you can be extremely satisfied with your five-year stint Kate!

Christine also deserves much thanks for her service to the Guild over the last two decades. Peal-ringing is an important element of the Guild, giving a window to others both now and in the future looking back on what ringing is being is being done by its members, as well helping progress their ringing. Therefore, its recording and analysis is also important. More tangibly though, peal fees bring funds to the Guild, a charity organisation whose purpose is to support Suffolk's ringers and for which finances help them do that through grants for bell projects, training, events, etc. Collecting the peal fees then is important, but as someone who has often needed nudging to send them, I have been most appreciative of Christine's gentle and friendly reminders. Indeed, all but one of the fifty peals I have conducted for the SGR have required me to send fees to Mrs Knight, so if and when I call another one I imagine it'll feel quite strange sending them to someone else!

As it stands though, that someone else hasn't materialised yet as no one has volunteered or been put forward for the role, as is also the case for the Report Editor, although Treasurer Tim Hart is standing in as Peal Secretary and Mark will just hold his current roll for the moment. Hopefully people can be found for these important jobs in an organisation that I think does pretty well at filling vacancies when looking at other comparative associations, guilds and societies. You would have a lot of support, not least from Christine and Mark, so please do consider taking one of these roles up if your circumstances allow. Just leaving it to them to pick the pieces up isn't really an option with Christine having earnt her 'retirement' after two decades and Mark a very busy man, what with being the Chairman and Young Ringers' Coordinator for the SGR and is now heading up the CCCBR's new Ringing 2030 Environments workgroup, as outlined in Central Council President Tina Stoecklin's latest blog which appears in The Ringing World that arrived with us this morning. An edition also includes an extract from the 5th April 1974 issue about raising funds for repairing the tower at Bildeston and a lovely obituary to Muriel Page written by Robert Beavis with help from numerous others.

Muriel may have been appreciative that with more time to play with than expected after today's proceedings, we joined a sizeable crowd in going to The Walnut, an almost TARDISesque establishment with a beer menu. The perfect way to round the day off!

Elsewhere within our borders, a lost peal attempt at Horringer did at least spawn a successful quarter-peal of Bristol Surprise Major whilst at Rushmere St Andrew a 1260 of Grandsire Doubles was successfully rung.

However, the more astute of you will have noticed that despite attending the AGM we didn't actually manage any ringing, but that is just one element of the day which is mainly a fantastic opportunity to socialise with friends, which we did today before the service, during tea and then in the pub. Please do book the date for next year's and support an event with a bad name but which certainly isn't one to dread anymore.

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Friday 5th April 2024

More Surprise Major focus this evening, on this occasion with the South-East District at Henley, where the refurbished gallery is - in my humble opinion at least - a vast improvement on what went before. The wooden balcony and frame that once separated the ringing chamber from the church is now completely glass and makes the ringing chamber light and airy and was a great setting for a session that saw me begin by standing behind to Jenny Scase ringing Bristol and then featured Superlative, Cambridge, Yorkshire and spliced, as well as Cornwall which saw Stephen 'Podge' Christian and me seamlessly swap, causing confusion for all concerned! Well done to SE Ringing Master Hal Meakin on another great practice.

Elsewhere in Suffolk meanwhile, there was a 1320 of eleven Doubles methods rung at Tostock and well done to all the band who rang their first quarter-peal of Single Court Bob Minor in the 1272 at Wissett. With some good Single Court Bob Minor focus.

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Thursday 4th April 2024

Alfie's day was memorable as he met one of the Ipswich Town players when men's defender Cameron Burgess visited the football holiday session that he was at. Not only did our son get to meet the Australian international, but he also got to chat with him and ask him questions (his favourite ITFC player is Leif Davis and his hardest match so far was Monday's for those interested) and even had his shirt autographed. Although it means he can't wash it now! Still, it made his day and it was very exciting for him!

Whilst Ruthie practiced with her choral colleagues this evening, it can't be said the day was as exciting for the rest of the household, with no ringing done by us and indeed there was none recorded on BellBoard from anyone in Suffolk or by the Guild.

At least Alfie's day was memorable.

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Wednesday 3rd April 2024

It's the Easter school holidays and bizarrely (or perhaps not as they're ours?) it has become a typical treat for the boys on Wednesday evenings during the holidays to go to Pettistree's weekly practice and particularly The Greyhound afterwards. Therefore, after Alfie had done football training we collectively travelled to the ground-floor six for a session that was short on numbers, including quite a few Surprise Minor ringers. Yet still London and a touch of spliced were rung as well as call-changes and Doubles of the Grandsire and Plain Bob varieties for John and Sam to treble and/or bong behind to.

Afterwards Alfred and Josh's wish was fulfilled as we popped to the pub next door with their Granny Kate and Hollesley ringer Sam, whilst the practice was preceded with a quarter-peal of Cambridge Surprise Minor rung for one of our absentees Mary Garner.

That wasn't the only birthday being celebrated with a QP in Suffolk today though. Former Guild Chairman Brian Whiting's was with an impressive 1280 of eleven Surprise Major methods spliced at Elveden, whilst the birthday of outgoing SGR Peal Secretary Christine Knight and that of Anita Rose were marked with a 1312 of Double Norwich Court Bob Major at Hopton.

Meanwhile, ringing further afield announced good news from former Burgh ringer Annie Brechin as the peal of Lessness Surprise Major rung in Scotland - where she now lives and rings - at Alloa celebrated her engagement to Edmund. Congratulations Annie and Happy Birthday Mary, Brian, Christine and Anita!

All very upbeat news on an upbeat day, especially for our boys with their holiday treat!

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Tuesday 2nd April 2024

British Summer Time began over the weekend and definitely had an effect on the evening I experienced today as I went out to ringing practice for the first time since the clocks were put forward.

Initially, whilst distracted - like just about every Ipswich Town fan today I imagine - by rewatching the highlights of last night's football at Portman Road and that final goal in particular, it caught me off guard that mother-in-law Kate and Susanne Eddis arrived to pick me up for Ufford practice in daylight, as I lost track of time. And having hastily got my shoes on and leapt into the waiting car, I got to the 13cwt eight to witness Daniel's attempt to take the ringing chamber clock off the wall so it could be changed in line with BST, only for it to somehow be flung halfway across the room! Doesn't time fly... No one was hurt and once it had been put back together - hands and all - we were able to continue with a productive session, especially for Margaret Weeks, who continued her recovery with her first proper ringing since injuring herself in December. Nothing too long, but instead short bursts, culminating in some Plain Hunt on Five.

It was also a useful hour and a half for Peter & Jane Harper's daughter Lizzie who was visiting her parents and joined her father tonight for some bonging behind to Plain Hunt on Seven and trebling to some Plain Bob Doubles, whilst we also rang a 120 of Stedman Doubles and a course of Norwich Surprise Minor only ended by a phonecall on the Ringing Master's phone that she thought might be for work but transpired to be her other daughter! There were also call-changes that briefly needed calling by colours instead of numbers! It was a fun night as British Summer Time gets going!

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Easter Monday 1st April 2024

April Fools' Day produced its usual array of suspiciously daft looking stories on what one social media commentator noted is the only day when we don't take everything online at face value. Bellringers came up with announcements throughout the morning with varying degrees of credibility, from reports that the Swan Tower in Perth which holds a ring of sixteen had twisted in record Australian temperatures, to plans to ring the twelve at St Albans Cathedral from the chancel with no rope guides to the much thought of ten at Abergavenny being augmented.

It was also Easter Monday, a day when peals on church bells return in numbers. Indeed, there were almost as many peals rung on church bells today as there had been over the previous four days combined. There are usually notable peals rung too and this year's Easter Monday was no different with a number that on any other day would be the clear headline act. Only just beyond our borders the longest ever performance on the bells of Great St Mary in Cambridge was rung with a 10300 of Stedman Cinques as part of the celebrations for the three hundredth anniversary year of the Society of Cambridge Youths, by a band that featured Suffolk links with a couple of Pipes and former Bures ringer John Loveless. Down in Winchester, a 5096 of Bristol Surprise Fourteen was rung at the Cathedral with one-time Exning learner Jimmy Yeoman on the second and elsewhere there were more peals of Stedman Cinques at the cathedrals of Worcester and St Paul's in London and also at Wimborne Minster.

There were no peals in our county, but there was a quarter-peal. Well done to Claire Haynes on ringing her first of Grandsire Doubles in the 1280 rung on the 9cwt six of Rushmere St Andrew!

We weren't contributing anything to a busy day of ringing though, not even at the weekly practice at St Mary-le-Tower. For as that was already underway, we were leaving Portman Road after another thrilling match and one of the biggest roars I've ever experienced here, with Ipswich Town beating one of the other four teams in this extraordinary promotion race, Southampton, with just about the final kick of the game. It topped off a lovely afternoon that began with our usual pre-match meal at the Mermaid with mother-in-law and Ufford Ringing Master Kate Eagle and continued onto the Fanzone where we were greeted by Offton ringer Caroline Goodchild working at the club and once I'd taken Alfie to First Aid for a grazed arm, we had a drink with my brother and Norman Tower ringer Chris and Norwich ringer Simon Rudd before a fantastic match in an incredible atmosphere.

Ipswich Town top of the league? It's no April Fool!

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Easter Sunday 31st March 2024

Easter Sunday is a special day and ringing plays a big part. Many towers have stood silent for the last seven days, with practices cancelled. Today, bells across the county broke that silence and rang out to mark the celebratory nature of today following the sombre days that preceded it. At Woodbridge the sound is further enhanced because throughout Lent they have been half-muffled, but this morning they rang out completely open and even better all eight were ringing. It is always lovely to hear all the bells here ringing and it also affords me the opportunity to experience what in my humble opinion is the best view when ringing a bell in Suffolk, looking down the River Deben.

Afterwards, the boys and I joined the service downstairs where the children decorated eggs and butterfly shapes before us adults then enjoyed a glass of Prosecco in St Mary's House ahead of a day where we popped round Ruthie's mother Kate's for more chocolate and then returned home for a roast dinner and some red wine.

Other ringers in the county were busier in the exercise though. The aforementioned Mrs Eagle had already rung in an early morning quarter-peal at Pettistree by the time we saw her and the boys' grandad Ron, whilst former South-East District Ringing Master Jenny Scase celebrated the fiftieth anniversary anniversary of her first peal with a 5050 of Plain Bob Major rung on the third at Henley - the same method, bell and tower that she rang on 31st March 1974 that also marked a notable moment in the county's history, Congratulations Jenny, who has been invaluable to ringing in the Guild, not just as SE RM, but also at Debenham where her energetic running of the practice is wonderful to behold! She has helped many ringers in this corner of the SGR.

However, the headline act in ringing within our borders was a first quarter-peal for Ricky Paterson in the 1260 of Grandsire Doubles rung on the 7cwt front six of the ten at Stowmarket, highlighting one of the benefits of augmenting a heavy eight. Well done Ricky on what I hope is the first of many!

It was a special landmark on a special day.

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Holy Saturday 30th March 2024

We finished our fleeting visit to the North-West of England with a welcome breakfast at the Red Lion across Swinton from our overnight accommodation of the local Premier Inn before we set off back to Suffolk. After our frustrating journey up the M6 yesterday, we decided to try another way back along the more picturesque M62 and then ultimately down the A1(M) and bar a considerable hold-up on the former just outside Huddersfield, it was generally a lot smoother trip than twenty-four hours earlier. It also allowed for new possibilities for our game of spotting football stadiums and towers with bells. Nothing for the footy-mad boys this time, but plenty for Ruthie and me, such as the 12cwt six at Darrington in West Yorkshire which is memorable for no other reason than it being the first tower of the 1995 Rambling Ringers Tour which is fondly remembered holiday of my youth and the 32cwt twelve of Grantham in Lincolnshire that we're yet to ring on but are apparently very nice and hang in a tall, distinctive spire-topped tower that I imagine can be seen for many miles around.

The boys were delighted to be back in time for the Gladiators Grand Final (as opposed to the less grand final that I must have missed) and Ruthie was pleased to have enough time to have a cuppa of tea and the opportunity to prepare for singing at Great Bealings this evening, but there was no time for ringing and nor was there any noted on BellBoard from the county we were returning to. Indeed, it was very quiet on BB generally with only three peals rung nationwide, all on handbells, but all in keeping with the numbers on previous Holy Saturdays, even pre-pandemic.

I don't think we missed too much ringing whilst we were travelling down from the North-West therefore.

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Good Friday 29th March 2024

Last Friday we were on the south coast, this Friday we were amongst the dark satanic mills and looming hills of the north-west of England.

Nothing to do with ringing this time, although there is a 25cwt ten, 6cwt and 17cwt eights in Blackburn where we found ourselves on this Good Friday. Instead all five of our household were here to watch Ipswich Town play the Lancashire town's men's football team for what was Alfie and Josh's first away match. The boys have been desperate to watch an away game, but tickets for the Tractor Boys' travelling support have been difficult to come by this season and so when the combination of a bank holiday fixture and late kick-off at a stadium where more away tickets than usual are available due to a smaller percentage of the home seats being filled allowed us the opportunity to get tickets, we felt we had to take that opportunity, despite the distance and logistical challenges!

One of those logistical challenges was when and how to travel there and back. The 5.30pm kick-off for Sky TV meant that it made sense to make the journey during the day, but also that any immediate return home would see us get back very late at night or even in the early hours of the following morning. Not desirable with young children. Some we knew were using the coaches laid on by the club, but those were of course coming straight back after full-time, so we decided against that, even if it would've taken the pressure of getting there off us. With works on the railways disrupting travel on the trains, public transport wasn't something we could rely on. Therefore, we chose to drive ourselves and book an overnight stay nearby for afterwards.

Thus started a long day which began with us leaving at 8am on a journey broken up only with a fuel-stop at Tesco on the edge of Stowmarket and a break for the usual things at Stafford services and accompanied with a game of spot the football stadium for the boys and spot the tower with bells for Ruthie and me. The former was sated with views of the grounds of Coventry City and Walsall, the latter with the familiar sightings of local landmarks like the towers of Elmswell and Woolpit either side of junction 47 of the A14, but also the be-spired tower of Ellington in Cambridgeshire and further spires at Denford in Northamptonshire and Coleshill in the West Midlands, whilst once through Spaghetti Junction, Aston provided a tick for both parties with Villa Park and the 24cwt twelve just yards apart and clearly visible from the motorway.

However, not unexpectedly, our travels were also accompanied with regular stoppages for traffic. Our SatNav suggested that we would arrive at our destination at about 12.30pm, but we finally parked the car outside the Golden Cup about twenty minutes walk from Ewood Park where the footy was being played (not quite the two minutes walk that the young chap obligingly taking payment for parking at the gate claimed it was!) at around 2.30pm.

Nonetheless, that was still in plenty of time for kick-off and gave us enough time to wander down to The Fernhurst where in a rather disorientating experience we were greeted by a pub full of ITFC fans and Greene King beers behind the bar! More refreshment was had in the away fanzone in the drizzle where we met up with some of Joshua's classmates and their parents (although unusually for a Town game these days, no other bellringers!) before watching the Tractor Boys win 1-0 to put them top of the Championship with a performance that wasn't their best and was incredibly nerve-wracking with the hosts having three goals disallowed!

In good cheer we exited and with the grey northern skies now black, travelled thirty miles to the Premier Inn in Swinton on the outskirts of Manchester where after a takeaway our tired family rested their weary heads.

On our travels up north before we passed the 14cwt six of Exning on the far western edge of the SGR, it was nice to hear the words 2 hours 38 minutes and 23 seconds into Wayne Bavin's show on BBC Radio Suffolk of the Right Reverend Martin Seeley the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and therefore President of the Guild about Easter. It was a welcome reminder of what this important weekend in the liturgical calendar is really about, but there was no ringing in the county on BellBoard to mark it.

Maybe there will be more ringing in Suffolk next Friday, whatever part of the country its ringers are in.

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Maundy Thursday 28th March 2024

Essex Association Ringing Master Andrew Kelso made national headlines today and even incurred the wrath of Nigel Farage. Many will recall that he judged the Suffolk Guild Striking Competitions with Brian Meads at Polstead and Lavenham in 2019 and he is a very good ringer, but it is in his role as the Medical Director at the NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board that he has been rather unfairly put at the centre of the type of controversy that could probably only have happened in the age of social media. For his 'crime' is to be a doctor warning that eating an entire chocolate Easter egg isn't very healthy and suggesting that people resist the temptation, but it seems he is now the epitome of the figurehead of the 'woke' left!

Hopefully no such headline-making from this blog and today's shouldn't enrage the right wing, left wing or any other wing as what God willing will be a lovely Easter weekend began with Josh winning a hamper in the seasonal raffle at school, me collecting Mason from his mum's and then picking Alfie and his classmate from another classmate's birthday party in Bredfield, whilst Ruthie sang for the Maundy Thursday Eucharist at St Mary-the-Virgin in Woodbridge.

A reminder of what this weekend is actually about rather more than chocolate eggs, whether you eat them whole or not!

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Wednesday 27th March 2024

When I arrived at Pettistree this evening, something had been suggested, as is quite often the case at the practice here. On this occasion it was St Augustine Bob Doubles. Now, despite ringing in a peal of 100 Doubles methods at Iken just over a decade ago (which was very much rung by the seat of my pants!), I'm not well up on the intricacies of this level of ringing with it's variations and different calls, so I'd never heard of it. I assumed it must be fiendishly difficult though judging by the concentrated faces and furrowed brows examining it's line on phones and paper, so I asked to see it too.

It transpires that it is Grandsire Doubles if you called a single at every lead, but of course this wasn't the major issue, although as we discovered in the trio of attempts at this across the session that does give scope for tripping people up. Rather, the trickier bit was applying the calls, which in this case was an Extreme, which is where the bells in first, seconds and fifths stay in place for two blows when it's called. The astute will recognise that this is what happens at a plain leadend of Plain Bob, but when you throw in what happens immediately either side of the leadend it isn't as simple as it sounds!

All of which highlights the rich tapestry of ringing. Not everyone has the opportunity to ring stuff on twelve or even spliced Surprise Minor or Major, but four determined inside ringers with someone who can plain hunt on the treble can give their brain a bit of a workout!

That wasn't all we rang of course, with the usual eclectic range from call-changes for Catherine to a touch of spliced Minor before Hollesley ringer Sam Shannon and Suffolk Guild Chairman Mark Ogden enjoyed a drink in The Greyhound and even serenaded a birthday cake on the adjacent table!

Earlier, either side of Alfie's football training I dropped Ruthie off at St Mary-the-Virgin church in Woodbridge and then picked her up for an extra choir practice in anticipation of what is planned to be a typically busy Easter of singing, all of which meant that as is the norm these days we couldn't ring in the pre-practice quarter-peal attempt of Ipswich Surprise Minor on the aforementioned ground-floor six.

Unusually that was lost, but there was ringing some ringing success in the county today as a 1344 of Plain Bob Major was rung on The Barn Owl Ring in Norton, which notably was the first time that Simon Rudd had double-handed to a QP on towerbells. Well done Simon on what he said was quite a stressful task!

Although presumably not as stressful as ringing St Augustine Bob Doubles.

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Tuesday 26th March 2024

No practice at Ufford as it's Holy Week and so instead my evening was one of hunting for Easter eggs in Tesco and it looks like it was very quiet in Suffolk ringing today generally.

God willing April ought to be busier, not least on Saturday 6th when Stowmarket is due to host the Guild's AGM Day. If you would like to ring in a quarter-peal before proceedings then please fill in the form on this website or contact Neal Dodge by email or via 07941 505 831 and if you would like the hot tea then please contact Jo Beever by email or 07773 392 979 before next Tuesday. Meanwhile, open ringing on the county's newest ten is planned from 2-3.30pm, followed by Evensong in the church, whilst the business meeting itself is due to be held at 6pm after the tea in the Church Hall. Please do come along and support it if you can. As usual I'm not going to make the meeting out to be exciting, but the easy, instant communication almost all the members and officers now enjoy, the taking of reports as read (unless of course something needs raising from them) and proposing and seconding ahead of the day of those up for election should mean that we no longer get a repeat of the marathon slogs that these once were many years ago. I hope as many members as possible are able to join in to participate in the democracy of the organisation that they pay a subscription to. Above all, it is a reason to get friends together.

