Derby Diocesan Association of Church Bellringers

2011 8 bell striking competition

2011-10-02T18:14:00.001Z

Here are the results from the District 8 bell striking competition on 1st October 2011:
1st Peak District (42 faults, ringing Grandsire Triples)
2nd Southern District (59 faults, ringing Grandsire Triples)
3rd Central District (80.5 faults, ringing Plain Bob Triples)

Unfortunately the Chesterfield District didn't complete the test piece.

Thanks to Graham Hayward for giving up his time to judge the competition.

For a history of the competition, please visit the website.

Melbourne 5th in the 2011 12 bell final

2011-06-25T17:36:00.003Z

Well done to the Melbourne team, who came 5th in the 12 bell Striking Competition at Leeds today - a great result. Leeds are not easy bells and are much heavier than Melbourne - 40cwt.

The Leeds crew did us proud with bouncy castles, loads of beer & food and a live Internet feed around the world for those who could not make the journey to Leeds. It was good to see several Derbyshire ringers at the event.

Next year's final is at Melbourne.

Judges: Frederick Shallcross (Chief), Thomas W Griffiths, Robert C Kippin, Mark W Regan

	Team	Rang	Speed	Mark
1	Birmingham	2nd	3h34	85%
2	York	5th	3h30	84%
3	Ancient Society of College Youths	8th	3h37	80%
4	Bristol	9th	3h34	72%
5	Melbourne	7th	3h34	67%
6	Cambridge	4th	3h30	63%
7	Exeter	3rd	3h47	62%
8	Stockton-on-Tees	1st	3h37	61%
9	St Paul's Cathedral	6th	3h34	60%

Front row (R-L: Simon Melen (Treble), Pam Timms, Liz Hutchieson, John Fisher (with Billy), Angela Preston, Christian Peckham)

Back row (L-R: Terry Astill, Tim Peverett, Simon Humphrey, Stuart Hutchieson, Alistair Smith, Richard Angrave (Tenor))

The advert on the side of the pub outside Leeds Parish Church (below).

Derby Tops 2011 Tewkesbury Shield Table with "Strongly Controlled Ringing"

2011-06-13T20:21:00.005Z

Derby Tops 2011 Tewkesbury Shield Table with "Strongly Controlled Ringing"

Derby DA team organiser Tim Peverett receiving the Tewkesbury Shield Trophy from the Mayor of Tewkesbury, Geoff Pope The 39th Tewkesbury Shield took place on Saturday, 7th May and once again we were lucky with the weather, since the rain clouds disappeared just as the teams were arriving. The Vicar of Tewkesbury, Canon Paul Williams, welcomed everybody to Tewkesbury, and asked everybody to remember Rod Pipe, who judged the very first competition back in 1973.

The test piece this year was a touch of 360 Grandsire Caters composed by Paul Flavell and was successfully completed by all nine teams. The Touching Souls Tea Room staffed by ringers and friends was open and did a roaring trade in bacon butties, delicious cakes, sandwiches and drinks, raising about £475 for Abbey funds. Everybody involved worked hard all day keeping up with demand, a job made harder since the dishwasher had broken down! The judges, Simon Rudd and Mary Holden, were hidden in a nearby flat, chosen as a judging venue not only as the acoustics are good and clear, with no bell shouting, but also because the flat is rented by one of our ringers! Their comments on each team were as follows :

Team 1 (Hereford Diocesan Guild, peal speed 3h 20m): the ends of the changes were a little variable, with either bells in 8-9 stretching out or the tenor driving in. Small problems at the end of 13th and 15th leads. The little bells were rung well;

Team 2 (Derby Diocesan Association, peal speed 3h 35m): the slowest ringing of the day. Very strongly controlled piece of ringing with a good beat set by the tenor. Reverse rounds were untidy! Such small hesitations as there were caused little or no disruption;

Team 3 (Winchester and Portsmouth DG, peal speed 3h 19m): a more positive pace, but with a shaky start. Best ringing of the piece came in the middle section, apart from the musical half-way course end;

Team 4 (University of London, peal speed 3h 23m): recovered nerves and completed test piece after a catastrophic practice. Tenor a little sluggish. Accrued faults throughout;

Team 5 (Oxford Society, peal speed 3h 34m): another steady paced piece. Like the curate's egg, excellent but only in parts. Possibly a method mistake at the start of the 16th lead. The leading was a little inconsistent;

Team 6 (Worcestershire & Districts, peal speed 3h 30m): a piece with an uncertain rhythm. Some bells trying to push it along, others holding back. Consistent accrual of faults. Two emergency sirens during this piece and the birds in our garden certainly seemed to sing loudly!

Team 7 (Oxford Diocesan Guild, peal speed 3h 25m): a piece that failed to fulfil its initial promise, although rung at a confident pace. Small error at the beginning of the 15th lead;

Team 8 (Bath & Wells, peal speed 3h 32m): another piece with an uncertain pace that never fully settled. Unfortunately, many of the faults were accumulated by two bells;

Team 9 (Gloucester and Bristol, peal speed 3h 17m): the fastest ringing of the day. Brisk and confident, a band with a common purpose. There were however minor inconsistencies throughout. Enjoyable nonetheless. The results were:
1st Derby DA (66 faults)
2nd Gloucester &Bristol (76 faults)
3rd Oxford Society (88 faults)
4th Oxford DG (103 faults)
5th Winchester and Portsmouth DG (110 faults)
6th Hereford DG (116 faults)
7th Bath & Wells (129 faults)
8th Worcestershire & Districts (148 faults)
9th University of London (174 faults)

The Tewkesbury Shield Trophies were presented to Tim Peverett and the Derby team by the Tewkesbury Town Mayor, Councillor Geoff Pope. The Shield itself resides at the Abbey, but the winners are now able to take the new "portable" trophy home for a year. Next year's competition, on May 5th, is the 40th Tewkesbury Shield Competition and we are wondering how we might mark the occasion. Several ideas for the organising committee to consider have been suggested so far. Teams wishing to apply for the 2012 competition should look out for an advert in October, and places will be drawn at the Tewkesbury Abbey Guild of Ringers Annual General Meeting in December. Thanks go to the many people who help make the Tewkesbury Shield Competition a success each year.

Judges Mary Holden and Simon Rudd just before the adjudication

Part of the Derby Team with the Shield, the portable trophy and mugs. (L-R Tim Peverett, Christian Peckham, Richard Taylor, Pam Timms, Richard Angrave, Simon Melen)

The winners certificate

Summer Meeting 2011

2011-06-01T20:47:00.000Z

Details of the Summer Meeting on the 2nd July are on the events guide.
There will be ringing at three Southern District towers.
Click on the meeting at 5pm to see the agenda and who to give names to if you would like tea!

2011 Horsley Cup and Arthur Ashby Cup Results

2011-06-01T20:20:00.000Z

Here are the results from the Horsley Cup and Arthur Ashby Cup held on 14th May.
Look here for further information about both the competitions.

HORSLEY CUP
Judges - Colin and Jane Aked

1 Darley Dale 249 1/2 points
2 Derby Cathedral 246
3 Tideswell 219 1/2
4 Muggington 216 1/2
5 Stavely 208

ARTHUR ASHBY CUP
Judge - Graham Hayward

1 Etwall 214 1/2 points
2 Ashford-in-the-Water 210
3 Belper 209 1/2
4 Overseal 203 1/2
5 Long Eaton 192
6 Hartington 183
7 Old Brampton 182 1/2

Derby win the Tewkesbury Shield for the 3rd time

2011-05-08T17:54:00.000Z

Well done to the DDA team, led by Tim Peverett, who won the Tewkesbury Shield competition yesterday. As we have previously came first in 2007 and 2009, I expect the next win to be in 2013...

The results of the 39^th Tewkesbury Shield Competition are as follows :-

1st Derby DA (66 faults)

2nd Gloucester & Bristol (76 faults)

3rd Oxford Society (88 faults)

4th Oxford DG (103 faults)

5th Winchester and Portsmouth DG (110 faults)

6th Hereford DG (116 faults)

7th Bath & Wells (129 faults)

8th Worcestershire & Districts (148 faults)

9th University of London (174 faults)

The judges were Simon Rudd and Mary Holden.

