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

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

Derby win the Tewkesbury Shield for the 3rd time

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.

Derby win again!

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]

2008 Tewkesbury Shield

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.

Tewkesbury Shield Report

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