NEWS FROM THE TOWER
Staplehurst Bellringers Report May 2024
On Easter Monday the Kent County Association of Change Ringers, to which Staplehurst is affiliated and of which our ringers are members, held their Annual General Meeting at Rainham. At this meeting our Tower Secretary Roy Barclay was presented with a certificate in recognition of his 50 years’ membership of the Association. Several more of our ringers will be marking that milestone in the next few years.
On Friday 26th April we welcomed the Scouts to the tower to learn a little about ringing, and see a demonstration of how it’s done. They seemed to enjoy it and, who knows, we might even gain some recruits! We are always happy to arrange group visits to the tower for members of village organisations. All you need to do is contact me at staplehurst_bells@roybarclay.plus.com
On May 12th we will be celebrating the annual Bell Sunday – a day where the contribution of bells and bellringers to the life of the Church is recognised. We hope that some of our ringers will be involved in the service, but details have yet to be decided. The following Sunday, 19th May, we will be ringing the bells at various times between 1.30 and 3pm as part of the Friends of All Saints’ 30th birthday celebrations. The Friends made a very generous donation towards the rehanging and augmentation of our bells as their first project, so we are keen to help them celebrate the occasion. Please note that this will mean that, exceptionally, the bells will be ringing both morning and afternoon on that day.
On Wednesday 22nd May we will be hosting the monthly Learning Hub between 7.30 and 9pm. Other than this and the Friends’ birthday celebrations we will be ringing for the usual Sunday Services and our normal Tuesday practice.
Roy Barclay
Tower Secretary