Normally the first Saturday of the month would be a South-East District event, but sensibly they are moving theirs this month. Indeed, although I usually tell SE members to keep the first Saturday clear if possible as that will always be when their district ringing will be on, it is the first of three SE events that are penciled in for a different Saturday, with the (SE) Striking Competition moved to 11th May on account of a large proportion (I can think of nine or ten at least) of those involved potentially being at Portman Road for Ipswich Town men's team's last home match of their league season and the outing in July planned for North-East Essex slated for the 13th. This month there are also a trio of SE events lined up, including on the eve of the AGM when a Surprise Major Practice is planned to be held at Henley, whilst precisely three weeks later the intention is to revisit the 8cwt eight for another Kaleidoscope Practice and the Saturday before it is hoped to hold a practice on the easy-going six at Clopton from 10.30am-12.30pm.

The only other event noted on What's On for next month is the South-West District Practice intended to be held from 7-8.30pm on Saturday 27th at St Gregory in Sudbury, hoping to follow-up another apparently well-attended practice held at Kersey last Saturday whilst we had been in Portsmouth for the National 12-bell Striking Contest eliminator. On 15th June the plan is for the final of the contest to be held at Chilcompton in Somerset and its rural nature means that there are fewer amenities to hand. Therefore, they are asking that if anyone is planning on attending that they let them know by filling in a form that can be found on the event's website, along with a form for anyone who would like to help them host it by volunteering.

All being well then, not all days in the coming weeks need be as quiet as today!

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Monday 25th March 2024

Holy Week is traditionally a week when many church bells go silent. Various towers find something else to do, such as transferring their practice to a mini-ring or running a handbell session. St Mary-le-Tower's ringers usually use the opportunity to have the annual spring-clean of the famous old ringing chamber, but I've never actually gone along, even when I was Ringing Master here. In a house frequented by three boys who often cause a mess almost as soon as we've tidied, cleaning at home is quite the chore, so making a near twenty-mile round trip to specifically clean somewhere else after a day at work was hard to justify when money was tighter and/or it required leaving the Ruthie at home with the boys. Additionally, I am frankly rubbish at cleaning and so I've long suspected I would be more in the way than of any help.

However, I do recognise the need for it to be done and for people to go along to do it and so when the important St Mary-le-Tower Society of Change Ringers AGM was cannily arranged for this evening, it would have been churlish not to head into Ipswich early to offer my help clutching a cloth and some disinfectant like someone unsure what drink to bring to a party. What greeted me as I arrived with Rosemary Caudle and her feather duster was a huge number of people already busying themselves in just about every conceivable nook and cranny of the room with polish and dusters, with people up ladders and climbing over the window seats. As I'd imagine, I was more a hindrance than a help and it justified my decision not to specially make the journey in previous years as I spent much of the time wandering around looking for things to do. That said, I did help to hang some of the pictures back up and it is wonderful to see how as a collective we care for our ringing chamber and that some do this every year! Like many reading this, I have been to hundreds of ringing chambers nationwide and by no means are all as fortunate to have such dedication to their upkeep.

I was also pleased to see the new pealboard in the flesh following its collection from Southampton over the weekend. It records the 5042 of Yorkshire Surprise Maximus we rang here last May for King Charles III's coronation and the intention for the vicar Reverend Tom Mumford to bless it at a service on Bell Sunday on 12th May was one of the items discussed after the spring-clean at the meeting chaired by Tom tonight in the 'Stables' at the Halberd Inn.

Much else was also discussed of course. Former regular on the 34cwt twelve Adrian Knights was remembered, with Ralph Earey perceptively commenting that Arnie would've appreciated having a ringers meeting in the pub! New bandmembers were elected, a revised constitution was robustly but politely and civilly debated, an update on the training bells project given and Peter Davies was deservedly given thanks and a gift for the invaluable work he does quietly and without fuss. Most notable was that Colin Salter has felt that he has had to step down as Ringing Master after twelve months. Circumstances, responsibilities and demands change rapidly when your Colin's age as most of us can testify, so it is entirely understandable, but it is a pity as he was doing much good, including the recent focus on Bristol Surprise Maximus , which I hope we can continue. Fortunately for us, David Potts is happy to step back into the role he only left last year, albeit just until the next AGM and he will be ably backed up by Ian Culham as Tower Captain and the good team of officers we are blessed to have here at the heaviest ring of bells in Suffolk.

Elsewhere, it was noticeable as it usually is every Holy Week how many quarters and peals were rung on private rings and handbells rather than church bells and that included within our borders where the only ringing noted on BellBoard was at Moats Tye where a QP was rung in hand of a 1376 of Plain Bob Major composed and conducted by Brian Whiting.

It is another excellent way for ringers to spend this Holy Week.

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Sunday 24th March 2024

A long journey when going away can seem quite an adventure with the anticipation of getting to your holiday at the other end and especially after yesterday's daylong frivolities, excitement and yes, beer, today could've been quite a long chore as we attempted to make that long journey back.

However, having decided to turn this into a family weekend away, this bright and sunny Sunday was the perfect way to recover from Saturday's excesses, beginning with a leisurely breakfast and then a swim with Kate and the boys in the pool at Langstone Quays Resort. Bags packed, we departed our lovely accommodation of the last couple of nights, paid a visit to Ron's daughter Rosie and her family at their home and then headed back to Portsmouth.

Our ultimate destination was the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, a fascinating place that included a tour of a decommissioned submarine (which as you would expect is a cosy experience which would probably be the most inappropriate place to do handbell ringing!) and was reached from the Dockyard via a boat trip that allowed views of the city skyline which included the distinctive shape of the Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury where we were twenty-four hours earlier.

Eventually we did set off home after a lovely day of being a tourist and although it didn't involve any ringing we returned to a county where there was quite a bit of ringing, with four quarter-peals rung. Happy Birthday to Erika Clarke and well done to her on ringing her first QP of Grandsire Triples in the 1288 at Southwold, whilst a 1282 of Cambridge Surprise Royal was rung at The Norman Tower and 1260s of Minor and Doubles were rung at Rougham and Troston respectively.

Nice to read about those at the end of a Sunday that turned out better than it could've done!

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Saturday 23rd March 2024

If at any point leading up to Ipswich's entry today into the National 12-bell Striking Contest in the eliminator at Portsmouth Cathedral anyone had asked me if I would be pleased if we got all twelve ringers together, were drawn to ring first, produced a reasonably good half-course of Cambridge Surprise Maximus and didn't finish last, then I - and I suspect most of our band - would have emphatically said yes!

After we'd enjoyed a nice breakfast in the restaurant at Langstone Quays Resort overlooking a beautiful sunny scene across to the UK mainland and had very kindly been dropped off by Kate, Ron and the boys on their way to a day at the Dockyard, we were pleased to gradually meet up with nine others from the band, with the twelfth James Smith reassuringly messaging us via the band WhatsApp group to inform us that despite his train out of Waterloo breaking down, he was on his way. Having suffered the blow of an injured Amanda Richmond for our third entry in a row, it felt a bit of a win already to get everyone down there!

At 11am, the busy chatter of ringing friends from across the country reunited was reduced to a hush as Tom Mack from the competition committee, Peter Sheppard of the local band and the Cathedral's Dean the Very Reverend Dr Anthony Cane approached the microphone in front of the big screen that was to relay images and sounds of the bells ringing. Introductions were made, safety measures imparted and then the draw for the ringing order was made, where the second part of my dream scenario was completed. Ringing first isn't really the very best position to ring, with setting everyone off quite daunting, going in cold straight from getting there not the ideal preparation for some and a perception that the judges' ears will be picking up faults more eagerly, although that latter negative is minimal if at all existent, especially when helped by the technology now available to them to ensure close finishes are not affected by any judging fatigue. However, any spot in the first three is far, far preferable to ringing in the last couple of slots as we did at The Norman Tower a couple of years ago, at least from a social perspective. An early start means that one can relax for the rest of the day and enjoy the ringing, company and beer.

With James having arrived after his difficult journey in, we gathered as instructed behind the welcome desk and were led up to the galley and then after a wait of a few minutes with our start time still a little way off, up to the ringing chamber. Usually all teams are offered the opportunity to visit the competition venue to practice in the weeks leading up to the contest, but it was decided this year that no teams would be given that chance, apart from the hosts of course. I can understand the reasons behind it, which include the environmental aspect and the potential of putting teams who would have to travel long distances (such as York in our group today) off from entering. The pre-competition visit is always something that I always enjoy, a day trip out that usually builds up the anticipation and it did mean that for most of our band we were stepping straight into an unfamiliar environment to compete. Likewise, although the 24cwt twelve here aren't any more oddstruck than you would expect at any ring of twelve, they are oddstruck in different ways to what we're used to at St Mary-le-Tower, as well as being noticeably lighter. We needed to hit the ground running, identifying any issues quickly and adjusting as we went along. Of course, this is simply what we have to do in any other striking competition that we enter, from the South-East District Competitions to The Ridgman Trophy and it was the same for all the teams, again bar the hosts. Besides, we still had a quarter of an hour to practice before we had to get into the test piece and we used that time to focus on the first lead, being brought round by Little Bob, before we gave the signal of the two trebles ringing two whole pulls and set off on our test piece, the result of which was - bar a brief kerfuffle I found myself involved in towards the end - a continually improving piece. Another tick for the dream scenario.

Obviously we had to wait several hours for the final piece of that scenario to be realised, but once we greeted the Oxford band who followed us, we set about enjoying the hospitality on offer. And what hospitality! The locals are to be congratulated on their superb hosting of a challenging event. There was food and drink aplenty, as well as nearby pubs, a play area for the numerous children present and lots of information imparted via their website and an informative programme handed out on arrival. It was fantastic to catch up with familiar faces, such as Andy Blacklock, Alison Edmonds, Simon Edwards and David Hull from the York band, as well as Robin Hall from Oxford, Liz & Stuart Hutchieson and Anthony Cotton from Melbourne, Simon & Rebecca Ridley of the Cheltenham band, David Mattingley from the hosts who was serving at the bar (I spoke with him a few times!) and once of Suffolk Louis Suggett who was ringing the tenor for Wimborne, whilst I only got the chance of the briefest nods and greetings to people like one-time Ipswich ringer Ian Mills and Pealbase founder Drew Craddock who spoke at the SGR's 90th Anniversary Dinner in 2013. Meanwhile, it was lovely as always to spend the day with our bandmates during this shared experience, especially hearing the amusing tale of SE District Ringing Master Hal Meakin being "abandoned" in Southampton yesterday after he'd knocked on the wrong door to collect the latest addition to the impressive collection of pealbards on the walls of St Mary-le-Tower's ringing chamber.

Eventually the ringing came to an end and a short while later the judges John Fisher and our fellow Rambling Ringer Andrew Mills approached the microphone, by which point the boys and their grandparents had joined us after a fun day exploring The Mary Rose, HMS Victory and HMS Warrior. First up John gave comments which were positive about everyone, with the gist of ours being that it was a measured piece that set the tone, something I think we ought to be very pleased with.

After the comments, Andrew stepped up to give the results and this is where that final piece of that pleasing scenario fell into place, as we were placed eighth out of nine. Obviously we would've loved to have qualified, but although our success in the 2022 competition showed what we capable of, it usually takes time for bands to get established in the contest and so progress has to be our main aim at the moment. Although not qualifying when last time we did qualify doesn't sound like progress, when one considers where we came from, I think it is definitely helping our progress. Pre-pandemic and when we started preparing for the the 2020 contest that never happened, it was almost a running joke that when we rang Stedman Cinques it rarely came round and Surprise Maximus wasn't a regular occurrence. Now it is really unusual if we don't ring both on a Monday night and often on a Sunday morning and ring it well. As with striking competitions on all numbers, local, regional and national, the idea is that it isn't just those who ring in the competition who benefit, but rather that it filters down to everyone else they ring with. I believe that has certainly been the case at St Mary-le-Tower over the last five years.

Interesting too that 'Millsy' commented that he believed that all the ringing was better than that at the final at Surfleet in 2003 that he judged, which shows how far the competition has taken twelve-bell ringing generally as well as ourselves, which ultimately is the main aim of striking competitions rather than dividing teams into 'winners' and 'losers', along with being a jolly good day out. Hopefully we will continue our progress with an entry into the 2025 contest, because I believe it is doing us a lot of good and is a great advert for twelve-bell ringing (and general ringing) in Ipswich and Suffolk. Well done to Colin Salter and Ian Culham on leading us there and to all who rang and rang with us in our preparations, as well as our childsitters!

We weren't far behind Wimborne, with potentially the only difference being that slight kerfuffle, but the tension was gradually ramped up with Cheltenham and York placed sixth and fifth respectively, before the two favourites the Cumberlands and Melbourne were announced as finishing in first and second. That left just our hosts Portsmouth who had never rung in a final and who were in only their second entry or five-time finalists Oxford to be revealed as the third team to qualify for the 2024 Final due to be held at Chilcompton on Saturday 15th June, a tense moment broken by the announcement of the home team qualifying for their first ever final! Memories of Bury St Edmunds two years ago came flooding back as I could imagine how they were feeling. Congratulations Portsmouth, who are now penciled in to join Bristol who qualified on their home bells along with St Paul's Cathedral and Cambridge (in the process knocking out 2019 winners Exeter) and from the Reading eliminator Birmingham, the College Youths and Guildford (who just beat our friends from Norwich) in that final planned for eighty-four days time.

After our eliminator, many were sticking around to socialise in the Cathedral and I imagine pubs, restaurants and maybe even trains were busy later with convivial bellringers into the evening, but we were returning to Hayling Island for our own socialising as we met with Ron's daughter Toni and her other half, first at their place and then at the Bay of Bengal for a curry.

It was a lovely way to round off a lovely day that went as well as we could've hoped for.

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Friday 22nd March 2024

Today covered around 170 miles, a morning of work, much packing, a trip to school and a hotel meal, ultimately in the name of ringing, but not involving any ringing.

Tomorrow is when the three eliminators for the National 12-bell Striking Contest are scheduled to take place. One in Bristol, one in Reading and one in Portsmouth, where Ipswich are lined up to compete, with Ruthie and me one of the twelve ringers penciled in for the band. When the subject of looking after the boys for the weekend was first raised with mother-in-law Kate, she very kindly agreed, before then coming up with an even better idea. For the boys' Grandad Ron's daughter Toni works at Langstone Quays Resort on Hayling Island just alongside the coast from the city and it's 24cwt twelve at it's cathedral we are due to ring at on Saturday, so the suggestion was that we made a family weekend of it by staying there.

Therefore, having carried out my half-day employment at John Catt Educational, helped my wife pack and then went to school with Mrs Eagle to meet Ron and collect Alfie and Josh, we journeyed down to the south coast.

We arrived in reasonable time - appropriately driving past the scene of our last foray into the competition Guildford Cathedral along the way - for a journey taking in the Friday rush hour which allowed us to arrive at our accommodation in a relaxed fashion to be greeted by Toni, a bottle of fizzy and a couple of chocolate muffins for the boys, which was very kind and very much appreciated and all followed up by that meal in the hotel restaurant, where we were joined by Ron's other daughter Rosie and her family.

Meanwhile, other members of the band were arriving in Portsmouth at various accommodation, some via collecting a pealboard for St Mary-le-Tower, before a number of them met for a curry. Let's hope we aren't ringing first tomorrow...

Back in Suffolk, well done to young Clem Day on ringing his first quarter-peal of Primrose Surprise Minor in the 1272 at Ashbocking, whilst further afield my attention was drawn to Geoffrey Brewin's one thousandth peal which he rang today at St John in Bedwardine in Worcester. When I lived and rang in the Midlands I rang seven peals with Geoffrey. Nothing extraordinary, but they were all peals that compared to a lot of the more complicated, full-on peals I was ringing in Birmingham at the time were quite relaxing attempts mainly in the Stourbridge area and whilst I can't claim to have known him well, I'm pleased to have contributed towards his landmark total, even if to a very small extent. Congratulations Geoffrey!

Even so, I'm not convinced his day covered as much as ours!

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Thursday 21st March 2024

Happy Birthday to Rowan Wilson the Guild's Chairman up until last year's AGM (reminder - this year's is due to take place at Stowmarket on Saturday 6th April and names for tea need to be in to Jo Beever via email or on 07773 392 979 by Tuesday 2nd April), whose significant anniversary of her birth was celebrated today with a 5060 of Birthday Delight Major at Bardwell.

It wasn't the only performance celebrating milestone birthdays which were recorded on BellBoard from the county today, as the quarter-peal of Yorkshire Surprise Major at Horringer was dedicated to the seventieth birthday of Sally Crouch and sixtieth birthday of Deborah Blumfield's partner Peter.

No ringing for anyone in our household for the first time this week though as Ruthie focused on singing as she usually does on a Thursday, whilst I found myself booking accommodation and trying to work out ways to get there.

All of which is very exciting for us, but not as active as celebrating the milestone birthdays of Rowan, Sally and Peter!

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Wednesday 20th March 2024

About a year ago I noted that a number of the entries on this website for towers with four or more bells were without photos. I didn't expect much change to that twelve months on, with all them places where the bells were unringable, not to be rung or not hung for change ringing and therefore less likely to be visited by Guild members, so I am impressed to see that the entries at Burgate and Stuston have subsequently been updated with photos taken by Martin Kirk. Thank you Martin!

This came to my attention as today I was adding to the photo gallery as I found myself at the Royal Hospital School in Holbrook, where a 21cwt five are hung dead in the distinctive tower at the centre of this huge independent school. It was too good an opportunity to miss.

The reason Ruthie and I were there wasn't for photography though, pleasant as a spot of that would be down the picturesque Shotley Peninsula, even on this grey, drizzly morning. Rather we were there to support Alfie as he and others represented his school at a cross-country event involving dozens of primary schools from across the area over the vast grounds of this famous institution. Split into separate school years as well as boys and girls races, Alfred and three fellow classmates joined well over a hundred runners in his race alone. Although AJM qualified for the second year running for this event and enthusiastically throws himself into most things he tries (although sadly not ringing yet), it won't surprise many to discover that our family doesn't have a particularly strong aptitude for running. Imagine then how chuffed and happy we were for him when he came in nineteenth after a 1.3 mile long race! Quite rightly he was very pleased with himself and we were delighted to be able to witness it having been unable to come along last year.

Along the way we passed the six in the village, whilst it was interesting geographically to see how close the six at Stutton are to where we were, with the tower poking over the top of the neighbouring woodland as we furnished ourselves with refreshments ahead of the racing.

Later in the day my wife was ringing at another six as she went along to Pettistree's weekly practice, which was preceded by a quarter-peal of Bourne Surprise Minor and followed by a drink in The Greyhound for Mrs Munnings. It is worth noting that there is a session planned for next Wednesday, but being Holy Week most practices are due to be cancelled, such as St Mary-le-Tower's on Monday. Therefore, the usual warning to check before you travel out lest you have a wasted journey and before you assume ringing isn't on to just make sure in case somewhere is short due to your absence!

Perhaps with your extra spare time you could take some more photos of those towers that need them on this website!

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Tuesday 19th March 2024

Surprise Major was very much the focus for me this evening, as the second monthly Surprise Major Practice at Ufford took place. Ruthie went along to the first one in February and came back effusive in her reporting of it, so I was grateful for the opportunity to go to this month's, especially as it was again extremely productive. Bristol, Cambridge, Lincolnshire, London, Rutland, Superlative and Yorkshire were all rung, as was a touch of spliced, in the main rung well with many cobwebs blown away and progress made under the guidance of Kate Eagle with a crowd present large in number but not overwhelming.

Great to see everyone too and to hear about a successful Aldeburgh ringers' outing in Essex on Saturday and one local ringer's recent visit to Mountain Warehouse which was very amusing!

A lovely atmosphere perfect for some Surprise Major focus.

