Bellringers’ Report – May 2015

It has been quite a notable few weeks for our bellringers. You will remember from last month’s report that we entered two bands in the Maidstone District Striking Competitions at Ightham on 14th March, one in the method competition and the other in the called changes competition. We had won both these competitions for the past two years and the good news is that we won both again this year. This is believed to be the first time in the competition’s history that ringers from one church have won both competitions for three consecutive years. The following day Silke invited us to show the trophies to an appreciative congregation during morning service.

In common with most churches we did not ring our bells at all during Holy Week, but they rang out joyously again on Easter Day. The following day, on Easter Monday, we welcomed visiting ringers on their way to the Kent County Association’s AGM at Marden, which this year marked an important milestone for Staplehurst when our own Tower Captain, Daniel Brady, was elected County Chairman. This is the first time a Staplehurst ringer has ever achieved the highest office in Kent ringing and, at 26 years of age, Daniel is probably the youngest ever to chair the Association.

One of Daniel’s aims as chairman is to ensure that there are sufficient younger ringers coming through to replace those whose ringing days are over and, with this in mind, he arranged a special school holiday practice at our tower on the following Thursday. It was encouraging to see the progress of those young people who attended.

On Saturday 11th April we rang for the wedding of Alyson Mahoney and Michael Spicer. Then on the following Saturday, 18th April, our ringers attempted to ring a three hour peal. This was after the copy deadline and a report will appear in the June issue.

On Saturday 2nd May we will have a visiting band attempting a quarter-peal (45 minutes’ continuous ringing) between 11am and 12noon. Then on the following Friday evening, 8th May, we are hoping to attempt another quarter-peal to commemorate the 70th anniversary of VE day.

In addition to the above we will of course be ringing for our regular Tuesday practice and the normal Sunday Services during May.

Bellringers’ Report – April 2015

Contrary to popular belief our bellringers do not spend all their time at the end of a rope. We often undertake social activities together. In February we had our belated “Christmas” lunch and another such occasion was Saturday 7th March when we entered a Bellringers’ team in the Friends of All Saints’ ever popular Brain Game. We finished in 6th place from an entry of 11 teams.

Back to ringing and the following week we entered two bands in the Maidstone District Striking Competition at Ightham. This event came after the copy deadline for this issue, so let’s hope we have some good news to report in the May issue.

Looking to the future we have some additional ringing coming up in the next month. Firstly, on Easter Monday 6th April our bells will be available between10.30 and 11.15am for visiting ringers on their way to the Kent County Association’s AGM at neighbouring Marden. Then on Saturday 11th April we will be ringing for the first wedding of the summer.

On the following Saturday, 18th April, our ringers will be attempting to ring a peal, starting at 10am. A peal comprises approximately 3 hours of continuous ringing and is thus a challenge to both body and mind. If successful it will be the 100th such peal since the original bells were installed in 1885 and, as far as we are aware, the first ever by a band of Staplehurst’s own ringers.

On Saturday 2nd May we will have a visiting band attempting a quarter-peal (45 minutes’ continuous ringing) and then the following Monday we will be spending the Early Spring Bank Holiday on our annual outing, where we will be ringing at churches in Surrey and enjoying a pub lunch together.

In addition to the above we will of course be ringing for our regular Tuesday practice and the normal Sunday Services.

Bellringers’ Report – March 2015

The first weekend in February was a busy one for the Staplehurst Bellringers. It started on Friday 6th February when we welcomed around 40 Scouts, together with their parents, friends and leaders, to view our bells and hear a talk about bells and bell ringing. Some of the more adventurous even had a go at ringing – under strict supervision of course! Hopefully we may get a few recruits from among them.

The following day we enjoyed a belated “Christmas” meal at the King’s Head – with not a turkey or Christmas pudding in sight. Twenty ringers and their partners and friends enjoyed an evening of good food, good drink and excellent company, and we thank Sue Bassett for organising the event. Despite the excesses we were all up early the next day to ring for Sunday morning service and again on Sunday evening.

Later in the month we rang for the Ash Wednesday service, marking the beginning of Lent.

On Saturday 14th March we will be entering two bands in the Maidstone District Striking Contests at Ightham, one in the method competition and the other in the called changes competition. We have won both these competitions for the past two years and are hoping to make it a hat-trick this year. You will be able to read how we fared in the April Magazine.

At present we have no visiting bands scheduled for March, so we will only be ringing for our regular Tuesday practice and the normal Sunday Services. In common with most other churches we will not be practising on 31st March which is during Holy Week.

Bellringers’ Report – February 2015

We were surprised – and delighted – to welcome a former member of our band to our practice on 23rd December.  Iain Mackay gave up ringing due to shoulder problems some six years ago but is now back and intends to start coming regularly again.  True to his word Iain turned up to ring for the Christingle service on Christmas Eve and rang as though he had never been away. Good to have you back Iain, and we look forward to seeing you for many years to come!

As usual January was a rather quiet month for the Staplehurst ringers following the busy lead up to Christmas, although we did ring for the Epiphany High Mass on 6th January. As to the future, we will hope to be ringing for the Ash Wednesday service on 18th February. That apart we will be ringing on our normal Tuesday practice evening and for the regular Sunday Services.

Staplehurst Bellringers now have their own website which can be found at https://bells.allsaintsstaplehurst.co.uk/ or alternatively accessed via the Church website Bellringers’ page and following the link More about ringing at All Saints’ Staplehurst. There you will find regular updates as to what goes on up in the tower. We are sure you will find it interesting.