Chelmorton ringable again

2011-05-07T09:07:00.000Z

Hello All

I have just been informed by Mike Corfield that the remedial work on the spire at St John the Baptist, Chelmorton, is now complete and the bells are once again available for ringing.

Mike Banks
Bell Consultant

Ataraxia

2011-04-06T21:43:00.001Z

Brassington bellringers and friends haven’t felt quite the same since their surreal sortie into the world of film on 17 and 18 February 2011. They had never dreamt they would ever have the opportunity to be film stars.

A couple of weeks earlier Tina Pawlik of Anthem Films, a small independent film company based in Nottingham, contacted tower captain, Frances Haynes, about shooting one sequence of a six-part film, Ataraxia, in Wirksworth and Brassington. An eight bell team was to ring on Friday in Wirksworth and a more local band was to ring in Brassington on Thursday.

Ataraxia is the brainchild of Dutch director, Sander Blom, a man of great charm and enthusiasm, who later visited the area himself and pronounced it perfect. Ataraxia is a “lucid state characterised by freedom from worry or any other preoccupations”. The film shows activities typical of the traditions of the country concerned. England gave bell-ringing, pubs, and pie and chips. Local inhabitants of Papua New Guinea, the next stopping-off point, were to re-enact the cargo cult. One wonders what their local food is.Thursday saw the six members of the local band breakfasting at 8.30 am in their usual haunt, the Miners Arms, Brassington. They were plied with coffee and pains au chocolat and visited at frequent intervals by the crew, half of whom were from Holland. Tina and her team worked with them and one or two other members of the crew had come from elsewhere in England.

Sander was busy filming an earthworm on the church steps, but at around 11.00 am the ringers were escorted to the ringing chamber, lights in place, director of photography at the ready and did their best to ring up in peal. They rang some changes, did some intentional firing, and after an enjoyable lunch at the Miners Arms the next part of the film was shot in the bell tower.

Each bellringer was asked to repeat the same tongue-twister

Pretty Kitty Creighton had a cotton batten cat

The cotton batten cat was bitten by a rat

The kitten that was bitten had a button for an eye

And biting off the button made the cotton batten fly

after which a local amateur actor took a blood pressure reading and pronounced it satisfactory or even perfect! They rang some more changes and rang down, finishing at around 5.00 pm.

Some of the crew had never met before, but they all knew exactly what was required of them and went about their work with great professionalism, friendliness and calmness.

The next day Frances arrived at Wirksworth bell tower at 8.30 am to let the lighting engineer in. She had invited eight experienced ringers from Ashford-in-the-Water, Bakewell, Youlgreave, Matlock and Wetton to ring in Wirksworth. It was difficult to find fourteen bell-ringers who were all available for a full weekday, so the Gold Card brigade won out.

Frances took Sander to see the bells and after helping the lighting and sound engineers, went to join everyone else breakfasting in the Red Lion, where the crew were staying.

At around 10.00 am they assembled in the bell tower and filming commenced. The team rang up and did some touches. Ringing lasted until 1.00 pm, whereupon the ringers’ efforts were congratulated by local supporting artistes (who might in the days prior to political correctness have been referred to as extras) as they exited the tower.

Other supporting artistes were an earthworm, perhaps the same earthworm that starred on Thursday, and a kitten acquired for the day.

A very convivial lunch was enjoyed at the Red Lion after which the ringers recited the tongue twister outside church. A healthy bunch obviously, as they did not have to have blood pressure readings!

Sander hopes the film, which has received funding from various sources, will be ready in May and intends to return to the Wirksworth area to arrange a public showing of it for the local community.

We look forward to this event and in the meantime keep visiting his website. Sander wanted to convey how change-ringing looks to outsiders and we had a wonderful experience of how film-making looks to outsiders.

We look forward to welcoming him and Tina and team in Wirksworth later this year and are so glad they didn’t opt for Morris dancing

Some of us, who have recently visited The Quad in Derby have been pleased to see shorts made by Anthem Films (Tina Pawlik) prior to the “big film”, in our case “True Grit”. It’s good to know of local producers and we hope that they will enjoy continuing and ever greater success.

From Events

text written by Christine Windsor. Photography (c) Roger Lawson.

Melbourne 2nd in their eliminator

2011-04-03T20:17:00.000Z

The Melbourne 12 bell band had a good day out on Saturday. A leisurely start to the day saw seven teams congregate in Birmingham for the 10:30 draw. This year we were up against Liverpool, Hursley, Southwark, Oxford, York and the favourites, Birmingham.

The draw was preceded by a minutes silence in memory of Rod Pipe, who had died suddenly the day before.

Melbourne were draw 4th, ringing at 12.30. The band, below, photographed between ringing and their first drink of the day!

Front row (L-R) Simon C Melen, Pamela J Timms, Elizabeth Hutchieson, John R Fisher, Anthony P Cotton, Christian M Peckham

Back row (L-R) Terry M Astill, Timothy J Peverett, Simon Humphrey, Stuart C W Hutchieson, Alistair J E Smith, Richard J Angrave (C)

The innovation this year was the use of the strikeometer. After many years of research, this allows the analysis of ringing that has been recorded. A computer program listens for each bell, notes the time that it rings and plots this information onto a spreadsheet. There are currently three ways to interpret this information - the results are quite surprising! For this competition, the judges only looked at the results if they disagreed amongst themselves - they didn't but the strikeometer came out with the same result...

The results were held at 4pm and the judges entered to a round of applause. Chief judge, Rick Shallcross introduced the others. Chris Kippin spoke about each piece of ringing and Bernard Taylor gave the scores in the now traditional order 7, 6, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4. The fourth judge, Andrew Mills, was not needed to say anything! The score board below says it all!

The top three teams go through to the final on 25th June at Leeds. The other eliminators were held at Coventry and Evesham - teams who qualified there were: ASCY (College Youths), Bristol, Cambridge, Exeter, St Paul's Cathedral, London and Stockton-on-Tees. More details on the 12 bell website.

The ringers then adjured to one of the three official pubs. The Wellington below, which is currently run by ex Derby landlord, Nigel, who wondered why all of his pubs are frequented by bell ringers - it's simple - great beer!
Ringers in The Wellington

It's a great day out, listening to some top quality ringing, top quality company (and often top quality beer!) - if you are free on 25th June, why not make the trip to Leeds?

24 bell change ringing at Ringing World 100th Anniversary Reception

2011-03-28T20:12:00.001Z

Derbyshire ringer, Simon Melen, took part in the Ringing World centenary celebrations in London last weekend by ringing a touch on 24 handbells. This is thought to be the first time such a touch has been performed in public.

Simon is no stranger to ringing on higher numbers, ringing in many peals in the mid 90's. This culminated in the first ever peal on 18 bells in 1994 and also the first on 20 bells in 1995. Interestingly, adding 2 more bells added 34 minutes to the peal. The former being 4 hours 6 and the later being 4 hours 40.

Click below to watch the video.

October meeting

2010-10-02T19:35:00.000Z

Service, tea and meeting followed the ringing for the 8 bell trophy.

The bell consultants had been on three inspections. No issues were found at Chapel en le Frith, although permission to ring is not currently being granted. No faults were found at Chesterfield to explain the unpredictability of the ninth & tenor bells - perhaps the nylon bushes were expanding with humidity? A crack in the stone work had caused the new architect concern at Darley Dale. Perhaps this was caused by the bells ringing? The was no frame movement noted when the bells rung. The crack may have been there for a long while (100 years?) and only spotted following the installation of new lights...

During the meeting, there were six nominations for the four Central Council representative posts. As a result of ballot, Emma Humphrey joins three existing reps. We thank John Cater for his work on the Council over the years.

We had three new members join the Association. Also, Brian Tomlinson was presented with a gift for the many hours work had has completed for the Bell Repair Fund since 1974. Brian then read out a letter from our patron, the Bishop of Derby, thanking him for his sterling work.

Pat Halls presenting Brian Tomlinson with his gift

Don Jones told us how the Gordon Halls Ringing Centre had won a Derbyshire Excellence in the Community Award, with a buffet to celebrate this later in the month.