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Monday 18th March 2024

Munnings Little Delight Major and Dolphin Bob Major were two methods rung in peals and named specifically for the occasions they were rung for. Neither have been rung since they were pealed in 2014 for Alfie's birth and 2022 for Lesley Dolphin's retirement respectively, mainly because of that specificness. The former is unlikely to be rung again unless for something related to our family, the latter in the unlikely circumstances someone feels the need to ring for any aquatic mammals.

Sally 70 Treble Place Major may get rung more often. Although a year too late to use for my mother Sally's seventieth birthday, there must be other Sallys whose seventieth birthday could be celebrated in the future with this new method. Regardless, it is fitting that it was named in honour of Sally Crouch reaching that landmark today in the peal rung at Horringer for the occasion, appropriately making up the length to a 5070 on bells she is synonymous with. Every time I have been here for a ringing event, the hospitality and welcome has been wonderful, with Sally front and centre of it and of course she oversaw the replacing in 2016 of the old eight here which was the subject of much gentle ribbing (not least from me!) with the lovely new octave they now have. She is a lovely lady who has done much for ringing here, including bringing her children to the exercise! Happy Birthday Sally.

Congratulations also to Stephen Pettman who completed a 'Pealbase circle' of the tower, having only previously rung the fifth as the the third of the back six to a peal of Minor just before Christmas 1973. In the process, he also completed the circle as conductor. Unusual but nice to see this twice Past Ringing Master of the Suffolk Guild away from the treble for a peal!

My ringing today wasn't as notable to the wider world, but the weekly session at St Mary-le-Tower this evening was the last opportunity to practice the half-course of Cambridge Surprise Maximus that the Ipswich band are due to ring at Portsmouth Cathedral on Saturday in the National 12-bell Striking Contest. Therefore we tried to get as many of the band together for a couple of attempts at it amongst the other 'usual' ringing. On this occasion we didn't quite get everyone, but our numbers did include Ruthie, who thanks to her mother Kate and her dog Merlin looking after the boys was able to come out with me tonight. We could've gone for a drink afterwards too, but we decided against it for various reasons, including bracing our livers and bank balances for our intended weekend plans!

Which at the moment don't include ringing Munnings Little Delight, Dolphin Bob or even Sally 70 Treble Place Major.

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Sunday 17th March 2024

This afternoon was the final opportunity for the complete band to practice for Ipswich's intended entry into the National 12-bell Striking Contest at Portsmouth Cathedral in six days time, as the twelve of us gathered at St Mary-le-Tower for four attempts at the planned test piece of half a course of Cambridge Surprise Maximus in an hour-and-a-half session. And although due to user error Hawkear failed to record our first two pieces to fully back this assertion up, it was very productive with some really good ringing. Thank you to Ruthie's mother Kate who looked after Josh whilst we rang and Alfie went to a classmate's birthday party at Framlingham College. She deserves as much thanks for helping us in our preparations as those filling in when team members couldn't ring.

Many will now know that in a freakish coincidence we will be without Amanda Richmond again due to a broken leg and our thoughts are with her, but beyond praying that everyone stays well and makes it to the south coast as we enter those nervy last few days when anything going wrong with our preparations are amplified, our hopes are to put in a good effort on Saturday. Our eliminator group is incredibly hard, with it likely that regular finalists Melbourne, Oxford and the Society of Royal Cumberland Youths will be metaphorically battling it out for the top three positions that will qualify for the final lined up for Chilcompton on Saturday 16th June with one-time regular finalists York whose fourth-place finish last year on their return to the contest with an extremely good band will probably encourage and motivate them for this year, whilst the hosts and Hursley from just twenty miles away will be the most familiar with the bells. Many outsiders would probably and understandably imagine that if all goes as planned that we would be competing with the two local Hampshire teams and relative newcomers Cheltenham and Wimborne Minster (who have only entered the contest three times between them before this year) to be the 'best of the rest', but as we showed a couple of years ago you never know!

Of course the same could be said for the other eliminators, which on paper at least are far harder to predict than our group, for different reasons. Our neighbours in Norwich should be in with a shout of qualifying from theirs at Reading where the Ancient Society of College Youths and Birmingham - the two teams who have won the competition more than anyone else - will most likely take the top two spots. Four teams - our friends from north of the River Waveney, Guildford, Sheffield and Towcester - have been in the final in recent years and could take that third spot, but who knows? Perhaps outsiders Chester or (and?) the hosts Reading might cause an upset. Probably not, but again you never know!

Meanwhile, the eliminator at St Stephen's in Bristol will see at least two regular finalists miss out as the hosts, Cambridge, 2019 winners Exeter, Leeds and St Paul's Cathedral will compete for three spaces, possibly with Southwark and Worcester at a stretch and at an even greater stretch Stockton-on-Tees. My gut instinct on that is Bristol, Cambridge and Exeter winning through, but I'm not Mystic Meg!

Hopefully it'll be fun finding out, especially in Portsmouth and we'll always appreciate support from Suffolk and to that end if you are planning on going down there then the local band's website for the occasion is well worth a gander. However, if you can't make it to the south coast city then please do consider supporting the South-West District Practice at Kersey between 3 and 4.30pm.

Today though, my ringing began at Woodbridge participating in call-changes on the front six of this 25cwt eight before joining the morning worship which we were ringing for, but there wasn't anything else reported on BellBoard from within our borders.

At least it gave twelve of us that opportunity to practice for the National 12-bell Striking Contest.

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Saturday 16th March 2024

For a Saturday morning, today started in quite a leisurely fashion. Bright sunshine poured into our bedroom to wake us earlier than normal, but gently, introducing a light, warm tone to the room after months of the grey coldness that one expects of a British winter. They were pleasant conditions to have a read of Ringing Forums, prompted by the weekly email from them, with my attention taken by the subject of when - or if - you should stop recruiting. Last year's 'Ring for the King' on top of recruitment for the Platinum Jubilee a couple of years ago means that some places have been absolutely inundated with new learners. A wonderful position to be in, but the question was sensibly raised by someone who was concerned that their tower couldn't cope with the numbers, which is an understandable concern. Anyone involved with teaching children at school will tell you that it is easiest to teach in smaller classes and of course one-on-one is absolutely ideal. Well, two-on-one taking safeguarding into account, but you get my gist. Oversized classes see smart pupils lost amongst the efforts of teachers swamped by sheer numbers and more likely distracted by those who need more help. Personally, I believe this is where organisations like the Suffolk Guild can be a great help, offering a network of ringers and events to help potentially swamped teachers. If you are struggling then don't hesitate to contact your Area Rep, District Representative on the Recruitment & Training Committee or any of the officers that you feel confident getting in touch with. Contacts can be found on this website and/or in the brand new Annual Report which should be finding its way to you in printed form or can also be found on this website.

My relaxed morning reading about ringing soon gave way to a day that didn't include any actual ringing as instead football took over for this Saturday as we watched two fixtures that saw each of the teams we were supporting score six goals. First up was Alfie and his teammates in lovely springlike weather before we then headed on to Portman Road via The Mermaid for food ahead of watching Ipswich Town put the same number of goals past their visitors Sheffield Wednesday. A bit of unplanned clothes shopping in nearby Sainsbury's for one of the boys put paid to us joining Norwich ringer Simon Rudd in the Fanzone pre-match, but we did catch up with him at half-time on a day that for him began with a quarter-peal at Ampton.

Meanwhile, whilst we were watching the Tractor Boys move back into second in the Championship league table (for now), history was taking place in Stowmarket as the first peal on ten was rung there with a 5040 of Plain Bob Royal was successful in 3 hours and 19 minutes. Another significant landmark for this project and a good moment to remind folk that the Guild AGM is due to take place there in three weeks time on 6th April and that names for the hot tea to Jo Beever via email or on 07773 392 979 need to be in by Tuesday 2nd April.

I couldn't tell you if that Saturday will begin in as leisurely way as this Saturday though.

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Friday 15th March 2024

Last week's edition of The Ringing World didn't arrive until Monday, quite a bit later than normal and I didn't get the chance to read it until the first lunchtime of this working week. This week's arrived so early this morning, that I'd got the opportunity to begin taking in its contents before I'd even started work. Apart from in the peal and quarter-peal columns there isn't anything Suffolk-related that I've spotted, but again plenty of interesting stuff, especially around ringing done for the recent International Women's Day.

As far as I'm aware, there was nothing happening today within our borders today that is likely to end up in any future editions of the RW. No quarters, peals or ringing of any sort reported on BellBoard and not atypically for a Friday we weren't adding to that either. Instead we enjoyed an impromptu takeaway curry round at Ruthie's mother Kate's house and taking in Lenny Henry presenting Comic Relief for the last time, an event that was at least marked by some with quarter-peals, all different in their own right. One was a fairly standard, traditional performance with a 1260 of Plain & St Simon's Bob Doubles at Ashford in the Water in Derbyshire, another was of Cambridge Surprise Major by occasional St Mary-le-Tower ringer Ollie Watson on his own with a simulator on The Millgate Dumbbell in Aylsham north of the Norfolk border, whilst the third was of Plain Bob Doubles on the simulator at Crondall in Hampshire using sampled animal sounds. Barking.

All being well I'll see them in future editions of The Ringing World, whether they arrive early or late.

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Thursday 14th March 2024

A couple of items have been added to this website's What's New section this week.

One is the draft minutes of last month's North-East District Quarterly Meeting held at Sweffling. There's nothing exciting in there, but if you have the time and inclination it enables one to keep up with what's going on around the Guild if one can't always make it out and about.

The other was the adding of 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 to the Quarter Peals Analysis, which makes fascinating reading as of course it covers a time of restrictions and our subsequent recovery. Indeed, looking back further, last year was basically up to pre-pandemic levels of quarter-peal ringing, both in terms of numbers of quarters rung, numbers of ringers ringing them and those calling them, as well as a considerable upturn in numbers of venues rung at, albeit a drop in the numbers of different methods rung. And we now have the added bonus of a thriving handbell scene where back in 2019 there was practically nothing at all. An interesting read.

They were certainly an interesting read for me as Ruthie went to choir practice at the end of a day which started for us with watching Alfie's assembly at school that saw him walking round one his classmates holding up an inflatable moon in an entertaining performance.

Talking of entertaining performances, there were a couple of notable peals rung beyond our borders today, although not far beyond in one case and involving a Suffolk resident and a couple with family links to our county. That was the 5141 of Stedman Caters at Great St Mary's in Cambridge with a composition composed by Jadd Virji (a clever young chap who has done a fair bit of ringing in our county too) with the courses called in the order of Pi on this Pi Day (3.14, using the American order of dating). Clever stuff, conducted by David Pipe whose father was of course Rod Pipe who learnt to ring at Grundisburgh before becoming a ringing superstar, whilst David's son Henry was also in the band, as was Norman Tower regular Phillip Orme.

That wasn't the only noteworthy peal of the day though, as in Reading at the handbell centre of the universe of Redlands Road, the first peal of Stedman Septuples in hand since 2001 was rung, with lots of firsts in the band.

Nothing on BellBoard from Suffolk though. Thank goodness for this website's What's New section then.

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Wednesday 13th March 2024

Congratulations to former Reydon learner Philip Moyse who last night was elected to the Ancient Society of College Youths, a development confirmed to me by the emailed minutes I got this morning, as all ASCY members signed up to receive them get. Of course Cumberland Youths within our borders may be expected to boo and hiss pantomime style at this moment, but I'm sure everyone here will be pleased for this lovely young chap who has represented the county so well, both down in Southampton where he was at university and became Ringing Master of the Southampton Universities Guild and more recently in Bristol, home of the exiled Suffolk ringer. I'm sure he agrees that he got a superb grounding in our county with some great teachers in the North-East District, but he has certainly earnt his election to one of the elite international societies since.

My ringing today wasn't elite by those standards and nor does it set out to be so, but I was at one of the best six-bell practices in Suffolk as I managed to circle the ground-floor six at Pettistree on their practice night, even after arriving typically late having also taken in Alfie's football training beforehand. My efforts in circling highlighted the eclectic range possible here, starting with trebling to and calling a touch of Stedman Doubles, albeit one that took three attempts to get going whilst the ringer of the fourth tried to figure out their start. Stedman does that to you! After that I rang the second in some call-changes next to learner Catherine Bacon, then the third to some Cambridge Surprise Minor for Bredfield ringer Vince Buckman to treble to, whilst I later pulled the tenor in to the same method for the same purpose. I called a course of Hexham Surprise Minor from the fourth and rang the fifth to some Grandsire Doubles conducted by Elaine Townsend, whilst I also had the pleasure of ringing the fifth (which unusually is actually the heaviest bell in the tower) to a touch of several Minor methods of the Surprise, Plain and Little varieties spliced.

That followed on from the usual pre-practice quarter-peal which this week was changed at the last moment from Coldstream Surprise Minor to Beverley, Cambridge, Durham, Ipswich, Surfleet and York Surprise Minor spliced due to illness meaning one of the original band couldn't ring. That six Surprise Minor methods spliced was merely the fallback speaks volumes of the quality of the ringers here.

One of those was Mike Cowling, who earlier in the day rang in a Guild peal of Biddenham Surprise Major at Leiston, dedicated to Adrian Knights and particularly his thirteen peals at the tower where he rang his first peal of Major and which included one in today's method.

The band all followed their 3 hours and 13 minutes of ringing in the pub and I followed my evening's ringing in a hostelry too as I joined the Garners, Sam Shannon and mother-in-law Kate Eagle in The Greyhound.

Perhaps Philip Moyse was in a pub somewhere too, celebrating his election to the College Youths.

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Tuesday 12th March 2024

An email was sent out to members from John Girt today via the Guild's email network, informing us that St Margaret's church in Ipswich will be closed for a fortnight after Easter. That means that the usual Tuesday evening practice on the 14cwt gallery-ring eight won't be happening on the 2nd or 9th April.

As far as I'm aware they had their session tonight though, as did Ufford where I went for lots of trebling practice for Hollesley learner Mary Leaming and we rang a course of London Surprise Minor. Meanwhile, Margaret Weeks did a little bit of chiming on the treble to gently ascertain how much her recovering arm can take.

Hopefully we can continue to help her in that recovery on Tuesdays at Ufford, where you will be most welcome on the 2nd and 9th April if you usually go to St Margaret's!

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Monday 11th March 2024

Suffolk has a new quarter-peal conductor! Well done to Sylvie Fawcett who achieved this landmark by calling the 1260 of Plain Bob Doubles at Thornham Magna in what is hopefully the first of many.

That and the handbell quarter of Plain Bob Royal in Moats Tye should appear in future editions of The Ringing World, but the latest issue arrived with us this morning. Slightly later than usual, but still full of interesting pieces, which this week featured a report on the recent Sheffield University Guild's Annual Dinner including the peal that I mentioned at the time which Past SGR Ringing Master Tom Scase rang in, but also a QP at the city's Roman Catholic Cathedral where five and six were rung by former ringers of our county Claire Roe and Tom Britten respectively.

Luckily I had the opportunity to read it during my lunchbreak, as after work things were typically hectic feeding the family, guiding homework time and doing the groundwork for bedtime before getting out to St Mary-le-Tower's weekly practice where we again ran through half-a-course of Cambridge Surprise Maximus which is the intended test piece for the National 12-bell Striking Contest we are planning on competing in at Portsmouth Cathedral in just twelve days time and then rounded off as usual with a drink at the Halberd Inn.

Meanwhile notices brought our attention to the fact that Felixstowe's weekly sessions are moving from Friday to Wednesday and from Claire Haynes that her son Tristan Shaw had just rung his first quarter-peal of Surprise inside in the 1272 of Cambridge Surprise Minor rung at The Mount Without in Bristol. Indeed, it is the latest in a long line of achievements since he began ringing with the University of Bristol Society, taking his first quarters of Grandsire and on eight and his first peal and in the process became the fifth consecutive generation of his family to ring a peal, Well done Tristan!

And well done Sylvie, Suffolk's newest quarter-peal conductor!

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Sunday 10th March 2024

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there, especially the ringing ones. Hopefully you were all royally treated! We certainly tried our best with the mothers in our life today.

For the boys and me that began at home of course, as we treated Ruthie to a cup of tea and - at Josh's suggestion - toast in bed with cards and gifts at the beginning of the day and rounded it off with takeaway fish 'n' chips at teatime.

In between, we celebrated another of the ringing mums in our family, as my wife and her sister Clare treated their mother, former South-East District Ringing Master and current RM at Ufford Kate Eagle to tea and cake at Garnetts Gardens located between the sixes of Hacheston and Parham, whilst in turn her mother Janet was also treated in surroundings that were still pleasant even on a very wet day.

From there, our carload travelled down to Ipswich to see my mother and former holder of various SE District roles Sally for a cuppa and biscuits, complete with flowers and more cards, as we aimed to show our appreciation to all the mothers in our family.

Other ringers in the county were marking Mothering Sunday with the 1260s of Grandsire Triples at Bardwell and The Norman Tower, the former also celebrating Ruth Suggett's birthday, whilst the seventieth birthday of Julie Hughes was celebrated with the second-Sunday peal at Aldeburgh which was a first of Hackington Surprise Major for the Suffolk Guild and all the band bar Mary Dunbavin, who had previously rung the Yorkshire-above construction in 2003 at Lower Beeding in West Sussex. Well done to the rest of her bandmates and Happy Birthday Ruth and Julie!

Weybread bells were also ringing out today, at least across the airwaves of BBC Radio 4 as they featured on 'Bells on Sunday' with a 3 minutes and 10 seconds extract of the QP there from 20th July 2022. A longer version of the recording from Mike Cowling can be listened to on the tower page of the 9cwt six on this website.

And I was ringing too, albeit not to the same extent as the above performances. Still, I managed to help out St Mary-le-Tower where numbers were short and we got some bad news about one of our bandmembers, before refreshment at Costa Coffee that included a nice chat with Diana Pipe about the bells at Bedfield that mean so much to her and then ringing at Grundisburgh where I occupied a bored Alfie by getting him to search out the pealboards for the names of myself, his mum and his Grandad Alan, as well as the board disguised as something else...

It was a little fathering win on a day for the mothers. For all that Mothering Sunday has been jumped upon and rebranded in the name of commercial opportunism, it is a lovely chance to focus our efforts as a household on my wife who makes us laugh, makes us tick and helps guide us away from silly boy mistakes! My hope is that the boys grow up to be happy, kind people who hopefully make the lives of those they come across better and our best chance of achieving that is by working as a team. To that end, I am eternally grateful for having Ruthie on my team!

Happy Mother's Day Ruthie and to all you mothers, especially the ringing ones!

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Saturday 9th March 2024

Precisely a year ago Alexander Holroyd published a new composition, at 18,720 changes the shortest one to feature all the work for every bell of the 147 standard Treble Dodging Minor methods. At the time I commented in my blog that quite a few ringers would probably be eying up attempting it and funnily enough, exactly twelve months on some of those that I had imagined attempted - and scored - an arrangement of the composition in a handbell effort in Yatton in Somerset, with one of the band being a ringer with much Suffolk ringing ancestry before him, Henry Pipe. A phenomenal feat of concentration.

That took 6 hours and 42 minutes, which although not as long as it would take on towerbells (I imagine that too is being contemplated!) still took up much of what was also a busy day for me. They would have been well underway as Paul Norris' Surprise Major/Royal outing was getting going on the far side of the country at Lowestoft, the most easterly ring of bells on the British mainland. Whilst the latest Pipe generation of ringing superstars was continuing his substantial efforts with fellow bandmates Lucy Warren and conductor (and arranger of the composition) Alan Reading, Paul and a crowd that also included my mother-in-law Kate Eagle and our youngest son Josh moved on to Pakefield where despite being further west than the previous tower is a lot closer to the sea!

Meanwhile, about an hour south of there, myself and Ruthie were watching Alfie playing for his team in a match fixed up after I'd agreed to join Paul's outing, which on this occasion was because it was a cup match that by its nature was arranged at shorter notice than most fixtures. Sadly they were knocked out of this particular competition, but he and his teammates seemed relatively happy with their performance and so having dropped his mother off at home to prepare for a big evening, he and I made the trip to The Swan Motel in Gillingham where we were meeting his gran, younger brother and the rest of those on the outing for a meal. All along, the band in Somerset were still going, although when exactly they finished isn't quoted, other than it was definitely done by 3.57pm when it was put up on BellBoard.

They may well have still been going as we made the short mile-long journey back into Suffolk to Beccles that ridiculously was just long enough for Ipswich Town to concede two injury-time goals to lose 2-1 in Cardiff, and possibly as we started ringing on the 25cwt ten where along with the Surprise Major which was the main focus of the day, we also rang Grandsire Caters and some Yorkshire Surprise Royal. With that time logged on BB in mind, they were certainly done by the time we began ringing at 4pm in Loddon after we'd gone back over the Norfolk border and where the outing was rounded off with some London Surprise Major on the 10cwt ground-floor eight. Even though I could only make the afternoon, it was thoroughly enjoyable. Thank you for arranging it Paul!

Whilst we were doing all that, other ringers within our borders were also busy, particularly at Wetherden. Happy Birthday to Serena Steggles' mother Gwendoline and Tower Captain on the 11cwt six Basil Hart, occasions which were celebrated with a 1290 of Grandsire Doubles.

After my ringing, it was back down the A146, A145 and the A12 (via an impromptu diversion around the other side of the Glemham Hall estate after something seemed to have brought traffic to a halt on the main road) for a spot of tea and Gladiators (the temptation to pull a treble off by saying "ringers, ready!" increases each week!) before heading off to St Mary-the-Virgin church in Woodbridge to support and enjoy my wife's big evening. That big evening was her singing with the Illuminati Choir in front of a packed church that included quite a lot of ringers. The boys and I sat next to Chris & Mary Garner, whilst there were other (albeit former) Pettistree ringers present in the form of Daphne & Rob Rose. It was great to see Grundisburgh ringer Ruth Symington, who we discovered used to sing with the Illuminati Choir and lovely also to see local ringers Michael Barrett and Alison Wintgens there. Such were the numbers of people in attendance (and bellringers in particular I would suggest!) that they ran out of wine! Hopefully lots of money was raised for the Colchester & Ipswich Hospitals Charity who they were fundraising for in memory of their fellow singer Ian Kegel. Well done to Ruthie and her choral colleagues on an absolutely wonderful evening of singing.

And well done to that band in Somerset on ringing that composition!

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Friday 8th March 2024

Fridays aren't the busiest in our household from a ringing perspective and this was no different. There wasn't even a copy of The Ringing World to give our day some sort of ringing context. And there was no ringing in Suffolk noted on BellBoard to report on. God willing though, Sunday should be different as even if we have no ringing to talk of (and hopefully we will!), at the very least it is planned that the sound of bells from within our borders are due to appear on national (and indeed international) airwaves, with an extract from the quarter-peal of July 2022 on the 9cwt six of Weybread set to be the subject of 'Bells on Sunday' on BBC Radio 4 at 5.43am, although these days with BBC Sounds one doesn't have to get up that early to hear it!

For today though, whilst Ruthie went out to a meal with workmates following a staff meeting, the action was elsewhere as International Women's Day was celebrated, including with ringing.

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Thursday 7th March 2024

Saturday 6th April is due to be a big day for Ipswich Town supporting members of the Suffolk Guild and today saw two separate and significant developments related to both of those elements of the day.

Firstly, 3pm was when the away match of the 'Old Farm Derby' between us and Norwich City was scheduled for, but it was always pretty certain to move due to policing requests and SKY Sports. It was also expected that it would be moved to an early kick-off, as it always is, with the reasoning being that it leaves less time for fans of these rivals to get drunk beforehand, although that then is often bizarrely negated by allowing local pubs to open earlier. The only question mark was whether it would be early on the Saturday or Sunday. Today, we discovered it is now penciled in for 12.30pm on the Saturday. Personally the Sunday would be easier logistically, in theory allowing us to watch the fixture on television with no time constraints afterwards. However, having it at Saturday lunchtime makes a crowded day even more crowded...

For that is also when it is planned to hold the Guild AGM at Stowmarket. Whilst recent history against Norwich suggests we shouldn't tune in to watch the football, in this exciting season it will be hard not to and I expect the boys in particular will be pretty insistent that we do, so God willing we'll sit down (and hopefully stand up lots too!) to take that in. Which would make it impossible for Ruthie or me to join in the quarter-peal attempts being lined up - please do fill in the form or contact Neal Dodge if you would like to ring in one - and may preclude us getting there in time to ring on the new ten, but all being well we can make it for the service, hot meal (for which names need to be in to Jo Beever via email or on 07773 392 979 by Tuesday 2nd April) and then the AGM afterwards. And who knows, maybe a cheeky pint.

Today's main development (for me anyway, as I missed it yesterday!) regarding the AGM though is that this year's Annual Report is now available to read online. Perhaps one day we will only be able to read it online and take it to the AGM to refer to it via one's phone/VR goggles/watch, and even going back to when my brother and I lived at home with Mum and Dad it seemed daft that every member got a free copy which meant that four were unnecessarily kicking round the house, but this year you should be able to get hold of a printed copy before 6th April to take to the meeting. Well done to Report Editor (and SGR Chairman!) Mark Ogden and all who have helped him on a packed edition that covers a significant year for the Guild.

Going into the Annual Report for this year should be the quarter-peal at Redgrave, which was a first of London-below/Norwich-above Surprise Minor method Rossendale for Paul Norris. Well done Paul and to his wife Sandra who earlier in the day rang her first of Kent Treble Bob Minor in the 1320 at Bressingham over the Norfolk border, whilst keeping up the cross-border theme, a peal was rung on handbells for the Norwich Diocesan Association on this side of the River Waveney in Bacton.

For us though, it was a day of no ringing. And no football. All being well, that won't be the case on 6th April.

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Wednesday 6th March 2024

Everything has to run pretty smoothly for us on Wednesday evenings in order to fit getting Alfie to his football training, tea eaten and one of us out to Pettistree practice all straight after a day at school and work. If it doesn't then we don't usually get out to the latter and so it was tonight as time just ran away from us. It was nice to spend some time in with Ruthie after a couple of late nights already this week, but it's always a pity to let our friends down at the ground-floor six a couple of villages over from us.

Still, as well as them, others were busier in the exercise, especially in Norton where the eight once housed in Shelland and before that Claydon was being well used today in its current guise as The Barn Owl Ring, with a 1260 of Grandsire Triples and 1344 of Yorkshire Surprise Major rung.

Presumably things ran more smoothly for them!

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Tuesday 5th March 2024

Today's 5040 of Cambridge Surprise Royal for the Suffolk Guild at Gressenhall is noteworthy in itself, but especially as it is already the sixth peal for the SGR in 2024 of Caters or above. As far as I can make out, it is more (far more in most cases) than rung by this date in any other year this century and I imagine the highest proportion of peals by this part of the calendar, coming out of sixteen peals in total. If we rang them at that rate in 2023 we would've rung forty-five peals of Caters or higher and in 1988 when the SGR recorded its highest ever peal total of 211 we would've scored seventy-nine. We actually rang twenty-seven and twenty-two in those respective years. It's great to see, a big achievement in an area predominantly made up of five, six and eight-bell towers. Long may it continue.

Neither Ruthie or I were contributing to those totals ourselves today, nor indeed to ringing at all in fact. Rather, Mason and I went to watch another exciting fixture at Portman Road involving Ipswich Town's men's football team whilst my wife stayed at home with his younger brothers for takeaway with tonight's proceedings running too late on a school-night for them. That meant no Ufford for me and indeed for anyone, with numbers low anyway and Ringing Master Kate accompanying myself, my eldest son and sister-in-law Clare's other half Chris to the Mermaid for a pre-match meal and then on to the stadium, but as usual we still met Norwich ringer Simon Rudd for a pint in the Fanzone before kick-off and on this occasion my brother and Norman Tower ringer Chris sat with us for the game that ended 3-2 to the home team, a result to be celebrated.

As is the Guild's peal-ringing on ten and twelve bells.

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Monday 4th March 2024

Whether it was yesterday's forlorn attempt to ring Woodbridge's tenor up right, pulling the 35cwt twelfth in at St Mary-le-Tower to a quarter-peal or both, lots ached today, especially my arms!

They were still aching when I got to the aforementioned twelve in Ipswich for the weekly practice this evening, accompanied by former Guild Secretary and current Membership Secretary Mary Garner who was primarily coming along for a spot of SGR business with some certificates, but was also keen to top up her twelve-bell ringing and to that end she was appreciative of a night that for her included Grandsire Cinques, whilst there was also some nice Stedman Caters and then Cambridge Surprise Maximus to finish the session off before a large number of us retired to the Halberd Inn for refreshment and socialising.

By which time, I'd finished aching!

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Sunday 3rd March 2024

I think I am getting old. Obviously older. But this morning I felt old. Not necessarily because of the exploits of young ringers with surnames like Haynes, Hull, Pipe and Salter whose parents I used to ring with when they were considered young and up and coming. Or at least young. Rather on this occasion it was me attempting to ring the tenor up right at Woodbridge. In the not-too-distant past, I was able to pull it up on my own. Not easily, but then you probably wouldn't expect that with a 25cwt bell. On my own though nonetheless. This morning though, with Susanne Eddis and Pete Faircloth there with their son Jonathan bolstering numbers, Pete got up the seventh as I began my ultimately futile attempt to get the eighth up solo. By the time he had finished on his 16cwt bell, it was clear I was floundering and he very kindly stepped in to help. I say help, as once we'd got it going it was mainly him, but I was still fairly out of puff. There were very kind and encouraging words about it being harder with the wooden clapper shaft now in the bell and the bells being half-muffled for Lent making it harder to hear it striking and making it more obvious that it was going up wrong, but I'm fairly sure that it was down to me not being as young as I once was!

It wasn't ideal preparation for my task this afternoon either, as I was pulling in Suffolk's heaviest bell hung for changing-ringing to a 1346 of Cambridge Surprise Maximus at St Mary-le-Tower, part of our continued preparations ahead of our intended entry to the National 12-bell Striking Contest eliminator at Portsmouth Cathedral in three weeks time. In line with all other entrants apart from the hosts, we haven't been to the competition venue to practice, which usually builds the anticipation for this event, but as plans for band meals over the weekend and travel arrangements to the south coast were being made I have to admit to a few pangs of excitement!

Having dropped the boys off with my mother Sally who was very kindly looking after them as their parents rang, we were also able to give fellow bandmember Lucy Williamson a lift as we happened to drive past her, which meant that with conductor Colin Salter waiting for the end of the service in the church to get the key to the ringing chamber, there were quite a few of us already there in plenty of time! It put us in a relaxed frame of mind for the attempt ahead, but ours was just one of five quarter-peals rung in the county today, with the most notable coming at Stowmarket. Although 'just' on eight, it was significant for being the first on the bells since they were returned restored, rehung and augmented last year, as well as the first of Triples inside for Chris Davies, who along with Alan Moult and Mark Steggles was one of three ringing who spent many hours installing the bells. Well done Chris!

Elsewhere within our borders, a no-show from one of the band meant that the Plan B of Plain Bob Minor with cover and the second missed out was implemented for the QP at Halesworth, the visit of the Bishop of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich - and therefore the President of the SGR - the Right Reverend Martin Seeley to Mendham was marked with the same method and some of the same bandmembers on the 10cwt six and a 1320 of Cambridge Surprise Minor was rung at Redgrave.

Meanwhile, a superb article appeared on the BBC's website about the incredible number of youngsters learning to ring at Long Melford, which includes four newly elected to the Guild. A brilliant bit of PR and great to see so many young ringers thriving, not just at the 15cwt eight of Holy Trinity church, but across the county. God willing they can all get together and there may even be a band entered in the Ringing World National Youth Contest in the near future. More importantly, I hope this is just the beginning of a life of enjoyment in the art for them all.

And it should be a long time before they are too old to single-handily ring Woodbridge tenor up right!

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Saturday 2nd March 2024

Pleasing to see the peal of Bristol Surprise Maximus rung at St Mary-le-Tower this morning after I had been asked earlier in the week if I could ring when one of the original band had to drop out. Normally I would jump at the chance, even if I do have no idea what the Friends and Associates of Perky Society is. However, as readers will probably be aware, Saturday mornings usually see Alfie playing for his football team and so it was this morning. It means a lot to us to encourage our children in what they do and for Alfred that sees us trying to watch as many of his matches as possible and I think it means a lot to him too for us to be there watching. Still, I would always feel a little guilty at not being able to accept such a request, so well done to the band in Ipswich on their 5040 rung in 3 hours and 24 minutes and congratulations to Toby Bence on ringing his one hundredth peal.

It wasn't the only ringing in the county on a busy day in the exercise within our borders though. Indeed, it wasn't even the only peal as a 5055 of Stedman Caters was rung at The Norman Tower - home of the champions of East Anglian twelve-bell ringing, which reminds me that there is also a report on the recent George W Pipe 12 Bell Competition in this week's edition of The Ringing World - and was Suffolk Guild Treasurer Tim Hart's first in the principle as conductor. Well done Tim on a very impressive achievement, one which most of us couldn't even contemplate!

There were also quarter-peals rung. Quite a few actually. Five in fact, with four rung by the same band with a couple of helpers, with an abundance of achievements for North-West District Ringing Master Joshua Watkins as he conducted his first QP of Cambridge Surprise Major with the 1344 at Felixstowe and completed his first of Bourne Surprise Minor in the 1320 at Tuddenham St Martin and along with Ben Keating and NW District Chairman & SGR Public Relations Officer Neal Dodge was one of three ringing their first blows of Portsmouth Bob Minor in the 1260 at Burgh, which was also the fiftieth different tower in the county that Josh had rung a quarter on, whilst they also rang Cambridge Surprise Minor at Falkenham. Well done Josh, as well as Ben and Neal! Meanwhile, a quarter-peal of Double Oxford Bob Minor rung at Woolpit in memory of one-time ringer on this 8cwt six former local GP Dr Edward Cockayne.

We did some ringing too though, as this afternoon we went to the gallery-ring six of Sproughton where my brother Chris & I learnt to ring and where the South-East District were holding their monthly practice, themed as 'Anything But Bob Doubles.' Ringing Master Hal Meakin kept on brand and ensured there was no Plain Bob Doubles, which opened up opportunities for more interesting but still similarly simple stuff such as April Day Doubles, which is PB but with Grandsire singles.

Downstairs, with the ringing going on in the background, there was a jovial atmosphere over cake and hot drinks, whilst much fun was had watching someone who shall remain nameless trying to set the treble at backstroke to the accompaniment of much cheering from down in the church and then a raffle that at one point it seemed only Hal had entered! And it was lovely to see young Elizabeth Goodchild elected to the Guild - congratulations Elizabeth. Her presence was part of an attendance that had a wonderfully vast age-range from a geographical spread from Debenham to Hollesley, Copdock to Pettistree and all sorts of stages in their ringing progression. Great to catch up with those who I rang with here regularly in my youth, like Simon Curl, but also with those newer to the art from places such as Bramford and Henley. A fantastic couple of hours out.

As was what followed, although the only ringing connection was that we joined Ufford Ringing Master Kate Eagle for a family gathering at her mother's along with my wife's cousins Freddie and Poppy and her sister Clare and her household. It was a lovely way to finish a day that started in perfect fashion for us and the band who rang the peal at St Mary-le-Tower.

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Friday 1st March 2024

Suffolk's ringers featured in some superb content that I read today.

First up, well done to Bardwell Ringing Master Ruth Suggett on another brilliant edition of Tower Talk, the newsletter for ART which she is editor of. It features ringers from within our borders, including youngster Max from Ruth's home tower and Bramford ringers Amanda and Kate, but I was hugely encouraged to yet again see so many upbeat stories generally from learners, especially so many youngsters. I could relate to Emily Hall's tale of learning to ring in a ringing family and I was truly warmed by how Tatiana Hlembitska went from fleeing the war in Ukraine to learning to ring at Doncaster Minster. All well worth taking the time to read - well done Mrs Suggett!

Meanwhile, The Ringing World arrived with us this morning, complete with an obituary of Arnie Knights from Simon Rudd and David Sparling which was broadly the wonderful eulogy they gave at his funeral, while the 'Image of the Week' was the great photo taken through the gate of the band who rang the peal at Leiston in memory of him.

Of course, that I was able to do so much reading after a day at work also meant that there was no ringing of our own to report today, but there was from others in the county as a handbell peal was rung for the Guild of St Cuileáin in Sudbury, whilst the ninetieth birthday of former Worlingworth ringer Jill Westrup was celebrated with a quarter-peal of three Doubles methods at Earl Stonham, where her son Malcolm was ringing the tenor. The FNQPC was missing their usual conductor and Past Ringing Master of the SGR Tom Scase on this occasion though, as he was busy peal-ringing at Bolsterstone in South Yorkshire as part of the Sheffield Universities Guild of Change Ringers' annual dinner weekend.

However, the headline act nationally was Susan Sawyer ringing her 10,000th QP in the 1282 of Yorkshire Surprise Royal at St Mark's in Exeter, rung on the same bell in the same tower she rang her first quarter. I have no idea where this sits in the records for most quarters rung (I assume its not the most as she doesn't claim it), but it is very impressive. I hope to read about it more in depth in the future.

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Thursday 29th February 2024

Such a rare date feels like it ought to seem special or significant somehow, but today's quadrennial occasion was fairly typical of any Thursday from this winter for our household. Wet and without any ringing as Ruthie went to her choral practices, once we'd been to Josh's parents evening at school. I even had a look back at previous 29th Februarys and although I rang a peal in 2000 and my then fiancée was in a quarter-peal in 2012 on the same day that the Suffolk Guild last rang a peal on 29/2, my blog entries show I haven't done any ringing on any of the four 29th Februarys covered. Make that five after today.

Others were busier, with a couple of special birthdays, references to 'date ticks' and special ringing openly done because of or for 'Leap Year Day', whilst the eighteen peals rung is far above the usual number for a normal Thursday. And although not referencing the date, there was a quarter-peal rung in the county as a 1260 of Buxton Bob Minor was rung at Barrow celebrating conductor Joshua Watkins passing his medical school finals. Congratulations Josh!

There were also other notable things occurring today. On the day it was announced he had died, photos appeared on the Bellringers Facebook page of Hairy Biker Dave Myers having a go on the Maypole Bells near his home at Rodmersham in Kent a few years ago. Here within our borders, Dad's Army actor Ian Lavender's funeral was held at Woolpit where he lived, although I don't know if the 8cwt six there were rung for it. And today Neal Dodge shared a form for anyone who wishes to ring a QP on Guild AGM Day on Saturday 6th April, which could be a great opportunity for many and is more of a guarantee of numbers than simply having open towers, as much as I enjoy those. If you can't open the form then please contact Neal and ring a quarter for the SGR's showpiece event.

It won't be a rare date, but God willing it will be a special day.

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Wednesday 28th February 2024

Ruthie went out Pettistree this evening, which once the boys were in bed allowed me to be productive and do my basic awareness safeguarding training. It has to be said that I've been much slower than I should've been in doing this, with me never having the time to do it when I remembered about it, but it is really important and is something that all ringers should be doing. It isn't intended to inconvenience you, nor to vet you as safe, but rather to protect you and others by making you aware of potential situations when safeguarding procedures need to be put into place and how to set those procedures into motion, who to speak to, etc. There is even a section for bellringers which serves to further reiterate that ringing and ringers are as much a part of this as all the other elements of the church.

My wife's evening at the nearby ground-floor six was apparently also productive with some Cambridge Surprise Minor and spliced and was rounded off with a drink in The Greyhound before her mother Kate brought her home after she had taken her once Mrs Eagle had had her takeaway fish 'n' chips at ours between ringing the pre-practice quarter-peal of Northumberland Surprise Minor and returning for the session that followed.

It was a productive evening for all of us.

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Tuesday 27th February 2024

There is a lovely article on the East Anglian Daily Times about Sunday's rededication of Stowmarket's bells, with some good photos and all well worth a look, and which I did look at whilst Ruthie went out to Ufford for a Surprise Major practice this evening.