8 bell Striking Competition Results

2010-10-02T19:07:00.001Z

Len Mitchell

Here are the results of the 8 bell competition held today at Stanton by Dale. The judge was Len Mitchell from Liverpool.

Position	Team	Method	%age	Rang
1	Peak	Triples	91%	4th
2	Southern John	S Major	88%	1st
3	Chesterfield	Triples	87%	2nd
4	Southern Alec	Triples	71%	3rd

Len Mitchell presenting the trophy to Richard Taylor

100th anniversary peal at Ilkeston

2010-07-19T21:36:00.006Z

The bells (& tower) of Ilkeston were dedicated during 1910, recast by John Taylor & Co. Below is an extract from the Bell News (24th December 1910). Click to enlarge.

There were 5 peals on the old bells - the first peal of Major was Bristol in 1908, which was only the 17th peal of Bristol ever rung and the second in Derbyshire (there was a peal at Ashover 2 days before!). This was rung by a touring party with the famous William Pye on the tenor. Further history of the bells can be read in 'The Church Bells of Derbyshire by Pat Halls and George Dawson.

196 peals later saw a peal of Bristol marking the 100th anniversary. Seven Derby DA members were joined by Ian Campbell (from St Pauls Cathedral, London) to ring a peal in 2 hours 56 minutes (eight minutes quicker than the 1908 peal!). Richard Stevenson and Ian Campbell learnt to ring together, but this was their first peal together.

The Band, left - right: front row bells 1 - 4, back row bells 5 - 8.

Derby Diocesan Association

Ilkeston, Derbys, St. Mary V

Wednesday, 14 July 2010 in 2h56 (17)

5088 Bristol S. Major

Composed: DF Morrison no. 62

1 Richard M Stevenson
2 Anthony P Cotton
3 John V Chadwick
4 Robert J Marchbank
5 Alec Humphrey
6 F Gordon Faulks
7 Simon Humphrey (C)
8 Ian G Campbell

For the 100th anniversary of the re-casting and re-hanging of the bells, and to compliment Michael and Laura Stevenson on the birth of their son Harry Michael.

Website saves the day!

2010-07-19T20:33:00.000Z

A while ago, I had a suggestion to put information on the website for wedding arrangers looking for ringers. This has been used a few times before, and helped save the day last week, when a mix up meant that no bell ringers were booked for a wedding over the border in Nottinghamshire! Anne Westman takes up the story:

Thursday afternoon saw a phone call from a lady in Mansfield who had come across my phone number via another ringers from the DDA website. Her friend was getting married on the Saturday at Cuckney near Mansfield and the local ringers were not able to raise a band, but she was desperate to get some ringers for the wedding - could I help? To cut a long story short, many, many phone calls later I managed to find 6 ringers to be at the church for 12.30. Ringing for the wedding was uneventful, we just rang rounds and call changes to ensure good striking throughout. The groom's father popped into the ringing chamber before and after the wedding to say 'thank you', we also got a 'thank you' from the vicar during the service and afterwards and from the churchwarden. It made such a pleasant change to be thanked for wedding ringing! Fortunately the showers stopped and allowed the bridal party to enjoy sunshine and bells whilst the photos were being taken!

Pictures below show Christian Yeomans and Simon Westman, with Matthew Yeomans and Alison West and the church.

Strike Notes 85

2010-07-07T21:02:00.000Z

Strike Notes 85 has been published on the website...

Contents

p1 DDA Annual General Mtg

p2 The Royal Maundy

p3 Southern District Quiz

p3 Central Council Visit

p4 Central District Practice

p6 Aunt Sally

p7 Striking Competition Results

p8 Forthcoming Events

2010 12 bell competition

2010-06-27T21:06:00.001Z

The 35th 12 bell competition saw 9 teams travelling down to Crediton in Exeter. Coming 2nd in their eliminator, Melbourne had high hopes of doing well. Some of the team travelled down the day before, whilst three cars left their homes between 4.30am & 5.15am to avoid the dreaded M5 car park. We need not have worried - the motorway was clear & those travelling on the day arrived to an empty car park by 8.20am.

Bacon butties started off the days refreshments in the Boniface Centre next to the church. This was the location for one bar, whilst the second bar was outside in the lower rectory garden. The rumour was that they had 77 barrels of beer, so hoped not to run dry!

Melbourne had a good draw at 11am - ringing third, in between Cambridge & Leeds.

This year was different from others in that none of the bands had been allowed to practice at the host tower. The four judges (chief judge Maggie Whiteley with Chris Kippin, Paul Mounsey and Claire Roulstone) had a sound feed from the tower which was turned off for the 15 minute practice and then turned on again when the signal was given.

After ringing, we ate lunch and found our campsite nearby to put up our tent. We could just hear Exeter ringing!

The results followed Evensong, for which the church was packed.

Results:

	Team	Rang	Peal speed	Mark
1st	Birmingham	8th	3h29	88%
2nd	Society of Royal Cumberland Youths	9th	3h42	84%
3rd	Ancient Society of College Youths	5th	3h31	79%
4th	York	1st	3h25	78%
5th	Exeter	6th	3h30	77%
6th	Melbourne	3rd	3h19	74%
7th	St Martin-in-the-Fields	7th	3h53	68%
8th	Cambridge	2nd	3h31	67%
9th	Leeds	4th	3h15	60%

Not a bad result for Melbourne, a tad on the brisk side, but the judges said our ringing sparkled! Only seven teams have ever won the competition (out of the 61 teams that have entered over the years). The top four teams had all won before (16, 3, 4 and 2 times respectively), then the local band, then us!

It was then off to the bar to find some refreshment (I think one bar ran out of beer!), then to Weatherspoons with some of the band for a meal, before making our way to the campsite which was also home to some of the Cambridge band. More refreshment followed from their barrel, whilst the children were put to bed, before the cold summer night also drove us to our beds.

Sunday saw games of football & top trumps whilst the tents were taken down and we made our way home.

More information on the 12 bell website.

Latest bell consultant reports

2010-06-14T21:13:00.000Z

The latest bell consultant reports have been put on the website. These are very detailed reports and are worth every penny (the only cost is for the Association to pay expenses!).

Clay Cross
Cubley
Darley Abbey
Hope
North Wingfield
Old Brampton
Scropton
Staveley (2 reports)

Horsley Cup & Arthur Ashby results

2010-06-08T22:49:00.001Z

I've just discovered the results of the 6 bell striking competitions in May - here they are:

The Horsley results were:

1st Cathedral 243

2nd Old Whittington 236

3rd Darley Dale 233

4th Tideswell 221

5th Mugginton 206

Judges Andrew Wignell and John Cook

The Arthur Ashby results were:

1st Etwall 229.5

2nd Ashford in the Water 223.75

3rd Overseal 208.25

4th Bakewell 205

5th Old Brampton 200.25

Judges Jim and Janet Crabtree

Well done to everyone who took part.

Here is the Cathedral team - (L>R: Elizabeth Heaton, Pam Timms, Pat Halls, Rachael Peckham, Christian Peckham, John Heaton).

Strike Notes 84...

2010-04-13T20:23:00.000Z

The new version is out, worth a read even if your outside the Central & Southern Districts -

Contents
p1 Central District ADM
p2 Southern District ADM
p3 Webb Ivory
p3 What's it all about?
p4 A Presentation
p6 Aunt Sally
p7 Striking competition results
p8 Forthcoming Events

Melbourne in the 12 bell final!

2010-03-28T20:58:00.000Z

Melbourne came 2nd in the 12 bell eliminator at St Magnus the Martyr. They join ASCY, Birmingham, Cambridge, Exeter, Leeds, St Martin-in-the-Fields, SRCY and York who qualify for this year's final at Crediton on 26th June.

Maundy Thursday

2010-03-05T21:39:00.002Z

Dear All

I have had a letter from Sir Henry Every (the High Sheriff) via Bishop Alastair.

Sir Henry asks whether we could be encouraged to ring the bells on Thursday 1st April at about 12.45. The Queen is distributing the 'Royal Maundy' at the Cathedral. The service is due to start at 11 am and we think the Queen will be leaving the Cathedral at about 12.45. This year's service will also be the 800th Maundy service.

I realise that traditionally we do not generally ring during Holy Week but as the Bishop has endorsed this request I hope it will be possible to obtain permission from incumbents.

May be if you ring a quarter peal or peal you could add a footnote 'Rung to celebrate the Royal Maundy at Derby Cathedral. If you do any special ringing including call changes could you let me have the details and I will forward them to Sir Henry and the Bishop.

Thank you

Jane Boden

General Secretary

Annual Dinner menu

2010-02-05T21:49:00.004Z

A reminder about the Annual Dinner: Saturday 20th March at the New Bath Hotel, Matlock Bath

Tickets £26

Guest speaker Michael Uphill from London

Broccoli and smoked cheddar soup with red pesto

Roast topside of beef with peppercorn and garden herb sauce, bolongere potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

Vegetarian option (chef's choice) where requested

Apple crumble with custard or cream

Fresh filter coffee and mints

Tickets from District Secretaries, General Secretary.

Strike Notes 83...

2009-11-29T20:16:00.001Z

... is now on the website.

Contents for the Central & Southern District newletter:

p1 Mastering Ringing

p3 Melbourne Bus Outing

p4 Canon Frederick Ross

p5 Welcome to New Members

p6 Aunt Sally

p7 Sports Results

p8 Forthcoming Events

8 bell Striking Competition Results

2009-10-03T18:48:00.002Z

Here are the results of the 8 bell competition held today at Belper. The judge was Philip Hudson from Wollaton.

Position	Team	Method	Faults	Rang
1	Peak	Grandsire Triples	45	2nd
2	Southern Dandy	Yorkshire S Major	48	4th
3	Central	Grandsire Triples	59	6th
4	Southern Beano	Plain Bob Triples	60	1st
5	Chesterfield A	Yorkshire S Major	69	3rd
6	Chesterfield B	Little Bob Major	99	5th

The ringing was recorded and some excerpts will appear soon.

Ringing World online this week

2009-10-03T11:30:00.002Z

With another national postal strike looming, and having been putting up with regional strikes for over a month now, the Ringing World is continuing to explore options for making the publication available through the web, to reduce our reliance on Royal Mail. As a one-off trial, today's issue is available in full online by following the link from www.ringingworld.co.uk. We would be interested in receiving feedback on this facility - please send comments to online@ringingworld.co.uk

Canon Frederick Ross

2009-09-29T19:53:00.002Z

It is with deep regret that I am passing on the sad news that Frederick Ross, a past President of our Association, died on Monday September 28th. His funeral will be at Bamburgh at noon on Monday October 5th. There will be open ringing prior to his funeral and a peal will be attempted immediately after the service.

Fred joined the Association in 1968 and held the post of General Secretary from 1969 to 1980. He then became President from 1981 until 1998. Fred rang 681 peals for our Association, out of a total of 1168. This 1000th peal, in 1994, was rung at Melbourne. With a little planning, Rosemary, his wife, also accomplished her 100th peal at the same time.

W W Worthington Memorial Trophy Results

2009-09-29T19:49:00.001Z

Here are the results of the W W Worthington Memorial Trophy striking competition held at Saint Mary the Virgin, Nottingham. Well done to the two DDA teams.

Place	Team	Faults	Peal Speed
1	St Martin's Guild, Birmingham	210	3h 34
2	Nottingham	270	3h 18
3	Rest of Derbyshire	307	3h 41
4	Liverpool	308	3h 31
5	Peak District, Derbyshire	405	3h 26

The test piece was 351 Stedman Caters and the judges were Chris Poole and Simon Bond. The 2010 competition will be held on Saturday 25 September at Derby Cathedral.

A full report, photos and recording will follow.

6 Bell Results...

2009-05-09T21:35:00.015Z

Imagine, if you will, a beautifully sunny afternoon in a country churchyard, with six bells ringing across the fields. This is how it was in central Derbyshire on the afternoon of May 9^th – only it was better than that as the bells were ringing in two churches in adjacent villages. The occasion was the finals of the two Derbyshire six bell striking contests. The Horsley Cup is competed for by teams ringing methods and the Arthur Ashby Cup is for those ringing call changes. The call change teams must include at least three ringers who have not rung a peal at the time of the District heat. This year there were six teams in each final; all these teams had succeeded in qualifying in the District heats, which had been held earlier in the year. It was particularly pleasing to see several teams which had never appeared in the finals before, especially in the Arthur Ashby Cup contest.

The ringing for the Arthur Ashby Cup took place at Denby and was judged by Graham Nabb of Kineton in Warwickshire. John Thorpe arranged the draw at Denby and marshalled the ringers so the contest ran smoothly. The Horsley Cup contest took place at Horsley (where else?) and the judge was Susan Marshall, a well-known former Derbyshire ringer. Here Sue’s father, David, oversaw the proceedings.

Cups of tea were available all afternoon in Horsley Village Hall and at 5.00p.m. everyone converged on the hall to enjoy the array of sandwiches, rolls, quiches, pizza, samosas, fruit and cakes which awaited them. During the afternoon the young Horsley ringers, who had helped with the preparation of the tea, had organised a raffle. This made £37, which was divided between the Horsley bell rope fund and the Derby Diocesan Association Bell Repair Fund.

Finally the moment all had been waiting for arrived: the pronouncements on the ringing and results of the contests. Graham started by making constructive comments on the ringing of each of the call change teams. He said the standard of ringing had been high. He placed the teams in the following order:

6^th: Hayfield 59.5 faults

5^th: Hartington 53 faults

4^th: Duffield 51 faults

3^rd: Netherseal 41.5 faults

2^nd: Old Brampton 17.5 faults

1^st Ashford in the Water 14.5 faults

Graham presented the cup to Linda Pelc, who said how pleased she was Ashford had won as some of the ringers were hoping to ring a peal in the next year and would no longer be eligible to enter.

Then Susan gave her verdict on the method ringing contest: she had had some excitement as during the ringing someone in the vicinity had started to use some very loud machinery and she had had to leave her car and find somewhere a little quieter to do the judging – the Vicarage lawn – it was lucky that it was a dry day! Sue also remarked on the high standard of ringing. She placed the bands as follows (no peal times as her dad had never brought her a watch):

6^th Mugginton 161 points

5^th St Peter’s Derby 167 points

4^th Old Whittington 183 points

3^rd Tideswell 207 points

2^nd Darley Dale 210 points

1^st Derby Cathedral 237 points

Sue presented the Horsley Cup to John Heaton. This is the fourth consecutive year that the cup has been won by the Cathedral – several teams have won it three years running, but this is the first time a team has won it four times consecutively.

You can listen to the top two teams - would you like to judge?!

The accompanying photograph shows the Derby Cathedral team (with supporters) and the two judges:

l-r: Roger Lawson, Edward & Anthony Cotton, Pam Timms (holding the Horsley Cup), Jennifer, Christian & Cameron Peckham, Stuart & John Heaton, Pat Halls, Graham Nabb and Susan Marshall.

Below - the Ashford in the Water team.

l-r: Ian Sterritt, Clive Thrower, John Thorpe, Linda Pelc, Alex Pykett, Ian Pykett.

Photos of the other 4 bands from the Horsley Cup:


Tideswell (3rd)	Old Whittington (4th)

St Peter, Derby (5th)	Mugginton (6th)

Words by Pat Halls

Photos by Roger

Sound & mixing by Anthony

Derby win again!

2009-05-02T22:25:00.005Z

Well done to the Derbyshire band who won the Tewkesbury Shield for the second time. Looks like a comfortable win...

1st Derby Diocesan Association 85% 2nd St Martin's Guild 81% 3rd Gloucester and Bristol Association 72% 4th University of London Society 69% 5th Worcester and Districts Association 64% 6th Oxford Diocesan Guild 59% 7th Coventry Cathedral Society 55% A full report will appear in due course.....

The band this year represented all 4 districts:

Central: Paul Jopp

Chesterfield: John Fisher

Peak: Duncan & Sally Walker, Richard Taylor

Southern: Christian Peckham, John Heaton, Pam Timms, Pat Halls, Tim Peverett

[Update: Sally rang instead of Simon Humphrey, as he had flu]

[Update 2: added the photos]

New Annual Report & AGM update

2009-04-25T22:31:00.003Z

The new Annual Report is now on the website. For members not at the AGM, your printed copy is on it's way. New this year is the guide to and conditions attached to Grants And Loans.