This is a new initiative aimed at rectifying the downturn in regular, everyday Surprise Major ringing around here since the return from pandemic restrictions, which follows on from the South-East District Surprise Major Practice held on the same eight a month ago. Tonight's event was invite-only, not for any sort of elitist reasons or to exclude anyone, but just because when arranging something on a smaller, more local basis it is the best way to ensure enough turn up and also not so many that individuals don't get the opportunity to focus on what they're learning and is essentially the same as similar, successful sessions run on this 13cwt eight up until ringing on towerbells was halted nearly four years ago.

On this occasion much was rung including Bristol and London on what sounded like a successful hour and a half and hopefully just the beginning of a successful fixture, even if it is unlikely to make the local media like Stowmarket's rededication.

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Monday 26th February 2024

Happy Birthday to mine and Chris' mother Sally, a stalwart of ringing in Suffolk since she moved here from Northamptonshire to marry our Dad Alan forty-eight years ago. I've said it before many times, but it is worth reiterating, she is someone we could do with more of in ringing, a good ringer willing to travel and support events and help out, sharing her knowledge of the art with others just starting out. She was at Polstead for the South-West District Practice on Saturday and at Stowmarket yesterday. A fortnight earlier she was at Horringer for the North-West District Practice, seven days before that at St Margaret's in Ipswich for the South-East District Practice, her home district which she attends almost without fail every month. Debenham, Grundisburgh, Offton, Sproughton and St Mary-le-Tower all benefit from her presence week in, week out. Quite frankly, she is invaluable, before we even get onto her special place as a mum and nan.

Today she was treated to lunch by my younger brother at The Beagle in Sproughton and then to a drink and a packet of crisps by her ever-generous older son at the Halberd Inn following another weekly session on the county's heaviest ring of bells supported as usual by the former SE District Secretary, as we rang Stedman Cinques and Cambridge Surprise Maximus with the visiting North-West District Ringing Master Joshua Watkins.

It came at the end of a busy day of handbell ringing within our borders too, with a peal rung for the NDA in Bacton and two quarter-peals of Royal in Moats Tye, with a 1296 of Little Bob and 1260 of Plain rung. Congratulations to Rowan Wilson on ringing her one hundredth QP in hand in the latter.

And Happy Birthday Mum!

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Sunday 25th February 2024

Not many dedications or rededications have been in the making for quite so long as Stowmarket's. It has been well documented how long the actual work has taken from the moment the bells were taken out pretty much precisely four years ago, just weeks before the pandemic shut everything down and set in motion a series of misfortunes that held up a job that should've taken months to the extent that it was only last year that the bells returned augmented.

However, during this afternoon's rededication led by The Right Reverend Mike Harrison the Bishop of Dunwich, the vicar at St Peter and St Mary the Reverend Michael Eden pointed out that Winston Girling - the man who instigated this project and drove it through - had raised the issue of replacing the wooden frame with him around two decades ago. Indeed, former SGR Chairman Winston himself also spoke and described how water was coming through the old spire when he was first taken up to the bells here as he started learning in the 1950s, an issue that encouraged deathwatch beetle and ultimately led to the weakening of the frame and the bells becoming hard-going and making this project necessary.

All of which made a special occasion even more special as members from across the Guild including Ringing Master Katharine Salter gathered to celebrate the new, easy-going ten that Ruthie and I finally got the opportunity to ring, when after the service we did something that we couldn't do last time we were here several years ago as I rang a treble that didn't even exist back then and my wife rang the ninth in a tower that has always only had eight bells when we rang here previously. I recall speaking to Winston many years ago trying to encourage him to put a twelve in here, but I'm glad he went for ten, as it gives us a much needed easy-to-ring and easy-to-get-to ten in the centre of the county at a time when our other tens are either hard-work, restricted and/or right out on the edge of our borders. There are already plans afoot by the North-West District to make the most of this new resource in its midst by holding ten-bell practices and they also give the locals a light front six to make it easier to teach learners, not to mention the new rope guides which help too! Well done to all involved with this project.

Once we'd rung once or twice more (which for Ruthie included some Grandsire Caters) we made our way across the churchyard to St Peter's Hall where the most fantastic spread had been put on, instantly perking up our previously reluctant companions Alfie and Josh! It bodes well for when this very venue is due to host the Guild AGM on Saturday 6th April.

Beyond our borders but perhaps appropriately whilst we celebrated Suffolk's newest ten, a ten-bell peal was being rung for the SGR as a 5040 of Lincolnshire Surprise Royal was successfully completed in Northamptonshire on the 17cwt ten of All Saints in the centre of the county town.

Meanwhile, my ringing for the day began at St Mary-le-Tower where we were very short, but climaxed our service ringing with a nice touch of Stedman Triples on the back eight. In contrast, after our usual post-ringing refreshment at Costa Coffee there was such an abundance of ringers at Grundisburgh that all twelve were rung. Primarily that was due to the presence of Jonathan Williamson and Amanda Richmond who were there to support Ipswich learner Fiona who was keen to ring there as her grandfather and brother of Cecil 'Jim' Pipe had rung there, but at such a relatively early stage of her progress she was understandably slightly nervous about just rocking up without familiar faces. She did brilliantly, as did Clopton learner Sarah, especially with a big crowd present that included three Past Guild Ringing Masters, two former South-East District RMs and the current SGR Chairman, before Ruthie and I later joined many other District and Guild officers past and present at that Stowmarket rededication long in the making.

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Saturday 24th February 2024

I did something for the first time this morning. In the week that we sadly lost its composer Andrew Johnson at the age of just 57, was I calling his bobs-only composition of Stedman Triples? Maybe pulling in the tenor at Liverpool Cathedral? Or enjoying ringing the eleventh at St Mary-le-Tower to a touch of Grandsire Cinques?

No, none of the above and indeed nothing to do with ringing at all. In fact anyone who reads this blog regularly (anyone?) will quite rightly suspect that as it was happening on a Saturday morning that it was football related. Currently at under-10s level, Alfie and his teammates play seven aside matches for twenty-five minutes a half, with no offsides and foul throw-ins taken again under guidance rather than punished, the total focus being on player progression and development rather than winning. That last aspect won't change much if at all next season when our son and his peers are due to be playing at under-11s level, but much is planned to change, with nine aside games, bigger goals, bigger pitches, longer matches, throw-ins and the like much more strictly adhered to and offsides now implemented. Which means they will need what many will still call linesmen but are now called assistant referees. Today, with no fixture booked, the coaches arranged a friendly between the clubs' two teams at current under-10s level with under-11s rules, meaning they needed two volunteers from the assembled onlookers to be assistant referees and I wasn't fast enough to hide!

Seriously though and whisper it, I quite enjoyed it, although I hope I don't have to do it every week and I was glad not to have to do it in front of 30,000 partisan fans at Portman Road this afternoon, where mercifully I was a mere spectator as Ipswich Town beat Birmingham City 3-1 following the usual pre-match meal and drink at the Mermaid with my family and mother-in-law and Ufford Ringing Master Kate Eagle.

Although there was no Simon Rudd, with him away at a practice for Norwich's planned entry into the National 12-bell Striking Contest and no brother Chris, there was still a packed stadium with lots present and it sounds like it was a similar tale at Polstead for the South-West District Practice where a frankly fantastic turnout of fifty-six included five who are thirteen years or younger and eight new members were elected. It sounds like it has been a tremendous start to 2024 for the SW and the same can be said for the South-East District, as outlined by Secretary Liz Christian in an email sent out to members a couple of days ago reporting on the recent practice at St Margaret's in Ipswich (well done to Caroline Goodchild and Jenny Scase on being worthy winners of the Bake Off with their Millionaire Shortbread and Chocolate Date Krispies respectively!) and highlighting the plan to hold the next Practice at Sproughton in a week's time from 2.30-4.30pm. Thank you for the plug too Liz!

That practice on the easily accessible gallery-ring six that I learnt to ring on is the start of what is hoped to be a busy March of ringing on Suffolk's bells and for Suffolk's ringers, with two separate events penciled in for the following Saturday at Pakenham from 10am-noon for the North-West District and two hours after that is planned to finish, the North-East District intend to begin their ringing over the Norfolk border but just twenty-five miles away at the 22cwt eight of Redenhall. Meanwhile, the next opportunity for the South-West District to continue their great start to the year is due to be on the ground-floor eight of Kersey from 3-4.30pm on Saturday 23rd, which should be more practical and probably more useful to support than Ipswich's intended entry in the National 12-bell Striking Contest eliminator at Portsmouth Cathedral on the same day, as much as any familiar faces from Suffolk to cheer us on would be most welcome!

That final event was advertised in The Ringing World which arrived with us this morning, along with the other eliminators lined up for Reading and St Stephen's in Bristol, whilst Haverhill's ringing vicar Max Drinkwater wrote 'Thought for the Week'. And there were lots of ringing firsts. Although none from me.

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Friday 23rd February 2024

As mentioned earlier in the week, this evening was a busy start to what is planned to be a busy weekend of ringing-related events in Suffolk, with Neal Dodge's talk in Drinkstone and Kaleidoscope ringing in Henley, a 1260 of Doubles was rung at Ashbocking and well done to Clare Gebel on ringing their first quarter-peal of spliced and to Maureen Gardiner on her first of Kent and Oxford Treble Bob Minor spliced, all in the 1272 at Tostock.

No ringing for us though, as instead we were hosting non-ringing friends Charlotte and Gregory and their daughters - our Goddaughters - Ava and Bea for an evening of hot dogs and booze. God willing we should be getting some ringing in too over this busy weekend in the exercise in the county.

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Thursday 22nd February 2024

They're not exactly exciting and I wouldn't suggest it if you have something more entertaining to do like the dusting or eating breakfast, but the committee minutes on this website can be interesting. I expect if we ever had another lockdown (please no!) or for whatever reason you had nothing to do for a while, looking back at them over the years could make a fascinating insight into the SGR's history, going more in depth than the Annual Reports and highlighting projects proposed but which never happened.

I don't have time for that, but this evening, with Ruthie at her choir practices and the boys put to bed following a few late nights this week, I did take a moment to read the minutes added to the pages for the Recruitment and Training Committee and the General Management Committee in recent days. There is some stuff I've heard about, but also quite a bit I hadn't, so I read them with great interest. Great to hear in the R&T minutes about new recruits at Haughley, but also noticeable that it highlights the need for more teachers. Exciting to read of the expansion of the Felixstowe simulator, funded by the Golden Bottle Fund. There is good and bad news in the North-West District where new ringers have been recruited for the new six at Westhorpe, but that practices at Bacton had stopped. although this was back in November, so hopefully things have started up there again. Also uplifting to see that the Sole Bay Teaching Hub on Saturday morning has been helping large numbers in the North-East District, whilst it is noticeable that like us in the South-East District they too are looking to reinvigorate eight-bell ringing. Meanwhile the GMC minutes have a diverting section about the proposal to increase grants and to my mind the debate on the Guild's handbells is an encouraging sign of members' progress on handbells over the last few years.

That I've dedicated so much of today's blog to this may indicate to you that it was an unexciting day from a personal ringing perspective and you'd be right, but others were having a more notable Thursday in the exercise on another wet day as a quarter-peal of Rutland Surprise Major was rung at Ixworth.

No time for them to read committee minutes today I expect!

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Wednesday 21st February 2024

Not unusually for this extremely wet winter, it barely stopped raining all day, to various degrees.

It had reduced to a fine drizzle by the time I was stood outside watching Alfie's football training, but I was still relieved that ringing is by and large an indoor pursuit as we all went to Pettistree's weekly practice later in the evening, half-term again affording the opportunity for Josh, Alfie, Ruthie and me to go out together again. That allowed my wife and I to do plenty of ringing on a busy night for Ringing Master Mike Whitby with enough present to ring Surprise Minor of the Berwick, Bourne and Norwich varieties to follow on from the quarter-peal of Cambridge beforehand, but also lots of learners too, including someone who has just moved into the village having handling lessons and Helen from Aldeburgh, who had come along with the Ringing Master there Richard Rapior.

Much to the delight of the boys after missing out on Monday night, we were even able to finish our night at The Greyhound along with Granny Kate, the Garners and Chris McArthur, where it was dry. In a weather sense at least.

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Tuesday 20th February 2024

No practice again at Ufford this evening, this time because it was a night of footy and quite a one at that, as the high-flying Tractor Boys were unexpectedly put through the wringer by bottom club Rotherham United who surprisingly took the lead in the first minute and then after Ipswich Town had been 3-1 up got it back to 3-3 with a penalty in injury time at the end of the game, only for the boys in blue to win it 4-3 with the few remaining seconds left after that! After that, I might look even more aged than usual next time you see me!

As is the norm on these occasions, although there was no ringing involved for us, there were three ringers in our party that went to the Mermaid for our pre-match grub and in the Fanzone before kick-off we met my brother and Norman Tower ringer Chris and Norwich St Peter Mancroft Ringing Master and former holder of the post at St Mary-le-Tower Simon Rudd, fresh from helping our friends north of the border host the George W Pipe 12 Bell Competition so successfully on Saturday, whilst Offton ringer Caroline Goodchild was briefly spotted as she went about her work for the club.

Nothing else was reported from Suffolk's bells on BellBoard either on a seemingly quiet day for the exercise in the county. Although not all because of the football.

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Monday 19th February 2024

There was a rare treat for me in our current circumstances, as I was accompanied to St Mary-le-Tower's weekly practice this evening by Ruthie, Alfie and Josh. My wife tries to come here at every opportunity afforded, such as Sunday mornings if she isn't required for choral duties and the special monthly practices, but usually Monday nights are impractical for her to get along to. As with other midweek evenings out, only one of us can normally go out as the other has to stay at home to look after the boys who need to be in bed early in readiness for school the next day and understandably Ruthie doesn't feel particularly happy about driving into Ipswich town centre at night on her own and so typically its just me ringing on Suffolk's heaviest ring of bells on the first night of the working week. However, with it now being half-term and the boys old enough to come out without being too much trouble, she decided it was a chance to come along to a session that - before Alfred got too old to just carry up there - she used to go to every week.

Unfortunately, even with Ruthie present we were just one short of attempting more Bristol Surprise Maximus, with illness on top of those on holiday reducing our numbers, including Ringing Master Colin Salter who unfortunately but sensibly left before we got there as he wasn't feeling great. Nonetheless, despite the lower-than-usual numbers we still managed Cambridge Surprise Maximus amongst much else, before others retired to the Halberd Inn whilst we travelled home, the pub unsurprisingly unable to let children in after 8pm. Much to Alfred and Joshua's considerable disappointment!

It all capped a busy day of ringing in the county, with the most notable coming at Ixworth where North-West District Ringing Master Joshua Watkins rang his first quarter-peal of the 'standard' eight Surprise Major methods spliced. Well done Josh! And in Bury St Edmunds there were a brace of quarters of Plain Bob on handbells with a 1376 of Major and 1260 of Royal.

A not so rare treat for them!

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Sunday 18th February 2024

Ruthie was in Wingfield this evening. Not to ring the 13cwt ground-floor six which were most recently pealed in 2022 and rung for the big events since, but rather to sing with the Jubilate Singers, the third different choir for her in-demand voice. They are what my wife compares to a scratch striking competition band who come together on a monthly basis to sing choral evensongs in churches around Suffolk, with dates planned for Kettlebaston and Tostock this year, amongst others. It is wonderful to see, especially as she enjoys singing so much.

Whilst Mrs Munnings was dodging puddles to drive up there and back and no doubt producing a beautiful noise in between, the boys and I had wandered up to her mother Kate's where we were very kindly treated to tea and more pancakes, this time in the company of the boys' cousins, their mother Clare, her fiancé Chris and the children's Grandad Ron, with Ruthie eventually joining us.

Meanwhile, a quarter-peal of Grandsire Caters was rung at The Norman Tower, the home of East Anglia's newest twelve-bell champions, whilst earlier I rang the treble to a couple of pieces on the front six at Woodbridge for the morning service that I then attended whilst Alfie and Josh celebrated Chinese New Year with junior church.

Looking ahead, next weekend is planned to be even busier from a ringing perspective, starting from Friday evening when Guild PR Officer and North-West District Chairman Neal Dodge is due to give a talk to help publicise the Drinkstone Bell Restoration Project at the Village Hall, whilst at Henley a South-East District Kaleidoscope Practice is scheduled 7.30-9 on the same night and should be a really useful event. The following day the South-West District intend to run their practice on the lovely ground-floor six of Polstead from 3-4.30pm and on Sunday there is a big event as the dedication of the county's newest ten at Stowmarket is penciled in for 2.30pm. Please do support what you can.

We hope to do so if we can fit it in around Ruthie's in-demand voice!

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Saturday 17th February 2024

Unusually for a Saturday these days, it was ringing all the way. From dropping the boys off at their Granny and Ufford Ringing Master Kate's early this morning to arriving back at past 10pm from a meal out, our day was shaped by the exercise.

The early start was necessary because we needed to be at St Peter Mancroft in the centre of Norwich by 10am for the draw to determine the ringing order for this year's George W Pipe 12 Bell Striking Competition, with both Ruthie and me ringing for Ipswich as we competed with Chelmsford and Waltham Abbey from Essex, fellow Suffolk competitors Bury St Edmunds and our hosts from Norfolk to try and retain a trophy we'd won for the previous two years.

Thankfully we made it in time not just for the draw, but also for a cup of tea and bacon roll and to instantly start catching up with ringing friends from across the region, as well as our teammates before discovering that we were to ring first, in complete contrast to last year at Chelmsford Cathedral when we rang last. It meant that we were to be the standard setters and I think we set quite a high bar with our ringing of the test piece of Grandsire Cinques, with Sue Williamson in particular doing really well in a stunning but daunting ringing chamber. From the tenor box that I was ringing from next to the window into the church, the view was incredible but unnerving!

What followed after us was a fairly dramatic day of high quality competition ringing, with a further couple of hours of twelve-bell ringing, practicing, test pieces, signals and even an 'intruder' as the rope to the treble used for the light ten slipped from it's hook behind the tenor, swung across the ringing chamber and eventually stopped right alongside the tenor ringer Mike Clements during the early stages of the home team's test piece. All watched on a live feed at the bottom of the tower and directly from down in the church and culminating in our very own James Smith and Neil Pasmore from Writtle delivering results that saw just four percentage points between the top four and a very decent showing even from the team placed fifth, which on this occasion was Waltham Abbey. Well to them and indeed all who entered, especially our friends from the Norman Tower who came out victorious by a single point!

Well done also to Ian Culham, whose brainchild this competition was and who continues to put so much into arranging it every year so that twelve-bell bands and ringers across the East of England have the opportunity to compete on twelve bells when they might not ordinarily get that chance and subsequently helping their ringing on higher numbers. Thank you Ian.

Similar sentiments to Norwich too, who continued a fine tradition of magnificent hosting at this event. The refreshments were fantastic, with the Octagon at the far east end of the church a wonderful gathering point for participants and hangers on to relax.

Not that our entire day out was at St Peter's. There was a brief bit of shopping and a less brief visit to the Lamb Inn where we met with fellow St Mary-le-Tower ringers in the beer garden in relatively pleasant conditions, but it was the efforts of those who organised and hosted the event that really made our day. Thank you to them all. Make a note of Saturday 15th February 2025, when the competition is due to break new ground and head to Hertfordshire for the first time, with the venue planned to be the new twelve of Bishop's Stortford.

That wasn't the end of our ringing-related Saturday though, as once back in Suffolk and having picked up the boys from a day out with their Gran where she'd very kindly taken them to West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village, there was a relatively quick turnaround to glam ourselves up for the Pettistree Ringers Annual Dinner this evening. I say glam ourselves up, as this is a really informal, laid back occasion and tonight's venue epitomised that perfectly as we converged upon the Lion Inn in Little Glemham, a pub that serves great food at good value and from whom we've only ever received friendly, welcome hospitality, today included.

Logistics meant that as a family we were sat across two tables, with Alfie, Mason and myself joining Mike Cowling, the Harpers, Mike Whitby and Pippa Moss for a convivial evening that concluded with brief speeches from Mary Garner and the aforementioned Mr Whitby who then presented Mary's Monthly Plate to Elaine Townsend. Famously this is actually given out annually at the dinner, awarded to someone that Mike and Mary agree has made tremendous progress, showed dedication to ringing on the ground-floor six and/or made an important contribution there. Elaine certainly falls into that category, turning up every week despite a hectic family life to call touches of Grandsire Doubles and ring inside to various Surprise Minor methods, whilst also helping out whenever she can for any additional ringing when called upon. She is also an approachable port of call for learners and always willing to impart what she can to help them. Well done Elaine, very much deserved!