There were three rule changes proposed and after some debate, two changes were defeated. The members voted to have a Child Protection Officer appointed by the committee.

The General Committee stays the same, except Rod Pearson (Derby Cathedral) has been elected a Vice President and Chris Gilbert is now the Public Relations Officer.

The bell consultants have completed one inspection this year. This was at the one bell tower at Darley Abbey. Mike also mentioned a Sound Control Seminar to be held at Duffield in September. This was to run by the Central Council - more details nearer the time.

Lastly, it was great to see so many new members from Belper being elected. These are new recruits that have been taught in the last year. Simon Westman (Chesterfield District) collected his certificate for his first peal.

Latest issue of Strike Notes is now...

2009-04-25T13:45:00.005Z

... available on the website. Issue 81 has been published just in time for the AGM. Also issue 80 has been discovered and is now published!

Strike Notes is the newsletter for the Central & Southern Districts, put together by Elizabeth Heaton.

500 as conductor!

2009-03-30T20:21:00.003Z

Congratulations to our President, Pat Halls, who conducted her 500th peal today! I believe that Pat is the first lady ever to reach this total. Pat called her first peal 50 ½ years ago on 30th August 1958, being the first resident lady to call a peal for the Association. 429 of the peals have been for the DDA.

Details on Campanophile.

Melbourne in the 12 bell final!

2009-03-28T20:36:00.004Z

The Melbourne band are through to the final for the 4th time! Drawn from the local area, the band practice monthly at Melbourne, and have done so since 1996. This year, numerous practice sessions were held at a variety of locations and seem to have paid off. Coming 3rd, 1% behind the joint winners was a great result!

Melbourne join the Ancient Society of College Youths, Birmingham, Leeds, St Paul's Cathedral, Society of Royal Cumberland Youths, Southwark, Stockton-on-Tees and York to go to the final at St Pauls Cathedral, London on 4th July.

Rotherham:
Place	Team	Marks	Peal Speed
1	Ancient Society of College Youths	82%	3h 37
1	Stockton-on-Tees	82%	3h 22
3	Melbourne	81%	3h 29
4	Bristol	68%	3h 34
5	Exeter	53%	3h 19

The Derbyshire ringers were: Tim Peverett (Breaston), Duncan Walker (Hayfield), Simon Melen (Ticknall), Simon Humphrey (Darley Dale), Paul Jopp (Duffield), Anthony Cotton, Pam Timms, Christian Peckham (all Derby Cathedral).

More information about the competition can be found on the 12 bell web site.

Southern District 6 bell heats

2009-03-21T19:09:00.003Z

Here are the results of the Southern District Heats held at Sawley today.

Arthur Ashby Cup (Call Change) heat:

Netherseale: 80%

Long Eaton & Sawley: 78%

Derby Cathedral Hornets: 77%

Horsley Cup (Method) heat:

Derby Cathedral Wasps: 90% - Cambridge S Minor (2h34 peal speed)

St Peters: 78% - ? (2h43 peal speed)

Overseale: 71% - St Simons (2h41 peal speed)

Long Eaton & Sawley: 70% - Plain B Doubles (2h38 peal speed)

Derby Cathedral Bees: 66% - Cambridge S Minor (3h peal speed)

Congratulations to Netherseale, Derby Cathedral Wasps & St Peters who will be going to the final in May.

New bell consultant reports

2009-03-10T22:41:00.004Z

Reports from the bell consultants during 2008 have been put onto the website for the following towers:

Belper

Crich

Dinting Vale

Heath

Killamarsh

Old Brampton

Stoney Middleton

The reports show how much effort our two bell consultants put into their work. Visit the website for information about the free service.

ALL SAINTS, ASHOVER

2009-01-27T20:18:00.000Z

With immediate effect all Bellringing at Ashover is suspended until further notice, due to recent severe rainwater penetration into the spire, belfry, clockroom and ringing chamber. This may be the result of last year's earthquake, and the water is now affecting some of the wooden fittings, namely sliders and pulley blocks. A fund raising scheme "Save Our Spire" was launched in October 2008 to raise £150,000 for necessary repairs to the tower and spire pointing and stonework. Updated information will be supplied when available. Philip Mehew Tower Captain of All Saints, Ashover

District ADMs

2009-01-13T23:21:00.003Z

January is the season for Annual District Meetings. As the officers change, the website gets updated and email gets forwarded to the new committee members.

Central & Chesterfield done, Southern & Peak in the next 2 weeks.

Strike Notes 79...

2009-01-10T00:18:00.001Z

... is now on the web site.

Contents include:

Situations Vacant (1)

Situations Vacant (2)

Arnold and Walter

Bells for Stedman's Church

Central Quarter Peal Week

Southern Quarter Peal Day

Aunt Sally

Sports Results

Forthcoming Events

Annual Dinner 2009

2009-01-05T22:55:00.004Z

Have you brought your dinner ticket yet?

The guest speaker is Stephanie Warboys. She rang 94 peals for the DDA between 1981 and 1984. In 2005, Stef became the first lady master of the College Youths, one of the top two London based societies. The College Youths had been the preserve of male ringers from it inception in 1637 until the society elected to change the rules in 1998. A keen 12 bell ringer, Stef has rung in 19 of the33 twelve bell finals and been in the winning team 6 times.

Details are now on the web site.

Strike Notes 78

2008-10-13T21:21:00.002Z

The new version of Strike Notes is now on the web site. This contains items of news about the Southern & Central Districts and is complied by Elizabeth Heaton.

In this issue:

Strictly Come Ringing

Tower Stewardship

Bess of Hardwick

First Quarter Peals

Outdoor Ringing

Aunt Sally

Forthcoming Events

No ringing at Sawley for a while

2008-10-04T21:39:00.002Z

Sawley currently have the builders in the tower for the next few weeks. This means that no ringing can take place. If you are thinking of visiting, please check they have finished the work...

October meeting & 8 Bell Competition

2008-10-04T20:31:00.008Z

It was great to see six teams enter the eight bell competition today. Judges Peter McCoy (right) and Chris Bennett (left) commented that all the ringing was of a good standard & gave the results below - well done Peak District - how about entering 2 teams next year!

Photo on right: Peter (left) presenting the eight bell trophy to Richard Taylor (Peak Ringing Master) (right).

DDA 8 bell results
Result	Team	Method	Faults	Peal Speed	Ringing position
Winners	Peak District	Double Norwich CB Major	34	3h2	4th
2nd	Southern District A	Yorkshire S Major	40 1/2	3h28	1st
3rd	Chesterfield District A	Cambridge S Major	54	3h6	3rd
4th	Southern District B	Kent TB Major	78 1/2	3h16	5th
5th	Chesterfield District B	Plain B Triples	83	3h11	2nd
6th	Central District	Grandsire Triples	85 1/2	3h11	6th

A touch of Kent TB Royal was rung on the Association handbells after the excellent tea. After the results, a brief meeting occurred. Highlights include the shortest ever BRF update - Brian almost got a standing ovation! He stated that he had been asked to keep it brief, nothing had happened since the last meeting, so he had nothing to report!

Graham, our Treasurer, had received a request to increase our public liability insurance to £5m (from £2m). This would cost an extra £150, so will be done from next year. He also stated that cover exists for the following locations: UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Northern Ireland

The Annual Dinner is currently being arrange for 21st February 2009 at the Mackworth Hotel, Derby. Tickets would be available in the New Year and cost "several pounds" (as they had not yet worked out the price!).

The 2009 AGM is being held in the Peak District. Current thoughts are to have the meeting at Youlgreave, with ringing at Ashover, Darley Dale and Elton.

The General Committee are also after a volunteer to arrange the 6 bell striking contests in May. If you are interested, please contact the General Secretary.

WWWorthington Memorial Trophy Results

2008-09-20T20:40:00.002Z

Clarke Walters judged the results of the competition to be:

1st Nottingham 39 faults (rung 4th, peal speed 3h19) 2nd Leicester 46 faults (rung 3rd, peal speed 3h17) 3rd Derbyshire 49 faults (rung 1st, peal speed 3h13) 4th Liverpool 57 faults (rung 2nd, peal speed 3h01) 5th Coventry 58 faults (rung 5th, peal speed 3h19)

The afternoons ringing was recorded and I hope it will be on the Internet soon. Check the competition web site for details.