Thank you to mother-in-law Kate Eagle for organising it and to the many others there for their superb company, but eventually it was time for that late departure at the end a very enjoyable day of ringing-related activity that began early.

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Friday 16th February 2024

A quick glance at the front cover of The Ringing World which arrived with us today got me wondering if the round tower was in Suffolk, but having not been able to place it an inspection of the inside front cover revealed it to be Forncett St Peter in Norfolk where a 13cwt six hang. It also gave a mention of our county and our 38 round towers, but otherwise the only time ringing within our borders features is through the quarter-peal and peal columns, including the peal at Campsea Ashe we rang for Mason's birthday recently. Nonetheless, another superb edition with lots appearing from tales of people young and not as young learning to ring to a report on Nicola Turner's five thousandth peal.

There should be another Suffolk peal appear in a future issue soon though, as today a 5120 of Bristol Surprise Major was rung at Leiston in memory of Adrian Knights by a band of his friends who had all rung at least one hundred peals with him. That band, those who could've also rung and those who have passed away make for impressive reading and underline just what a good ringer Arnie was, as you don't ring that many peals with ringers of that calibre otherwise.

No such activity for us, with even our night in restrained with an early start planned for tomorrow morning, leaving us with plenty of time to 'Guess Where the Round Tower Is'.

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Thursday 15th February 2024

Thanks to a spot of forgetfulness that meant we suddenly realised we should've been somewhere else when one of the boys asked when we were going out (not ringing related, although as others will testify that too has happened before!) and Ruthie not having to go to one of her regular choir practices, we had a bit more time for our Valentine's Day meal than yesterday when it was actually Valentine's Day.

It left no time for ringing and indeed it was a quiet day on the county's bells generally, at least where BellBoard was concerned.

15th February hasn't always been thus. When looking through the late Bill Butler's excellent 'On This Day' on the equally excellent Pealbase as I sometimes do, I noticed that it was the date that John Mortimer, Philip Moyse, Alex Tatlow, Joshua Watkins, Carmen Wright and Zoe Wright all rang their first peal in 2009, 2010 and 2018, a notable glut of local first pealers. After a few moments, I realised that they all coincided with the Suffolk Guild Peal Week and felt quite chuffed that I reintroduced it during my time as SGR Ringing Master. I imagine they all would've rung their first peal at some point, but I'm pleased that SGRPW presented them with the opportunity to get started.

Although if I was in the middle of organising Guild Peal Week at the moment, I'm not convinced we would've had time to have that Valentine's Day meal.

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Wednesday 14th February 2024

It may have been Valentine's Day, but it is also Ash Wednesday and so there was no significant celebration of the occasion for us, as Ruthie rehearsed for and sang at the Ash Wednesday service at St Mary's in Woodbridge whilst Josh and I watched Alfie at his team's football training and I then listened on the radio to Ipswich Town's tremendous away win.

All that also meant that we missed Pettistree's weekly practice, but there was the usual quarter-peal rung beforehand, which on this occasion was a 1272 of Westminster Surprise Minor celebrating the birthday of regular John Horsnell who it appears later brought scones for the event!

Another birthday which was being celebrated by Guild members was that of Roger Palmer of Fordham, a good friend of Suffolk ringing. The eighty-seventh anniversary of his birth was marked by the 5040 of Yorkshire Surprise Royal rung at Braintree in Essex, scene of the Guild's first Ridgman Trophy victory in twenty-seven years in 2021. Notably, it also means the SGR has rung more peals than by this point last year, which is impressive considering the amount of peal-ringing being done in 2023 for it's centenary.

And at Bardwell, well done to Max and Wayne Thomson on ringing their first of Sixty on Thirds.

Meanwhile, I had a very nice email from Woodbridge Ringing Master and former Guild Secretary and PR Officer Bruce Wakefield after he read about Sunday's peal of Knotty Ash Delight Major at Aldeburgh, pointing out that he pulled the tenor in to the very first peal of it, at Southport in Merseyside in 1969. That it was conducted by the late Keith Walpole prompted me to recall that I rang a couple of peals with Keith on Lundy Island in 1999, even staying overnight at his on the way down, whilst Bruce recounted a handbell attempt lost due to Keith's then girlfriend trying to get his attention! He was a nice chap, but sadly passed away in 2007.

With it being Ash Wednesday, it is also the start of Lent and therefore a reminder that much important to ringing is due to follow. Holy Week should round it off and although there is apparently no written liturgical rules for it to be so, that means that many church bells will fall silent that week. If the normal order of things is followed, during the week beginning 25th March practices will be cancelled or moved to handbells or mini-rings or other activities undertaken, so please do check before you go out to a practice that week. Similarly, please don't assume that a practice isn't happening, as some usually do continue ringing during that week.

Easter is then an important weekend with extra services that often require extra ringing from Maundy Thursday through to what is generally considered the most important date in the Christian calendar on Easter Sunday. And then the following Saturday, as in all bar the odd occasion it long has been, the Suffolk Guild AGM is planned to be held, with this year the new ten at Stowmarket and St Peter's Hall across the churchyard penciled in as the venue for proceedings, as indeed they were a decade ago.

Perhaps I'll take Ruthie along to that to make up for not doing much on this Valentine's Day...

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Tuesday 13th February 2024

No practice at Ufford this evening as a sizeable proportion of regulars were at a Shrove Tuesday event and so appropriately the Ringing Master Kate Eagle took advantage by making pancakes. It was at the request of her youngest grandson Josh who when out with her on Saturday kind of invited himself - and us - round to hers tonight for this seasonal feast. Thank you Kate for indulging him. And us.

There was ringing at an Ufford today, with a peal rung on the 11cwt four in Cambridgeshire and there was proof of ringing elsewhere in Suffolk with a pre-practice quarter-peal of Plain Bob Minor rung at Offton.

Additionally, an email was sent out to Guild members from Nigel Gale today advertising a talk by SGR Public Relations Officer Neal Dodge entitled 'Ringing the Changes', due to be held at 7pm on Friday 23rd February at Drinkstone Village Hall to help publicise the Bell Restoration Project for the village's 11cwt six. However, if you can't make that, there is also a South-East District Kaleidoscope Practice booked in at Henley for the same evening, so there's plenty to do that night if you can make either of those!

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that there is no regular practice at Ufford planned on the next Tuesdays. Though its got nothing to do with pancakes.

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Monday 12th February 2024

Tonight's practice at St Mary-le-Tower was an extremely satisfying one, one where it was felt considerable progress was made for a single session. Partly because of our practice of the test piece touch of Grandsire Cinques we are due to ring at St Peter Mancroft in Norwich on Saturday for the George W Pipe 12 Bell Competition, where the 10am draw will be preceded and accompanied by bacon (and I suspect vegetarian options too) rolls and of course plenty of other refreshments nearby. Probably our best attempt at it yet.

Partly also for the well-rung piece of Stedman Cinques that Abby Antrobus and Sue Williamson rung excellently in. A big step in something that even the most experienced ringers can - and do - have occasional trouble with.

Partly too because both Cambridge and Yorkshire Surprise Maximus were rung, the latter better than the former admittedly, with a stray treble causing issues in that! In big part though because having been asked to look at Bristol Surprise Maximus for this evening, we rang it very well, with more available to stand behind and others unable to be there who could've rung. All regulars or local. With the progress made in the method at The Norman Tower, it is incredibly encouraging for Suffolk ringing and shows what we can do within our borders. Although the Little Bob Maximus to bring it round proved we do have a little blind spot there!

Afterwards a big crowd retired to the Halberd Inn where a variety of subjects from marathon running to the late, great Peter Border came up, whilst earlier in the day a quarter-peal of Kent Treble Bob Royal in Bury St Edmunds was scored. Which I imagine was also extremely satisfying.

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Sunday 11th February 2024

Sundays have been particularly busy for Suffolk's bells and Suffolk's ringers in recent weeks and today followed that pattern, with another brace apiece of quarters and peals and more achievements.

One of the main headlines will be Ruth Suggett conducting a peal for the first time in the 5040 of five Treble Dodging Minor methods at Troston. Ruth does so much to engage and teach others in the exercise, so it is always nice to see her achieve something for herself. Well done Ruth!

The other headline is Clopton Ringing Master David Stanford ringing his first quarter-peal of Surprise Major in hand in the 1280 of Yorkshire rung in Ipswich. My rather stilted efforts on eBells over the last two and a half years has only reinforced my admiration of those who are able to ring handbells to this standard, and David is another who does much for others in the art, so well done Mr Stanford too!

Well done also to the entire band in the 5024 of Knotty Ash Delight Major rung at Aldeburgh this afternoon on ringing their first in the method, which was also a first for the Guild and well done as well to Sue Slaven of the Little Cornard band on doing her first service ringing this morning. There was also a QP rung at Rougham, whilst Ruthie was delighted to report that all eight were being rung at Woodbridge as she arrived to sing for the morning worship, as was also mentioned on BellBoard.

I was pleased too, but I wasn't there to hear it firsthand as I was ringing at St Mary-le-Tower where the boys and I nipped into the ringing chamber between some aborted rounds and the touch of Grandsire Cinques that was meant to follow it before I pulled the tenor into the couple of leads of Cambridge Surprise Maximus we could fit in and then after refreshment at Costa Coffee at Grundisburgh. We were missing the Ringing Master Stephen Pettman at the county's lightest twelve as he was down south for the Christening of his and Liz's great nephew Jacob - which was celebrated with a peal at Long Ashton in Somerset yesterday - but still managed some Plain Doubles and call-changes on eight under the guidance of SGR Chairman Mark Ogden.

That was the sum of my ringing today though, with an afternoon of playing football with Josh instead, along with my wife and me going out to get Valentine's cards, romantics that we are, but The Norman Tower ringers were at St Peter Mancroft in Norwich preparing for the George W Pipe 12 Bell Competition with a quarter-peal of the method planned for the test piece, Grandsire Cinques. This highlight of the calendar is due to take place on Saturday with a 10am draw for the ringing order. Please do consider coming up to support the Suffolk entries if you can or even simply to enjoy the occasion in a city that for all my pantomime dislike of its football team is a lovely place to spend a day for ringers and non-ringers alike, especially with the sound of good twelve-bell ringing in the background!

Meanwhile, a quarter-peal was rung yesterday - but only added to BB today - at Woolpit in memory of local resident Ian Lavender, the actor who played Private Pike in Dad's Army which was filmed in many places along our border with Norfolk (for those interested there is a website that pinpoints most of the filming locations) with bells, including near the village he ultimately made his home and Drinkstone, as well as places like Bardwell, Elveden and Ixworth, although none of those community's churches or bells feature in the show. Bells did appear in one scene in typical TV style, ironically purporting to be at a church which was represented by All Saints in Honington where there are only three bells that are swing chimed. Lovely to see this famous and popular adopted son of the county remembered in his community by ringers to add to other performances rung in memory of him, nearly all in East Anglia.

Lovely too to see Suffolk's ringers keeping busy on this Sunday!

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Saturday 10th February 2024

Two of Suffolk's ringers feature prominently in the third part of Pealbase's Andrew Craddock excellent analysis of peal ringing in 2023 in the latest edition of The Ringing World which arrived with us today. One is Alan Mayle who appears on the list of those who have rung the most towerbell peals on tenors, with only Richard Alton, Michael Mears, Claire Roulstone and Alan Regin having rung more than him. Even when taking into account the weight of tenors rung, the former Peal Secretary of the Guild comes in eighth with a 'Row Tons' score of 163,178 (apparently reached by multiplying the tenor weight and number of changes) impressively putting him in between Michael Wilby and Alan Reading.

Meanwhile, the SGR's Handbells and Mini-Ring Trustee Brian Whiting is at number seven of those who have rung the treble to the most towerbell peals, having rung thirty-four last year. Well done Alan and Brian on representing the county on the lists!

Neither Ruthie nor I was contributing towards appearing in 2024's analysis or indeed any ringing however as football took up much of our day, first with Alfie's team playing - and winning - this morning before we raced straight off into Ipswich to watch the Tractor Boys draw with their visitors West Bromwich Albion 2-2 in thrilling fashion in another lunchtime kick-off for the TV cameras. That meant that there was no way we could get to the North-West District Practice at Horringer which was on at the same time and whilst in theory we might have made the North-East District Ringing Meeting at Sweffling, it didn't seem overly practical with the timings, reluctant children in tow and an event twenty miles away! Still, as usual we did see ringers at Portman Road as we met up for drink in the Fanzone before the match with mother-in-law and Ufford Ringing Master Kate Eagle after she had very kindly taken Josh for a brunch of pancakes as Mason, Ruthie and I watched Alfred, my brother and Norman Tower ringer Chris and Norwich St Peter Mancroft Ringing Master Simon Rudd. And Joshua and his Granny heard ringing from St Mary-le-Tower on the way in which transpired to be ringers from Waltham Abbey on an outing in the town.

Nothing noted on BellBoard from within our borders or for the Guild though. Not even from Alan Mayle or Brian Whiting.

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Friday 8th February 2024

Reading CCCBR Tina Stoecklin President's most recent blog entry led me to fill in a survey as part of the consultation on the process of what traditions should be made an 'intangible cultural heritage' as part of the UK joining the UNESCO Convention for Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. In her blog, Tina is encouraging readers to fill in the survey in light of ringing's ambition to be registered as part of the United Kingdom's cultural heritage, so I did.

Meanwhile, the first quarter-peal for the Denes High School (Lowestoft) Society since 1978 was rung on handbells in Beccles remembering J Barry Pickup by a band all taught handbell ringing by him and at Tostock Stephen Dawson was wished the best for an intriguing sounding birthday weekend with a 1260 of Doubles!

For us though, there was no ringing as I took that survey and read Tina's blog instead.

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Thursday 8th February 2024

Apart from getting an absolute soaking from a passing car driving through a puddle in the type of incident I thought only really happened in sitcoms, there was nothing especially notable about today from a personal ringing perspective.

Not so for other ringers within Suffolk, as a handbell peal was rung for the NDA in Bacton, whilst at Horringer the quarter-peal of Double Oxford Bob Major was a first in the method for Sally Crouch, Martin Kirk, former North-West District Ringing Master Maureen Gardiner and her immediate successor Josh Watkins. Well done Sally, Martin, Maureen and Josh and Happy Birthday for Friday to Stephen Dawson.

I did listen again to the extract of ringing from Orford that featured on 'Bells on Sunday' on BBC Radio 4 at the weekend and really is a very nice bit of ringing to listen to as I found myself transported to the church with the familiar sound of an eight I have rung regularly on, including seven quarters and four peals. Do take the time out to immerse yourself in it if you're looking for a relaxing 3 minutes and 19 seconds.

Otherwise though, the dragged out process of getting the boys to bed via homework and every delaying tactic they could think of (we do love them, but this is an exhausting routine!) whilst Ruthie was choral practicing meant that I didn't get the chance to have a go on my eBells. At least I was dry though.

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Wednesday 7th February 2024

Alfie has had a small injury which prevented him playing in his team's match on Saturday and this evening meant he couldn't go training. Pity as that was, it should at least have made it easier to get out to Pettistree's weekly practice, but somehow it still ended up being a big rush with getting the boys and ourselves fed, encouraging them to do their homework and then eventually on the path to bed.

I'm glad I managed to get to the ground-floor six though, with a handful of Surprise Minor regulars absent. Nonetheless, we still managed Cambridge and London during a session that also included discussion on how difficult it is to get to the cobwebs high up in the ringing chamber, was preceded by a quarter of Norwich and followed by myself and the Garners having a drink sat by the bar at The Greyhound as we chatted about geese, pheasants and the busy diaries us ringers have!

The pre-practice 1272 next door wasn't the only QP in Suffolk today either, with former member of the first Wednesday quarter-peal band Adrian Knights remembered by them with a 1282 of Pudsey Surprise Major at Gislingham, whilst at Elveden the birth of James and Jenny Croft's granddaughter was celebrated with a 1280 of eleven Surprise Major methods spliced.

Meanwhile, it was lovely to see an article on SuffolkNews about Haverhill's former Tower Captain Gordon Adams' ninetieth birthday and the peal rung there on Sunday. Great PR for the exercise and good to see Gordon getting deserved recognition.

Thankfully there weren't any injuries preventing them from scoring Sunday's peal or today's quarters!

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Tuesday 6th February 2024

Following the range of emotions experienced yesterday, there was something reassuring about the normality of today. Back to work after John Catt Educational had very kindly given me the time off for Arnie's funeral and ringing at Ufford for the weekly practice. We were a bit short after some who said they were coming then couldn't, but it was still a productive session that featured Plain Bob Minor for Vince to ring inside to and Treble Bob Minor for Daniel to treble to, as well as some London Surprise Minor for a little indulgence.

Meanwhile, back at Offton, Adrian Knights was remembered with the pre-practice quarter-peal of five Surprise Major methods rung on this ground-floor eight. A spot of reassuring normality.

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Monday 5th February 2024

It was a rather sombre day. News of King Charles III's cancer diagnosis understandably shocked many, whilst the passing of Ian Lavender - who played Private Pike in Dad's Army and was the last surviving member of the original main cast - saddened me as a big fan of the show filmed mainly along the Norfolk-Suffolk border and felt like another bit of my childhood lost. Mainly though, the tone of the day for myself and lots of ringers from Suffolk and beyond was set by it being the day we said farewell to Adrian 'Arnie' Knights at his funeral. Yet this was to be a welcome upbeat note on a sad day.

You always hope that funerals serve to transition one from grief to fond recollection, allowing one to celebrate having known the family member or friend you have just lost rather than mourn their passing. Today's did that, certainly for me and I hope - and think - it did for others too. Most of us hadn't seen him for years, mainly because dementia had cruelly robbed us of the Arnie we knew and loved and in the end his ability to remember friends of decades and so to an extent it had been too easy to forget what he had been like, I'm ashamed to say. With the amusing tales, his wonderful dialect and quick wit recounted heartfeltly and movingly by his close friends David Sparling and Simon Rudd, my memories of him suddenly came vividly to life. Even from my youthful days pre-ringing being taken up St Mary-le-Tower with my brother Chris by our parents, I remember thinking he was like no other ringer I'd ever encountered. The way he spoke, the way he looked, his dress sense. He looked different and sounded different, but in a truly likable way. I remembered the sixty-two peals we rang together, including most of my early successes on Cinques and Maximus, mine and Ruthie's first together and the peal we rang of Plain Bob Major at Leiston a century on from one rung by the famous Bailey brothers, with Arnie ringing the same bell as his ringing tutor Ernest - known as Sid - had rung in the 1911 success. He was a superb ringer, in my opinion one of the best this county has ever produced, who ringers in Birmingham used to ask after when I rang there and who was highly thought of in the Cumberland Youths, that he was a member of for fifty years.

However, he was also fantastic company, as we were reminded this afternoon. As mentioned he was quick-witted and also very intelligent, something that probably caught those with misconceptions of the Suffolk accent off guard at times, but always a joy to spend time with. To echo and paraphrase part of Simon's tribute, life didn't get much better as a young ringer than sitting in an ancient Suffolk pub over a pint, listening to Arnie. I couldn't claim to be his contemporary as others could and who can tell some marvelous stories about quarter-peal tours, National 12-bell Striking Contests and peals at towers around the country with him, but it was a privilege to ring with and know him.

It was for all these attributes and more - such as his respectfulness, helpfulness and caring nature - that Offton church was packed out with people from around the county and beyond to celebrate a confirmed bachelor (he was on the treble for a pealband of bachelors placed in descending order of age in a 5040 rung at Sproughton on Leap Year Day in 1992!) who was an only child and that there were many others such as my wife who would've liked to have been there but couldn't. It was important to give Arnie the send-off he deserved, but it was also an opportunity for deserved recognition to be given to Brian Whiting and Amanda Richmond for all they did for him in his final years. And the spontaneous singing of The Farmer's Boy by the congregation as the coffin left the church with a bellrope atop was incredibly moving.

Beforehand the ringing on the ground-floor eight where he rang so much was as you might expect with not just the quantity but quality of ringers present, which included John Loveless, Linda Garton, Jim & Yvonne Towler, Steve Day and a huge proportion of Suffolk's finest. Personally I was delighted to pull in the tenor to a course of Cambridge Surprise Major, ring some Double Norwich Court Bob Major and conduct a touch of Grandsire Triples which was the final piece before the service began, whilst during it David, Amanda, Simon & Brian rang three leads of Kent Treble Bob Major and afterwards a prearranged band rang before a huge crowd retired to The Limes Hotel in Needham Market where more memories were imparted and a montage of photos and videos featuring Arnie was projected on the wall. I was so glad to have gone.

Having taken my mother Sally there and took her home, I met up with her again at St Mary-le-Tower's weekly practice this evening, where I felt I ought to wear my 'Stupid Boy' Dad's Army t-shirt that I got for my birthday in 2014 and which on the very same day I wore to The Ramsholt Arms when my wife very kindly took me out for lunch and Ian Lavender himself walked in! Although I couldn't match the colour coordination of Hal Meakin and Ollie Watson, I felt I ought to wear it on an evening that also saw much ringing, including the now usual Stedman Cinques and Cambridge Surprise Maximus and if you want to practice your Bristol Surprise Maximus then the intention is to ring that next Monday.

Meanwhile, it was announced that the St Mary-le-Tower Society of Change Ringers website is now up and running thanks to the efforts of George Heath-Collins and Hal and looks great, whilst some may be interested to know there is an 'Ipswich Bells' Facebook page now too! All following on nicely from yesterday's blog theme!

After ringing I went for a quick drink at the Halberd Inn, but I have to admit I didn't stick around for long, feeling slightly drained and subdued after a long, sombre day.

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Sunday 4th February 2024

Today is apparently the twentieth birthday of Facebook. Not directly ringing related, but of course it has become a very important tool of communication for ringers and the Suffolk Guild. Many a cancelled practice, upcoming event or news of a ringing friend has been shared to hundreds immediately via the SGR's page and entire pealbands have been formed purely though the medium. Along with email, this website, even maybe my blog and now WhatsApp (Twitter or X or whatever it's called this week doesn't seem to have caught on in the same way in the ringing community, despite being of a similar vintage to FB), ringers in this county and the Guild can communicate at a speed and on a scale that not all that long ago would've seemed incredible to us. It all seems a far cry from even 'just' back to when I started ringing when getting news out to members or organising something required numerous phone calls, letters, newsletters and plenty of patience!

On this Candlemas Sunday, the Guild's Facebook page was particularly active. Norman Tower ringer Ben Keating shared a picture of Lavenham's old frame and asked if anyone had a plan of the church, Jason Busby asked if anyone could ring at his home tower of Halesworth for a funeral on Tuesday and Pettistree Ringing Master shared some photos from yesterday's South-East District Practice at St Margaret's in Ipswich.

There was still time for actual ringing too, which for me began with helping ring the bells at Woodbridge where the exercise was amusingly being compared to ballet dancing and wrestling pythons, before I attended the service where Ruthie and her choral colleagues were singing under their new Director of Music for the first time on a Sunday.

My wife later joined me at St Mary-le-Tower for a practice at the test piece of Grandsire Cinques for the George W Pipe 12 Bell Competition due to be held at St Peter Mancroft in Norwich on Saturday 17th February, which served its purpose as we got used to the touch and improved piece by piece, which was borne out by the Hawkear results we studied as we went along.

Meanwhile, it was another busy day of ringing in the county with two peals and two quarter-peals rung within our borders. One of the peals was done and dusted before I'd even got out of bed and rung by a visiting band (although you may have heard of one or two of them!) as a 5040 of forty-two Treble Dodging Minor methods spliced was rung on handbells for the Society of Cambridge Youths in Risby, with the John Warboys composition thus rung in hand for the first time. An intense weekend for conductor Henry Pipe in particular who can't have had much of a turnaround from spending much of yesterday ringing in that record success in Northamptonshire at Towcester. Just fifteen miles away in Haverhill, a more local peal was being rung as Cambridge Surprise Minor was scored in 2 hours and 55 minutes in a celebratory effort that marked former tower captain Gordon Adams' ninetieth birthday, the eightieth anniversary of the first peal on this 12cwt six and the recent birth of the fourth ringer Reverend Max Drinkwater's daughter Delia. Congratulations all!

Elsewhere, the headline act was Mark Consadine's first QP, rung in the 1260 of Doubles at Buxhall, whilst a quarter of Plain Bob Triples was rung at the aforementioned Halesworth. Well done Mark!

Plenty to put on Facebook there!

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Saturday 3rd February 2024

This morning went pretty much as planned for the South-East District Practice and bake-off.

For us personally though, this morning was version 3.0.

As has been well documented in my barely legible jottings previously, Saturday mornings usually see Alfie playing a football match. However, his team hadn't got a fixture planned for today and so we had been looking forward to a small lay-in before attending the SE's February event at St Margaret's in Ipswich at a leisurely pace. Come Tuesday though and we were informed that a friendly match had been set up for our son and his teammates. I've also mentioned how difficult it is to balance the long-term planning that ringing usually requires with the last-minute arrangements that often accompany youth footy and on this occasion it suddenly made our plans to get to the 14cwt gallery-ring eight in the county town more challenging. Still, we had worked out that if all went to plan we should be able to get to some of the proceedings in the church next to Christchurch Park once Alfred's game had finished.

When we got up this morning to discover AJM complaining of muscle pains and not looking overly mobile however, our plans changed again as he clearly wasn't in a position to play. You know it's bad when Alfie can't play football! It meant that the morning was again free to attend all the ringing, but of course one of us needed to stay at home to look after the patient. Ruthie volunteered for that role and Josh leapt at the chance to join me for cake and the promise of a trip to the park afterwards!

Arriving in Ipswich and walking in, we were met by the sound of the twelve of St Mary-le-Tower ring out as a peal was being attempted in memory of Adrian Knights. Wafting across the town centre, they added a joyful noise to the bustling sounds of traffic and the like in a busy area, but in the main they couldn't be considered intrusive, more constant background music as people went about their lives. They also gave a rare opportunity to hear two rings of bells in the town going at once and I tried to capture that with a video from St Margaret's churchyard with the end of some rounds on the eight and then as a single bell tried to set, the distant sound of the 5042 of Cambridge Surprise Maximus continuing from a few streets over.

Having entered St Margaret's, Joshua and I were greeted by a big crowd, some up in the ringing chamber about to ring, others downstairs watching, mingling and/or eyeing up the delicious looking cakes. Great to see so many there, from longstanding stalwarts like John & Shirley Girt to others completely new to me like the learners from Henley, whilst Ringing Master Hal Meakin guided ringing that included much from Call-Changes to Stedman Triples and lots in between. And it was tremendous fun trying the baked goods on offer over a cup of tea and chatting to people there. All rounded off by a short meeting and election of a new member, the nearby peal just about audible, even inside the church.

Afterwards our youngest son was delighted to get to go to the park and roll down hills, the sound of the 3 hours and 35 minutes of ringing on Suffolk's heaviest ring of bells still going, as they were as we walked back to the car, although presumably they must have been pretty close to finishing by that point.

It was brilliant to see that was scored, but it wasn't the only performance from within our borders which featured on BellBoard, on a busy day of quarter-peal achievements. Particularly so for North-West District Ringing Master Josh Watkins who rang his fiftieth QP as conductor in the 1260 of St Clement's College Bob Minor at Higham, as well as his twenty-fifth in the medium with David Steed. He rang his first of Norwich Surprise Minor in the 1320 at Preston St Mary too and his fiftieth quarter with Sally Crouch in the 1344 of Plain Bob Triples at Stoke by Nayland. Congratulations and well done to Joshua, David and Sally and also to Jill Apter on her first of Minor in the Plain Bob rung at Stratford St Mary!

Meanwhile, you might have thought that the peal at St Mary-le-Tower sounded like it went on for a long time as we went about our morning with it as a continuous backdrop, but it was only about half the length and time of the 10032 changes of eleven Maximus methods spliced rung in 6 hours and 42 minutes at Towcester today. This is the longest peal of variable treble spliced Maximus, which is where the treble rings all the work - all of the line of all of the methods - along with all of the other bells. It is an impressive achievement from a band of some of the world's best ringers who are used to impressive achievements.

Hopefully it all went as planned too!

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Friday 2nd February 2024

It was a typically quiet Friday evening in for us, our only ringing-related occurrence being the arrival of The Ringing World.

A future edition should feature today's quarter-peal at Earl Stonham, whilst ringing within our borders is due to appear in a different medium with a part of the peal of Ambridge Surprise Major rung at Orford over the ringing weekend to remember twice Past Ringing Master of the Suffolk Guild David Salter a couple of years ago due to be the subject of this weekend's 'Bells on Sunday' on BBC Radio 4.

God willing something to look forward to listening out for on what should hopefully be a busier day of ringing for us.

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Thursday 1st February 2024

Recent years have taught us not to assume things go to plan, but as we ticked into February today with winter feeling like its been going on for years rather than months, I couldn't help but consider that next month the clocks are due to go forward to British Summer Time, God willing ushering in arriving at evening ringing practices in the light and eventually leaving them and even the pub afterwards with the sun still out.

It seemed a good time to be reminded of a much anticipated ringing event that is also slated to happen towards the end of March, as further information was released on the National 12-bell Striking Contest's website about the eliminators planned for fifty-one days time, including ours at Portsmouth Cathedral. As always we would be appreciative of support from anyone who fancies a day or weekend away on the south coast and if that is your intention then today's info includes tips, guidance and advice on transport, parking, food, drink and the like, as well as the intended schedule for proceedings at the cathedral. Apparently more will appear on the local ringers' website soon too, so keep an eye out on that!

For all the excitement of what the next few weeks could potentially bring though, I have no intention of wishing my life away and today was very much one to appreciate in the moment as Ruthie and I attended Josh's class assembly at school. Lots of adorable memories were created as he and his peers spoke Spanish and initiated a quiz that involved guessing which instruments go with which animals in 'Peter and the Wolf'. Our son spoke his lines loudly and clearly and seemed very pleased with himself, as were we!

Other ringers were taking advantage of what Suffolk's bells were offering in the here and now, most notably at Horringer where all the band were ringing their first blows of St John the Baptist Bob Triples in a quarter-peal of the method. Well done to them all, Happy Birthday to Jo Crouch and North-West District Ringing Master Josh Watkins and congratulations to the Reverend Max Drinkwater and his wife Charlotte on the birth of Delia.

Whilst I can't help but dream of brighter spring days then, there is plenty to enjoy right now thank God!

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Wednesday 31st January 2024

Occasionally the Pettistree band gets into a 'method of the moment'. A few weeks ago, following the Boxing Day peal at Cretingham, Kirkstall Delight Minor was rung at the following practice and then the next week in the pre-session quarter-peal. Seven days ago we rang Allendale Surprise Minor on the ground-floor six ahead of Sunday's peal at Campsea Ashe that Mary Garner and myself were ringing in. Tonight, the practice was preceded by a quarter-peal of the method only differentiated from Fryerning and Westminster by the frontwork and later it was also part of a touch of spliced.

By that point the tenor ringer of the earlier 1272, Kate, had collected her dog Merlin and on the way back to ringing very kindly picked me up too, with Ruthie a little under the weather and work to do and so as well as that spliced I was able to ring in plenty of other stuff from Bourne Surprise Minor to Stedman Doubles to rounds on six for learner Catherine. There was cake to celebrate Chris McArthur's birthday too and with The Greyhound now open again following its usual January break, there was also post-ringing refreshment here for the first time for a few weeks.

God willing it won't be as long before we're back. Who knows what the 'method of the moment' might be by then?

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Tuesday 30th January 2024

A number of Ufford's Tuesday night regulars were unringable this evening. Hollesley's Margaret Weeks was present and her arm now out of it's cast, but she isn't ready to ring yet, whilst others were away ill, but with Alan McBurnie again there and almost now a regular himself, we still managed some Surprise Minor of the London and Norwich variety along with lots of trebling practice for Daniel Atkinson to Doubles and Plain Bob Minor.

Elsewhere at another Tuesday night eight-bell practice, a quarter-peal was rung beforehand at Offton to celebrate Janet Sheldrake's significant birthday - Happy Birthday for tomorrow Janet! I'm glad you were ringable for it!

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Monday 29th January 2024

Many will be aware already I'm sure, but next Monday is due to be the funeral of Arnie Knights and a reminder and further details were shared by his good friend Brian Whiting via the Guild's email and Facebook page. It is due to be held at Offton - where he did so much of his ringing - at noon, with ringing on the 8cwt ground-floor eight from 11am beforehand, whilst ringing afterwards will only be done by a pre-arranged band. Brian would also be most appreciative if you could let him know if you intend to attend.

Before then though, we were reminded during the notice's at St Mary-le-Tower's practice that this Saturday the South-East District is planning on holding it's monthly practice just a few hundred yards away at St Margaret's on Saturday morning, complete with a fun Bake Off. Even without the bake off, this is an event that I hope that all who can attend will attend. These occasions allow members from towers across a large area to join together to achieve more than they might be able to just at their home tower, as well as meet others that might be able to support them, not just in the SE, but all being well a week later at Sweffling in the North-East District and Horringer in the North-West District and then on the 24th at Polstead in the South-West District.

The power of these was apparently fully evidenced on Saturday at Lavenham for the SW's January practice and from where I have heard many glowing reports from those who went along! And no wonder, as forty-nine attended with three new members being elected, including one who is eleven years old and another who is thirteen, all guided by new South-West Ringing Master Richard Knight. A great start to 2024 for the South-West District and generally from all the districts from what I've heard.

Mention of the SW is also a good moment to mention that their new Secretary Christine Knight is planning on stepping down as Guild Peal Secretary after an incredible twenty years in the role at the AGM slated for Saturday 6th April at Stowmarket, whilst Kate Gill's five years as SGR Secretary is due to finish at the same meeting. Please do give thought to either taking on one of these roles or who might be able to.

Today though, there was a handbell peal rung in Bacton for the Norwich Diocesan Association and the aforementioned weekly session on the county's heaviest ring of bells where Ben Keating again joined us and hopefully got plenty out of a practice that included Grandsire Cinques and Cambridge Surprise Maximus as we continue to prepare for our intended entries into the George W Pipe 12 Bell Competition and National 12-bell Striking Contest in Norwich on 17th February and Portsmouth on 23rd March respectively. We also rang some Stedman Cinques before we retired to the Halberd Inn where we enjoyed conversation with family and friends over a drink. Something that Arnie would've definitely have enjoyed!

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Sunday 28th January 2024

It was a busy day of ringing in Suffolk, with my contribution to it beginning at St Mary-le-Tower for service ringing, where on this occasion we were joined by Ipswich blasts from the past Sue McCouaig and Helen Carter. We now usually see Sue on Rambling Ringers, but she used to live locally and ring at St Margaret's, whilst Helen worked in the town for about eighteen months and rang on the county's heaviest twelve regularly a few years ago. Sadly I didn't get the opportunity to catch up with either of them as the former left before we finished ringing and the latter was sat at the other end of a typically large turnout for post-ringing refreshment at Costa Coffee, but they helped us man the twelve this morning and it was nice to see them back here.

The boys and I continued onto Grundisburgh where I helped them to ring on the back eight of the county's lightest twelve, before meeting up with Ruthie again following her choral duties and then being given a lift out to Campsea Ashe by her. For it's that time of year again when I attempt a peal to celebrate Mason's birthday, which has always been of a number of changes and/or methods corresponding to his age and with it being his seventeenth birthday yesterday we were going for seventeen Surprise Minor methods on this lovely little gallery-ring six. And I'm glad to report that despite a false start of just over ten minutes when I realised I had missed a lead each of York and Durham out, that we not just scored but produced 2 hours and 34 minutes of really nice ringing on nice bells. I rang in the last peal on the old four back in 2010, but this was my first on the six and it is mildly surprising to me that before today there had only been seven peals rung on them in the thirteen years since their augmentation and only four of those had been for the Suffolk Guild, with the last one being in 2019. Even taking into account the pandemic, it seems odd that such a nice, still relatively new ring of bells are so underpealed. Glenys Fear the tower correspondent here was very pleased that a peal was being rung on them, leading me to suspect there isn't a major issue with them being pealed from a local perspective, so perhaps this will be the first of more regular attempts, within reason.

Afterwards, Simon Smith and myself enjoyed a drink in The Duck afterwards, where we were joined by my wife and the boys following their afternoon in the park, but our 5040 wasn't the only ringing within our borders today. Well done to Juliet Griffiths on ringing her first quarter-peal inside in the 1260 of Plain Bob Doubles rung at Tostock, which was also Stephen Dawson's first of the method from the treble. Meanwhile, there was also a 1254 of Grandsire Cinques rung at The Norman Tower and quite a bit of ringing of fewer changes was noted on BellBoard with a lost QP attempt of Grandsire Triples at Southwold dedicated to former Tower Captain and Steeplekeeper John Uden, 540 changes of St Clement's College Bob Minor at Buxhall, Melancholy and Call-Changes rung at Glemsford for Candlemas and service ringing at Woodbridge all recorded for posterity on a busy day of ringing in Suffolk.

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Saturday 27th January 2024

I expect it is something most parents feel, but the first time I held my children after their birth, I also held certain dreams and aspirations for them. Primarily it was for their good health and happiness, but there were also some mildly selfish hopes, one being that they would grow up supporting Ipswich Town and coming to their matches with me. When each of the boys were born it was akin to a very cruel wish for a lifetime of misery, but over the last couple of years or so we have made some wonderful memories watching the Tractor Boys together as a family, as the best team to represent the town and county for decades have blown away countless opponents in entertaining style.

Ironic then that on Mason's seventeenth birthday today, when the expectation for his big day was that ITFC would win comfortably at Portman Road in the fourth round of the FA Cup against an opposition from a level where no team had reached the fifth round since my year of birth in 1978 and were four divisions below us, that the visitors Maidstone United produced one of the biggest shocks in the competition's history to win 2-1. In a strange way it was a privilege to be a witness to something that will almost certainly go down in football folklore and gave their fans an experience that they would never expect following a club of their size, but it did put a bit of a downer on my eldest's birthday.

Still, I hope he still enjoyed his day, from opening his cards and presents to his bacon butty watching Alfie and his teammates winning their football match to his evening back at his mother's, as we enjoyed our day, that surprising result aside.

That included our usual pre-match pint with Norwich ringer Simon Rudd on a day that ended for him at the St Peter Mancroft Annual Dinner and sadly began for some of his fellow ringers there with an unfortunate lost peal attempt of Stedman Cinques. Not the first of its kind and almost certainly not the last!

Another of the hopes I had for all three boys was that they would grow up to enjoy bellringing, but whilst all of them have dabbled to varying degrees and God willing one day they may do it seriously, none have taken it up and nor would we ever pressure them to do so. Mercifully though, there are still others enjoying the limitless opportunities that the exercise can offer one, most notably today at Rumburgh where former tower captain at this lovely little ground-floor six Ian Harris was remembered with a 1260 of Plain Bob Minor by his son Jason and granddaughter Georgia, the latter of whom was ringing her first ever quarter-peal.

Well done Georgia, congratulations Maidstone United and Happy Birthday Mason!

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Friday 26th January 2024

The Ringing World arrived with us this morning and featured a fair bit of Suffolk related content. That included the Guild as one of the leading peal-ringing organisations in Andrew Craddock's easy to understand but thorough analysis of peal ringing in 2023, which suggests that generally throughout ringing the number of peals, number of those ringing them and number of first pealers rising, with the first still down on pre-pandemic levels, but the middle pretty much on par and the latter better.

Mention is also made of Adnams in an article about how many of the breweries are still open which have methods named after them and are included in Philip Saddleton's peal composition of twenty-three Surprise Major methods which was composed in the 1980s but only pealed for the first time recently, at Garlickhythe in London last month and then again twelve days ago on the same bells with the same band. Adnams Surprise Major on its own is pretty hairy, let alone ringing it spliced with twenty-two other peals!