Ringing Road Show

2008-09-12T21:26:00.006Z

Quite a number of Derbyshire people attended the Road Show in Stoneleigh last week. Despite the rain - we really enjoyed ourselves. As well as all the exhibitors and attractions, it was a chance to meet up with many friends, some I had not seen for 15 years (makes me feel old!).

On Saturday, a sponsored handbell peal was rung in 4 hours 59, raising £400 for the Ringing Foundation. People paid to suggest an extent to be rung, which was drawn out of the hat during the ringing and called out to the band. My extent was number 17 (a method called Castleton) & I listened to the ringing, being greeted by Philip Earis saying "this is your extent!".

If you can get a chance to go to the next one, which maybe in 2 years time, do go. There is something of everyone, even non ringers!

For more photos, visit the Ringing World Blog - where you might even see me looking at the new ring for Clifton, Nottinghamshire. The treble of the six bells has recently been cast in Ilkeston!

Photos on this page from Roger.

6 bell competition rule change

2008-09-04T21:15:00.003Z

Following this months General Committee meeting, the 6 bell striking competition rules have changed. This is mainly a rationalisation of the rules to make them simpler to understand.

The only minor change is that teams in the Arthur Ashby Cup (Call Change) are not permitted to ring more than 6 rows of rounds after the first change - see rule 16.

The new rules are located on the web site by following the 'Annual Report' | 'Striking Contests' links.

Changes to Association towers

2008-09-04T19:14:00.005Z

At the Association General Committee on Tuesday, it was decided to review towers that were included in the Association, but were no longer in the Derby Diocese. In consultation with the towers concerned, the following towers will no longer be listed in the Annual Report:

Dore, Norton, and Taxal.

The following towers currently have members and will still be included in the Annual Report:

Tutbury, Beighton and Mayfield.

[Update: After discussion, Marchington will also be included in the report.]

W. W. Worthington Memorial Trophy

2008-09-04T19:12:00.001Z

A quick reminder that the WWWorthington Memorial Trophy is being held at Derby Cathedral on 20th September. Full details, including details of the teams and judge, are listed on the website.

New 8 for Derbyshire?

2008-08-07T22:09:00.003Z

Derbyshire's newest 8 are in - for this month only!

As mentioned in April, The Willoughby Campanile has been setup in Whaley Hall for people to try. Further information about the project, please contact Father Jamie via the Community of the King of Love website.

If you would like a ring - you had better hurry - they are only there until the end of August!

Derby Cathedral Bell Ringers’ Open Day

2008-08-07T22:00:00.004Z

For many years now the Derby Cathedral ringers have held tower open days with the aim of interesting the general public in the art of ringing and also in the hope of gaining a few recruits. Visitors have always been able to ascend the tower, read snippets about the bells, see bell ringing demonstrations, see the bells themselves and admire the splendid views from the top of the tower, which is the second highest west tower in the country. They have also been able to try their hand at ringing a few backstrokes – and this year they could even buy a CD with a video of themselves ringing to have as a souvenir.

In addition to all this the Ringing Master, John Heaton, had recently spent much time and effort in converting the room below the ringing chamber into a room for visitors to learn about ringing. There were computers for people to try their striking skills on; there was a lot of information about simple methods and a model bell which could be used to demonstrate what happens when a bell rings full circle. This gave visitors background information before they climbed more steps and went into the ringing chamber to see the ringers in action.

Another innovation this year was the spectacle of handbell ringing taking place outside the Cathedral tower. In the morning a peal of Plain Bob Major was rung and during the afternoon two quarter peals of Plain Bob Minor were rung. There were notices to discourage anyone from speaking to the ringers, stating that the ringers needed to concentrate very hard on what they were doing. Fortunately there were no disruptions and all the handbell ringing was successful. The weather could not have been kinder; there was warm sunshine all day with just a slight breeze. It was perfect both for sitting to ring handbells and for admiring the views for those who had made it to the top of the tower. And some of the visitors even showed an interest in learning to ring....

Pat Halls

Derby Diocesan AssociationDerby, DerbysOutside the entrance to Derby CathedralSaturday, 26 July 2008 in 2h19 (13)5056 Plain Bob MajorComposed by: C K Lewis1-2 Anthony P Cotton3-4 Christian M Peckham5-6 Patricia A M Halls7-8 Simon Humphrey (C)Part of the bellringers tower open day, to welcome Cameron James Edward Peckham, first son of Rachael & Christian, born 20th July 2008. First in public by all, rung outside the West entrance of the Cathedral.

Outside the entrance to Derby Cathedral26 July 20081320 Plain Bob Minor1-2 Sally Bramson3-4 Pat Halls 5-6 Alec Humphrey (C) Outside the entrance to Derby Cathedral26 July 20081260 Plain Bob Minor1-2 Sally Bramson3-4 Pat Halls 5-6 Alec Humphrey (C) Photo by Roger

Arthur Ashby Cup 2008

2008-05-19T12:07:00.002Z

The judge for the 2008 Arthur Ashby Cup was Alec Humphrey from Derby. Seven teams compeated and Overseale were judged the winners. This year, the competition was held at Denby as it was thought that 12 teams ringing at Horsley would be too much!

Arthur Ashby Cup Results
Place	Team	Faults	Points	Ringing order
1st	Overseale	21	219	6
2nd	Ashford in the Water	25	215	4
3rd	Etwall	29	211	1
4th	Old Brampton	31	209	5
5th	Hartington	39	201	3
6th	Derby Cathedral	44	196	6
7th	Stanton in Peak	57	183	7

[Photo: Mary Venables collecting the cup, 10 years after Overseale first won.]

Horsley Cup Results 2008

2008-05-19T11:58:00.007Z

The Judge for the 2008 Horsley Cup was Andrew Higson from Loughborough, assisted by Jennie Paul. Five teams compeated and Derby Cathedral were judged the winners. I've recorded some of the ringing, and will put this on the Internet when I work out how to do it!

[Photo: The Derby Cathedral Band]

Horsley Cup Results
Place	Team	Faults	Method	Ringing order
1st	Derby Cathedral	27	Cambridge S Minor	3
2nd	Tideswell	29	Oxford Treble Bob Minor	4
3rd	Darley Dale	37	Oxford Treble Bob Minor	1
4th	Mugginton	43	Plain Bob Doubles	5
5th	Staveley	63	Oxford Treble Bob Minor	2

[Photo: John collecting the cup form Andrew Higson]

A marvelous tea was consumed, with the 'costco cake' making another appearance!

2008 Tewkesbury Shield

2008-05-06T21:58:00.004Z

The Derby band came 3rd in this years Tewkesbury Shield competition, after last years win... The full results were: 1st - Gloucester and Bristol (27.5 faults) 2nd - Oxford Diocesan Guild (28.5 faults) 3rd - Derby Diocesan Assn. (34.5 faults) 4th - The Oxford Society (38.5 faults) 5th - University of London Society (46.5 faults) 6th - Worcestershire and Districts Assn. (50.25 faults) 7th - Coventry Cathedral Society (87 faults) 8th - Hereford Diocesan Guild (121 faults) Well done to (clockwise from bottom right) Duncan Walker, David Marshall, Pat Halls, Pam Timms, Simon Melen, Christian Peckham, Simon Humphrey, Tim Peverett, Richard Taylor, John Heaton.