Also starring was a repeat of an ABC of 'Do-It-Yourself Bell Maintenance' from a RW of half a century ago about the efforts at Henley to rehang their bells, written in entertaining style by then Ringing Master of the 8cwt eight and the Suffolk Guild Howard Egglestone.

I didn't know Howard well, with his time here preceding my early active years in ringing and our paths only crossed occasionally subsequently, but from what I did know I'm fairly sure he would applaud South-East District Ringing Master Hal Meakin's proactiveness in launching his bimonthly Surprise Major practices, the first of which was held this evening. I'm pleased to report that it was a huge success, with over twenty ringers crammed into Ufford's ringing chamber and a number benefitting from an invaluable and - in recent years - rare opportunity to ring at this level. Much was learnt, including that I don't know fourths place Pudsey! Still, I consoled myself with a drink in The White Lion post-ringing.

Earlier I had been delighted to see that the Westhorpe ringers had enjoyed their trip to Taylor's in Loughborough yesterday where they watched one of their bells being cast and found out more about the process at this famous bellfoundry, whilst after we'd been out my attention was drawn to the new website for the National 12-bell Striking Contest Final due to be held at Chilcompton in Somerset on Saturday 15th June. If you are planning on going along to what is the biggest annual day out in ringing, it is well worth taking a look, especially as this year's venue is more rural than most others previously.

I imagine that there should be more updates in future editions of The Ringing World, hopefully along with more Suffolk content!

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Thursday 25th January 2024

Some of the acts for this year's Latitude Festival due to be held in July at Henham Park were announced today. As people were getting excited by the prospect of Duran Duran, Kasabian and Nile Rodgers amongst others playing at the site just a couple of miles from the 10cwt ground-floor six of Blythburgh in (hopefully!) warmer times, I have to admit to casting my mind ahead to the potential of summer ringing events. God willing striking competitions, outings, Rambling Ringers, listening to bells in sunbaked churchyards in picturesque villages. Even in these mild-for-January temperatures, such times seem a long way away and I suppose they are. Indeed, as if to ram that home, the immediate focus on planned ringing events was on February today as the monthly What's On email to Guild members was sent out.

It is of course the shortest month of the year - albeit a day longer than normal this time - but there is intended to be quite a bit squeezed in involving Suffolk's bells and Suffolk's ringers. Saturday 17th is when many of the county's ringers are set to compete at St Peter Mancroft in Norwich for the George W Pipe 12 Bell Competition, with the contest open to the three twelve-bell towers within our borders and although as far as I'm aware there is no entry from Grundisburgh, there are entries planned from St Mary-le-Tower and the Norman Tower, joining teams from Essex and Norfolk.

In the county meanwhile, the intention is for the South-East District to hold their monthly practice on the first Saturday as usual, this time on the gallery-ring eight of St Margaret's in Ipswich from 10.30am to 12.30pm, complete with a just-for-fun bake-off, which members had an email about from SE Secretary Liz Christian that also reported how successful this month's at Hollesley was. This should be a fun occasion on a easy-going ring in a location accessible not just by car but public transport.

There are also biscuits and cake lined up for Sweffling for the North-East District Ringing Meeting slated for a week later in - with all due respect to St Margaret's which is set in quite a pretty part of the county town next to Christchurch Park - is in a much prettier location and easier to park at, whilst the same can be said for the North-West District Practice penciled in at Horringer from 10am to noon on the same day.

Meanwhile, the South-West District plan to hold their practice on the lovely six at Polstead (to continue to sound like an advert for Suffolk tourism!) in wonderful surroundings on the 24th and indeed they are still due to run their January practice this Saturday at one of the county's most famous landmarks, Lavenham. It always feels such a privilege to climb up to this vast famous ringing chamber to ring on the 21cwt eight, so do try to get along, especially if you have never been before!

To round next month's events off though, there is a very special occasion as the ten at Stowmarket are set to be dedicated at 2.30pm on Sunday 25th, one of the biggest projects in Suffolk for many years and one that many of us have followed closely. For that and all the ringing above I hope as many ringers as possible can support as much as they can.

However, no ringing for us today, not unusually for a Thursday where the most excitement was Charlie our cat chasing a poor mouse around our dining room. Elsewhere in the county there was ringing action though, as a quarter-peal of Bristol Surprise Major rung at The Norman Tower.

There is still ringing to enjoy at the moment, even if it isn't as warm as we hope it will be in the summer!

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Wednesday 24th January 2024

Despite a delicious tea cooked up by Ruthie (pasta, mushrooms, garlic and butter seeing as you asked, but don't expect a photo) beforehand, I finished my evening out feeling quite pekish. From talk of birthday cake at Alfie's football training (as if I haven't had enough in recent days!) to Pettistree's weekly practice looking at the menu for the ringers' annual dinner due to happen soon, to mention of haggis with Burns Night scheduled for twenty-four hours later and Guild Chairman Mark Ogden recounting when he took on - and succeeded at - a spicy eating challenge following a peal at Oakley a few years ago, I could sense my tastebuds tingling! With The Greyhound still shut for one last night for its usual January break, there wasn't even the opportunity to sate my appetite with a bag of crisps afterwards!

We did talk about ringing too though, with Mike Cowling telling us about how disorientating it was ringing in the peal at Horringer earlier today with Brian Whiting not on the treble and that his homework for tomorrow was learning the New Bob Doubles family and we did some actual ringing as well. Allendale Surprise Minor was practiced ahead of a planned forthcoming peal attempt, a touch of London Surprise Minor with singles was entertaining, I called a touch of Plain Bob Minor from the treble and there was a new learner having handling lessons, with is encouraging.

Before all of that, a quarter-peal of Bourne Surprise Minor was rung, whilst the aforementioned 5056 of Six Mile Bottom Surprise Major wasn't the only peal rung in Suffolk today as a 5087 of Cambridge and Muriel's Pineapple Ginger Surprise Major spliced was rung at Grundisburgh. Arranged as a thanksgiving for the eighty-seven year life of Muriel Page, it also celebrated the seventieth anniversary to the day of her first peal, rung at Framsden of Cambridge Surprise Major.

I'm sure today's performances were well rung, but I hope they weren't too hungry!

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Tuesday 23rd January 2024

Happy Birthday to Susanne Eddis, who chose to celebrate the occasion by joining us at Ufford practice this evening. Even better, she brought cake (iced and jammed by her, but made by her other half Pete) to eat and fizzy to drink! Thank you Susanne!

We did do some ringing too, from plenty of call-changes on eight for Mary Leaming, Plain Hunt on Seven for her fellow Hollesley learner Daniel Atkinson and Plain Bob Minor inside for Bredfield ringer Vince Buckman, whilst Alan McBurnie led some rounds on eight rung to changing speeds to replicate Plain Hunt on Eight and there was even some Ipswich Surprise Minor and Stedman Triples rung.

It is also a timely reminder that South-East District Ringing Master Hal Meakin is due to run a Surprise Major Practice here on Friday night, open to all looking to "practice or perfect" their Surprise Major, for what is planned to be the first of regular bimonthly sessions. This first one is intended to focus on the 'standard' eight. Since restrictions on ringing were lifted two and a half years ago, Surprise Major has been a more difficult thing to come across, so please take advantage of this opportunity if you can.

I can't promise cake and fizzy though.

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Monday 22nd January 2024

The reader(s?) of this blog will be aware of the regular choice we have between ringing and football, especially since watching Ipswich Town has become frequent, but one actually allowed me to do the other this evening. For the Tractor Boys' fixture away at league leaders Leicester City had been moved from Saturday afternoon to 8pm today so the game could be showed to the nation on TV. A ridiculous time for a kick-off and even more so considering it was changed after some fans had already made travel and accommodation plans for the weekend and of course it meant that for me personally it clashed with the weekly practice at St Mary-le-Tower. In the ideal world we would watch it on the tele with the boys and indeed we were invited to Ruthie's sister Clare's where her and her fiancé Chris have Sky Sports which the match was shown on, but it was too late on a schoolnight for Alfie and Josh and it would've seemed unfair for either one of their parents to go out to watch the contest leaving the other one at home childsitting.

Therefore, I did what I normally do on a Monday night and went into the county town to ring where the only announcement in notices was that ITFC had gone a goal down, before we retired to the usual haunt of the Halberd Inn where the match was being shown, thus allowing me to watch the second half, something I wouldn't have done if I hadn't gone ringing on Suffolk's heaviest ring of bells first. What is more, mindful that this large group of Monday night regulars didn't have anywhere to sit in a busier than usual pub, the bar staff very kindly opened the 'Stables', a separate room apparently used for the social event here when The Central Council visited in September, which we had to ourselves and where they also put one of the big screens on to show the footy. That allowed those of us interested to follow the game and enjoy Town's last minute equaliser and also converse with our friends, whilst those not concerned with proceedings at the romantically named King Power Stadium just over a hundred miles away were able to sit in ample space and relative peace (probably more than normal in fact!) for their post-ringing refreshment.

Earlier in the day one of our fellow drinkers, David Stanford, had rung in the first Guild peal on handbells of 2024 which was rung in Bury St Edmunds with a 5056 of Plain Bob Major rung in 2 hours and 28 minutes. Good to see the SGR's handbell peal totals up and running for the year!

Meanwhile, despite a number of Surprise Maximus regulars being missing for various reasons, the actual ringing at tonight's session at St Mary-le-Tower featured Cambridge and Yorkshire, as well as Little Bob Royal and Maximus for George Heath-Collins to ring inside to, Stedman Caters and the touch of Grandsire Cinques lined up to be the test piece for the George W Pipe 12 Bell Competition. A reminder for those who fancy a day out that this is due to take place at St Peter Mancroft in Norwich on Saturday 17th February. When mercifully we don't have to choose between ringing and watching Ipswich Town.

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Sunday 21st January 2024

Service ringing at Woodbridge this morning was a positive experience with well-struck rounds on the front six that prompted talk of striking competitions, which is the type of talk I love to hear! All the six-bell striking competitions in Suffolk have a call-change element which makes them accessible to more bands and importantly gives focus to towers, further motivation to progress and something fun to look forward to. Please do keep an eye on What's On for venues and timings and in the meantime save the dates for your district contest and/or the Guild one slated for Saturday 18th May and encourage your band to put an entry in.

Apart from our primary purpose of ringing for worship on the Sabbath, the main focus of the county's ringers today seems to have been quarter-pealing with a 1300 of Doubles rung at Redgrave and 1260 of Minor at Rougham with a healthy sprinkling of methods and good wishes imparted between the two of them. Get well soon to Chris Davies' grandson Tom, congratulations to Betty Baines on the birth of her great granddaughters and Happy Birthday to former ringer Ted Williams.

Our afternoon was less active from a ringing perspective as rather we found ourselves in various depressing warehouse-type shops doing mundane though necessary shopping, wishing we were all at a striking competition somewhere instead!

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Saturday 20th January 2024

Much to our surprise, following a night of centigrade temperatures in the minus figures and warnings yesterday evening to the strong likelihood of the contrary, Alfie's team's football match went ahead this morning, albeit the sound of the studs thudding on the ground suggested it was still pretty hard! It was bracing watching from the sidelines too, although the bacon butties, hot drinks and an exciting match helped warm us up.

I don't know if the cold was also a factor in the lack of quarters or peals in Suffolk and/or for the Guild reported on BellBoard and it seemed unfortunate on a Saturday afternoon when we actually had the time to do some ringing that there wasn't any within our borders advertised, but I was pleased to read about lots of other ringing going on across the countryside and particularly in memory of two giants of the exercise who I had the privilege of knowing on the anniversary of their deaths.

One was John McDonald of Birmingham who I spent much pleasurable time in the company of when I used to ring in the UK's second city, who died twenty years ago. He was a superb ringer and conductor, but also an immensely entertaining character. Most of my ringing with him was done on the eight at St Chad's Roman Catholic Cathedral and particularly attempting to peal Martin's Triples, a fiendishly tricky method with a number of different types of calls which took regular (sometimes weekly!) attempts from just after I started university in September 1997 until it was finally scored in February 1999, about halfway through my course! Generally the protocol would be to turn up in hope rather than expectation, ring a few attempts and retire to the Gunmakers Arms down the road (if it was on the same night as some of us were supposed to be at St Martin's-in-the-Bullring's practice we had to ensure we were ringing when we thought then Ringing Master David Pipe would've been driving past, so we could say we were absent ringing rather than simply imbibing in the pub!), where John would hold forth, just as he would after Sunday morning ringing too. Tales were regaled with great gusto and theatricality such as when he thought he was going to die following a peal at Abergavenny and how he would've pleased to go to the sound of that glorious ten! And he was responsible for the famous ringing quote that when a ringer moved from Brum to London that the ringing in both cities improved. Whilst I also remember fondly putting the muffles on at St Chad's at his request for a pint and a fiver, which those who have rung there will know is a terrifying experience. Worth it for time spent in his company though.

I didn't know the other ringing legend remembered today, Roger Bailey, to quite the same extent, but I still have many fond memories of him, as many in our county will have done. With family locally he usually joined us at St Mary-le-Tower for ringing on Christmas Day morning for many years and he also rang in the SGR's first - and thus far only - peal on fourteen bells at Winchester Cathedral in 2008, but he was known throughout the world of ringing as a talented composer, conductor (he conducted 1,254 peals) and ringer, as well as another entertaining character much missed.

Meanwhile, there was a truly inspirational peal rung at Worcester Cathedral, where Christopher Phillips became the first person with Parkinson's Disease to ring a peal on a bell weighing over 40cwt in the 5007 of Stedman Cinques.

Our afternoon was less inspirational, but I wasn't desperately upset to stay in the warm with a drink after that cold start to our day!

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Friday 19th January 2024

This week's edition of The Ringing World again arrived ready to be read over a Friday night drink and again was an interesting read. There wasn't a huge amount of Suffolk related content, although as usual the annual report on the Keltek Trust's activities over the previous twelve months makes mention of bells in our county. On this occasion they bring up the cancellation of the project to put a ten in at Combs, but also the two bells they have provided for the augmentation of Fornham St Martin from six to eight.

However, I enjoyed ten-year Josh Crutch's article on his presentation about the exercise at school, which coincided with today's announcements of events planned for 2024 for the Young Change Ringers Association. This is the organisation open exclusively to ringers up to thirty years old (I just miss the cut-off...) and I would certainly encourage the increasing number of young ringers that I have noticed within our borders over the last year to join if they haven't already. Sadly (as is so often the case with the Ringing World National Youth Contest) the events lined up don't actually go anywhere very near to us, but I hope that doesn't put youngsters from here at least saving the slated dates (all of which are Saturdays) of 6th April for an outing to Nottingham, 6th July for the RWNYC which is due to be held in London, 21st September for an outing to Leeds and 23rd November for a training weekend in Oxford.

The boys are in the correct age bracket for this, but although they have all dabbled to varying degrees none of them have yet fully taken up the art and certainly weren't intending to start on this freezing January evening. And to be fair to them, neither Ruthie or I were doing any either.

It's a good job we had The Ringing World to read.

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Thursday 18th January 2024

There were quarter-peals of eleven Doubles methods at Horringer and of Cambridge Surprise Minor rung on The Barn Owl Ring in Norton today and just over the Cambridgeshire border Henry Pipe - who of course has strong ancestral links to Suffolk - impressively completed ringing a handbell peal of Stedman Cinques on every pair of bells by ringing 5-6 to a 5009 rung in Ely.

Neither Ruthie or I managed any ringing though, as instead post-work we were celebrating the birthday of her sister Clare's fiancé Chris at their abode, although there were three ringers present with us and mother-in-law and Ufford Ringing Master Kate.

We had fun though. I hope those ringing in Horringer, Norton and Ely also had fun.

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Wednesday 17th January 2024

There's lots of illnesses of various types doing the rounds at the moment, as one would probably expect for a cold January in the UK. At both mine and Ruthie's work people have been or are off poorly, numbers at Alfie's football training were depleted and at Pettistree this evening it led to the cancelling of the weekly Wednesday quarter-peal and meant that mother-in-law Kate Eagle was running the ringing at the practice. As well as plenty of Doubles focus for John Horsnell and Sam Shannon, there was also Surprise Minor in the form of Cambridge and London despite the absences, as reported by my wife who had gone along too.

Meanwhile back at home, I finally took the opportunity to ring my eBells again. Being their first outing for some time it was only a gentle reintroduction on Minor as I rang a couple of courses of Plain Bob - including on 3-4 - and one of Cambridge, all of which was a bit rusty, but nonetheless satisfactory. And at least it was unaffected by ringers of the other bells being ill!

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Tuesday 16th January 2024

Another fun but productive evening at Ufford. Although there weren't quite as many as last Tuesday, there were still enough to ring lots of Triples including Grandsire and Plain Bob for Daniel to treble to and Stedman for the band as a whole, whilst Bredfield ringer Vince rang Plain Hunt on Seven for the first time as well as inside to touches of Plain Bob of the Doubles and Minor varieties and Alan McBurnie hauled St Martin's and St Simon's Bob from the depths of his memory banks for a touch of mixed Doubles.

Meanwhile, despite there being no babysitting to do on this occasion and still in a cast and therefore unable to ring, Margaret travelled over with her fellow Hollesley ringers before their Ringing Master Peter Harper tried to leave with the fifth rope under his coat at the end of a fun but productive evening!

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Monday 15th January 2024

For several years now, this Monday has been dubbed 'Blue Monday', supposedly the most depressing day of the year. Whilst those opposed to Sizewell C may agree as the construction phase for that particular project was announced to have begun and thus kickstarted about a decade where getting to ringing at places like Leiston and Theberton may become more challenging, the good news is that Blue Monday is largely tosh, something dreamt up by holiday firms in an attempt to encourage folk to book their trips away to hotter climes. Additionally, mental health charities are attempting to use it as a positive in order to promote their worthy cause, whilst I'm pleased to say that our day was remarkably upbeat.

Indeed, having just got into the ringing chamber at St Mary-le-Tower to sit in on a reasonably rung touch of Grandsire Cinques complete with plain leads (so no bobs or singles called in those leads), it struck me that we were already doing better than last Monday! Even more so when it was followed up by a decent half-course of Cambridge Surprise Maximus, one of two rings of this at the weekly practice tonight. Despite first me and then my mother Sally having rope issues that saw us miss our sallies to much amusement and then much more amusement respectively, most of what was rung was of a relatively high standard that I imagine the majority of provincial twelve-bell towers would be quite pleased with, from those pieces of Surprise Maximus to George Heath-Collins ringing inside to Little Bob Maximus very well. All carried out in a jovial atmosphere that belied how depressing today is meant to be.

That continued on into the Halberd Inn too, where a suggestion that George should put himself forward as a Central Council Rep was countered with his hilarious disapproval of the CCCBR's logo!

No, today didn't strike me as a Blue Monday.

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Sunday 14th January 2024

With the ringing for morning service at St Mary-le-Tower returning to the normal 8.45-9,30 today after the previous three Sundays going back to Christmas Eve running an hour later, numbers were at a healthier level as those who normally ring at other towers afterwards were able to join us again. As well as giving the ringing chamber a renewed vibrancy, it allowed us to ring on twelve throughout, including some Cambridge Surprise Maximus, not something anywhere near every twelve in the country can achieve on the Sabbath morn.

Those high numbers continued on to post-ringing refreshment at Costa Coffee, but sadly the same couldn't be said for Grundisburgh for ringing for the Rector Katrina Dyke's final service before she moves to Somerset for family reasons. Unfortunately we 'peaked' at call-changes on the finest nine in the village, but at least we were able to make a noise for a vicar who has been here only a relatively short while but has been supportive of the bellringers throughout The Carlford Churches which also includes the sixes of Ashbocking, Burgh, Clopton, Hasketon and Otley.

And whilst there I was also very kindly handed a Guild Centenary Certificate by SGR Chairman Mark Ogden, which was for my first peal of spliced Surprise Maximus. This was a superb initiative which seems to have encouraged a huge amount of endeavour and progress throughout 2023, particularly with first quarter-pealers and I'm chuffed to