Restoration of ten tubular bells at Riddings

2008-04-19T20:00:00.002Z

The following article has recently been published in the Ringing World by Anne Westman: Before I moved to Riddings (near Alfreton, in Derbyshire) almost four years ago, I had never come across any tubular bells, despite being a ringer for over 30 years! I quickly discovered there were ten such bells in the tower at St. James, Riddings. Unfortunately, it was obvious that these were in a fairly poor condition. The PCC agreed that funds must be raised to restore these to a safe and ringable condition, and Nicholson Engineering Ltd were contacted. Andrew Nicholson’s report confirmed our suspicions that the bells were in a very poor, more or less derelict, condition. They are a chime of ten tubular bells by Harrington & Latham of Coventry, and are the only ring of ten Harrington’s bells in Derbyshire. Fund raising began in earnest in early 2005. Riddings is not a wealthy parish and funds were to be raised independently of normal church fund raising. However, support for the project, both from within the village, and further afield, was overwhelming and soon the bank account started to fill up. Many hours were spent completing grant application forms and we were successful in obtaining five grants; from The Foundation for Sport and the Arts, Amber Valley Housing, Derby Diocesan Association of Church Bell Ringers, The Sharpe Trust (link currently not working!) and The Garfield Weston Foundation. We also organised a concert with the South Yorkshire Police Male Voice Choir, and organised many raffles, tombolas etc. A collection box in the local post office proved a good source of income too (it helps that the author owns said post office). In fact this box is so successful it has been left in place to raise funds for general church expenses. Eventually, sufficient funds were raised for the order to be placed. The bells were removed, with the help of volunteer labour, in the first week of January 2008, and taken to the works of Nicholson Engineering in Dorset. The bells, along with almost all new fittings, were returned at the beginning of March to be re-hung, again with volunteer assistance. The installation was finally completed on Monday 10th March, in time for a service of re-dedication to take place on Thursday 13th March. The bells are now chimed from a brand new oak chiming frame with ten mini sallies. There is a great improvement in the sound quality, and they are much easier to ring, and, most important of all, they are now safe and not likely to fall on any unsuspecting members of the congregation! We can now look forward to hearing bells in Riddings every Sunday morning.

2008 AGM

2008-04-14T20:27:00.008Z

Well, the 2008 AGM has been and gone. Having lots of towers open leading up to the meeting drew in the crowds, as can be seen from Derby Cathedral above. After the service, a wonderful tea had been prepared by the Cathedral Ringers... ...which included a sponge cake: The main meeting followed after the food, Pat Halls (right) took the chair and aided by Jane Boden (General Secretary). The new Annual Report was adopted and proposed rule changes defeated. The majority of officers were re-elected, with vacancies for one (of three) vice presidents and Public Relations Officer. It was pleasing to see many new members being elected to the Association. General Ringing (and I assume the pub) rounded off the days events... Don't know when the next event is? Find out here!

Bonsall unringable

2008-04-12T20:55:00.003Z

During the AGM today, one of the bell consultants, Mike Banks, announced that the 3rd (cast in 1656) at Bonsall has cracked. This may have been caused by the ellacombe hammer (which was used whilst the bells were unringable for around 100 years) hitting this bell. The bell is off to Soundweld, then Taylors Eayre and Smith and should be back this summer.

Fancy a month of Bell Ringing?

2008-04-11T12:00:00.003Z

The Community of the King of Love in Whaley Bridge are having a month of bell ringing! I think they are putting The Willoughby Campanile into the conference room. They plan to build a tower in the next 18 months to have a real ring of bells, with a tenor about 20cwt. At the moment their largest bell weighs around 10 hundred weight in B Flat and last April it was rehung in new fittings, it will soon have a new clapper with a wooden flight. They also have 12 bells hung dead; the oldest of these was cast in 1400 and are looking at having these retuned. "Why not come and bring your friends, and ring on the bells, or use the hall for a base to go and ring at other towers. Stay as long as you like, either in the Week or Weekends." More details here.

Wedding Ringing

2008-04-04T13:18:00.002Z

It was suggested that the web site should include information for couples celebrating their happy day and wanted the bells ringing, but didn't know how to arrange them. Now people can read about what happens and contact someone if they are having trouble. I'm glad that Ian Sterritt will provide this service for Derbyshire.

2008 Events

2008-04-04T13:12:00.003Z

This years Association events are now posted on the web site. Using a Google calendar, it puts the next event at the top. If you use Google calendars, then you can import the events into your calendar. Also, using the little arrow on the top right, you can select the districts you're interested in. Let me know if you love or hate it? If there are events you are hosting in the area, please let me know so I can add them too.

AGM Saturday 12th April

2008-03-12T23:39:00.002Z

DDA AGM - Saturday 12th April 2008 Afternoon ringing:

	1pm - 1.45pm	2pm - 2.45pm	3pm - 3.50pm	4pm - 5.10pm
Route 1	West Hallam	Ockbrook	St Peters, Derby / St Lukes, Derby	Derby Cathedral
Route 2	Breaston	Ockbrook
Route 3		Ticknall

Followed by Service, Tea and Meeting in the Cathedral. Evening ringing continues at the Cathedral. Numbers for tea to the General Secretary by Wednesday 9th April. All Welcome

The ringers of Darley Dale...

2008-03-12T13:24:00.002Z

Last December, the magazine country living produced an article about Darley Dale. With the consent of the magazine, I have now put a copy on the web site. At the time Pat Halls said "In the January 2008 edition of the magazine Country Living, there is a feature on the ringers and bells of Darley Dale. It shows ringing in a very positive light and makes interesting reading. I am very grateful to Richard Taylor and to all the Darley Dale ringers for their co-operation in helping to produce this article."

New bell consultant reports

2008-02-18T13:43:00.003Z

Over the last year, the bell consultants have completed many visits to towers. Six reports are now listed on the web site. Breadsall - General inspection Riddings - advice about these tubular bells Sandiacre - advice on remodelling the currently unringable bells Shirland - currently unringable with a fractured frame Whaley Bridge - advice for a proposed new ring of bells Youlgreave - new sound control

Photos

2008-02-14T13:58:00.003Z

You may have noticed on the home page that there is a slide show of Assoication towers instead of the picture of Derby Cathedral that has been there since year dot. If you click on this photo, you will be taken to the album where you can see higher resolution photos, do exciting things with maps, comment on the photo, etc. Do I have a photo of your tower? No, well take one & email me it!

6 bell striking contest rules

2008-02-14T13:33:00.002Z

Quick note to say that the rules of the 6 bell striking competitions have had two small updates. Simply, these changes clarify that there are really two competitions & removes the complicated rule as to how many teams a tower can enter. New rule: Towers may enter more than one team in each contest. Old rule: Towers may enter more than one team, but the number of different ringers in the teams should be greater than four times the number of teams. For example, to enter 2 teams at least 9 ringers should be involved; to enter 3 teams at least 13 ringers should be involved.

Competitions

2008-01-30T20:02:00.000Z

I've spent a bit of time updating the web site with details of the striking contests that members ring at. The details are reached by clicking on Performances from the home page. There are a number of details missing (especially with the W.W.Worthington), so please email me with any corrections. Competitions listed: Association contests: Arthur Ashby Cup | Horsley Cup | District 8 Bell National contests: National Twelve-Bell Striking Contest | Tewkesbury Shield | W.W.Worthington Cup

Temporary unringable!

2008-01-29T22:00:00.001Z

Following the last post, Old Brampton's bells are out of action until the end of February. The floor between the ringing chamber and belfry is being replaced, and some minor work is being done on the bells. Monday evening practices will be held on the Norris dumbbell at Sue and Andrew's House. UPDATE: Old Brampton have had the work done and are ringing again...

Two Derbyshire unringables

2008-01-17T13:51:00.000Z

Noticed last night when looking at my copy of Towerbase that two Derbyshire towers are currently unringable. Details of Chelmorton and Shirland are on Dove. This brings the total to three of Derbyshire unringables with 5 or more bells, the other being Sandiacre. UPDATE: Church Greasley should also be on the list - they have not been rung for 3 years due to cracks in the tower.

Ringing Roadshow 2008

2008-01-09T13:13:00.001Z

Advanced warning of the Ringing Roadshow in September. It's not very far from Derbyshire, so why not make an effort to attend?
View Larger Map

Peak District Striking Heats...

2008-01-08T14:03:00.000Z

... are now on the 15th March at Eyam (not the 22nd as published in the Annual Report).

New Strike Notes

2008-01-08T13:29:00.000Z

Just updated the web site with two issues of Strike Notes, the Central & Southern Newsletters. Sorry there was a delay putting these up.

Ringing & Fireworks

2007-10-23T21:32:00.000Z

All Saints Ockbrook 6 bells 5cwt 6 to 7:30pm Saturday 27th October followed by Fireworks* at Ockbrook Cricket Club - bar & food available
View Larger Map * Fireworks organised by Ockbrook Cricket Club. Any cancellation or changeof firework display details are outside the control of the DDA

2008 Worthington Cup

2007-09-06T13:24:00.001Z

Are you free on 15th September? Why not come to St Mary's Nottingham to listed to the W W Worthington Cup. The draw is at 12:45 and the test piece is Lincolnshire S Royal. The teams compeating are: Coventry Derby Durham/Newcastle Nottingham St Martin's Birmingham

Cancelled S Major Practises

2007-09-06T13:24:00.000Z

Updated the web site as all scheduled Surprise Major practises at St Peter's Derby have been cancelled - at least until 26th April 2008.

Events update

2007-07-05T20:10:00.000Z

The following events have been updated: Peak District events for July 28th starts with Wormhill (6.30 - 7.15) as planned, but then a change to the program means a trip to Tideswell (7.30 - 8.30). Chelmorton tower is unsafe, so there will be no ringing there for the foreseeable future. All Surprise practices at St Peter's Derby have been cancelled through lack of enthusiasm.

Major(ish) web site update

2007-06-05T06:58:00.000Z

I've been spending some time updating things on the web site!

This Blog!
The new Annual Report with the previous 2 years being kept online.
Listed the Sunday service times on the map.
We now have a web page for the bell consultants, who provide free technical support to towers in the Association.
List of winners of the Horsley Cup (with a picture of the cup!) on the performances page.
Added last years peals & quarter peals to the performances page.

Tewkesbury Shield Report

2007-05-29T13:18:00.000Z

Tewkesbury Shield Striking Competition Report: The sun shone all day for the 35th Tewkesbury Shield Competition, held on May 5th. Again this year, there was a Food and Drink Festival taking place in the Abbey which meant that there were many people milling around all day listening to the ringing. The test piece was a touch of 400 changes of Erin Caters, composed and judged by Michael and Vicky Wilby. Disaster was only just averted when four members of the first team drawn were still driving to Tewkesbury. Fortunately, this being the local G&B team, there were some eligible ringers already present, and ten ringers were able to climb up the tower to ring. The four late-comers turned up with seconds to spare and the test piece was successfully completed! In fact, all eight teams completed the test piece and the results were announced by Michael and Vicky in the Abbey hall. Their comments on the teams are as follows :- Team 1 (G&B) Rhythmic with a consensus among the band over the style and speed of the ringing. The occasional row was rushed, making the tenor appear to sound late. Overall, a confident piece of ringing with a good flow. Team 2 (Lichfield) The band didn’t seem agreed on speed. At the start, the back bells didn't seem to work well together, but this improved as the ringing went on. The Kings and 798 course ends came up really well. There was quite a big mistake which took a few 6s to recover from, but the piece finished well. Team 3 (St. Mary Abbots Kensington) The ringing was settled, and steadily improved as the piece progressed. There was a tendency for changes to be more strung out rather than have any clips, a bit like follow my leader. Nicely presented. Team 4 (Worcester Cathedral Guild) Inconsistent both quick and slow patches within rows, and rows of different lengths. One or two bells struggled a bit, collecting quite a few faults. The ringing recovered quickly after a mistake. Team 5 (Worcestershire and Districts Association) The ringing was very slow, and it felt as though it might grind to a halt. There were a few trips. Generally it was just a bit too hesitant. Team 6 (Derby Diocesan Association) A very nice, rhythmic piece of ringing. If anything, it was slightly ponderous occasionally as though the band knew it was being judged! A couple of trips just took the shine off a very nice piece of ringing. Even the blackbird in the garden enjoyed it and joined in! Team 7 (Hereford Diocesan Guild) This ringing really was too fast, falling over itself. As a consequence it was quite trippy. If they’d taken a bit more time it’d have been a better piece of ringing. Team 8 (St. Martin’s Guild) An enjoyable piece or ringing. The best parts of this touch achieved the best ringing of the day. But it lacked polish some small inaccuracies were dotted throughout. We felt this team didn't make the most of the practice and rounds, so were not as well prepared as they could have been the first quarter of the test piece incurred a lot of faults, but it got better and better throughout. The Judges then gave the positions as follows :-

Place	Team	Marks
1	Derby Diocesan Guild	84%
2	St Mary Abbots Kensington	80%
3	Gloucester and Bristol Diocesan Association	79%
4	St Martin's Guild for the Diocese of Birmingham	78%
5	Lichfield Cathedral	73%
6	Worcester Cathedral Guild	68%
7	Hereford Diocesan Guild	64%
8	Worcestershire and Districts Association	63%

The trophy was presented to Paul Jopp by Councillor Peter Aldridge, Town Mayor of Tewkesbury.

Congratulations to the Derby Diocesan Association for winning the Tewkesbury Shield for the first time. This is only the third time they have taken part, in 2003 they came fourth, and in 2004 second.

Thanks as usual to those who’s commitment to the Tewkesbury Shield from year to year make the competition a success.The 2008 Tewkesbury Shield is due to take place on Saturday May 3rd. Teams wishing to enter should look out for an advert later this year.

Tim Peverett, Christian Peckham, Paul Jopp, Pam Timms, Richard Taylor, Simon Melen. Missing: Frances Haynes, Roy Meads, David Marshall & John Heaton.

Report by David Bagley

Strike Notes April / May 2007

2007-05-22T12:57:00.000Z

This has now been put onto the site. There is information about striking competitions, the Tewkesbury Shield - the DDA team won, and the Horsley & Arthur Ashby cups. What’s the chances of that? What has the Southern District been ringing? Teaching the Teachers Things to Do Places to Go

AGM 2007 photo

2007-05-21T12:48:00.000Z

During the ringing at Ashbourne for the AGM, Roger Lawson took a photo of those attending - where you there? From left to right in front of the Association handbells, once owned by Sir Arthur P Heywood: Bob Smith holding his granddaughter, Eileen Goodall, Ruth Smith, Frances Haynes, Mike Lilley, Paul Bradley, ?, Tom Chillingworth, Emma Chillingworth, Lizzie Cotton, Don Jones, Joshua Cotton, Angela Truelove-Mehew, Anthony Cotton, Chris Gilbert, Pat Halls, Alec Humphrey, Roy Meads, John Heaton, Geoff Goodall, Pam Timms, Steve Harpham, Keith Baines, Brian Tomlinson, John Cater, Robert Marchbank, Simon Westman, Peter Humphrey, Gill Hughes, Hazel Jones, Philip Mehew, Richard Westman, Arnold Morley, Elaine Baines, Peter Sutton, Jane Almond, Roger Lawson, ?, Neil Westman, Mike Banks, Jane Boden, Richard Taylor, Anne Westman, Luke Heaton, Pauline Taylor, Jim Heading, Pauline Boyle, ?, Gail Lilley, Margaret Crofts.

Arthur Ashby Cup 2007

2007-05-21T07:25:00.001Z

The results 1st -=- 225 -=- Overseale 2nd -=- 205 -=- Eckington 3rd -=- 203 -=- Etwall 4th -=- 198 -=- Ashford in the Water 5th -=- 188 -=- Darley Dale Overseale Won - Ruth Frudd collects the cup from Ro! Thanks to the judges Phil & Ro Gay, photographed with David Marshall from Long Eaton, who arranged the competition.

Horsley Cup 2007

2007-05-21T07:24:00.000Z

This years competition was held at Denby. The results 1st -=- 248 -=- Derby Cathedral 1 2nd -=- 237 -=- Darley Dale 3rd -=- 221.5 -=- Staveley 4th -=- 209 -=- Mugginton 5th -=- 155.5 -=- Derby Cathedral 2 Derby Cathedral won - pictured Pam Timms, Christian Peckham, Anthony Cotton, Roger Lawson, Mike Maughan, John Heaton. John Heaton is pictured collecting the cup from Phil Gay, from Keele.

The new WHAT'S NEW!

2007-05-20T12:00:00.000Z

To try and make the web site more accessable - I've created a blog to replace the what's new page. You can subscribe to the blog to get updates using applications such as a browser (Opera, Firefox, IE7), Google Reader or Outlook 2007. Previous updates to the web site can be accessed here.