Ringing World 5172 (11 June 2010)

Front Cover: SS Peter & Paul, Shiplake, Oxfordshire by Robert Partridge
The Church of SS Peter & Paul, Shiplake in South Oxfordshire occupies high ground with views over the Thames valley. The earliest parts of the church, which include what was originally a detached tower, date from the 12thC.  Originally there were 5 bells, three from the 17thC by the Knight family and two from the 18thC, one by Thomas Mears and one by Robert Patrick. In 1868 these bells were augmented to 6 by Warners who also recast the old third and hung the bells in an oak frame. The octave was completed by Warners in 1902 with the addition of two trebles. At the same time the old second and third were recast and the frame extended to house the extra bells. In1925 Mears & Stainbank recast the two heaviest bells and in 1962 further work was done to the bell fittings. The end result was a 9½cwt ring of 8 from two foundries cast at three different dates and hung in an adapted 6 bell frame positioned too high in the tower.

Software Review
Mabel Ringing Simulator
Software Author: Chris Hughes
Mac owners were tantalised by the Mabel beta on demonstration at the Ringing Roadshow 2008 and now we can own a copy of the finished version for ourselves. The Mabel program is a rewrite of Abel, the well-known ringing simulator, solely for use on the slightly overlooked Apple Macs. It has been debugged and upgraded since my first taste at Stoneleigh Park and so far I have not come across any glitches. It is a bright and easy to use program that helps you to improve your ringing in many different ways.

Letters
Central Council vacancy – smart lad/lass wanted,  no experience necessary - Giles Blundell
Oxford tower mystery solved - Roy H. Jones
Human rights and CRB checks - Robin Woolley
No convictions necessary - Paul Southward

Teaching Ringing X - Let’s augment the bells! by Rt Revd Prof Barry F. Peachey
This article is the tenth in an occasional series on teaching ringing, and especially outlining the practices and philosophies adopted at the Barrow-upon-Humber Ringing Centre in northern Lincolnshire. This time the subject will be a little different from the usual ‘software’ issues, and we are going to look at the hardware, and especially the subject of augmenting rings of bells.

Obituary
Malcolm Oliver

Thought for the week
Occasional Offices
Many clergy are kept busy with what some jokingly call “hatches, matches and despatches”, i.e. baptisms, weddings and funerals. The amount of these has decreased with the advance of secularism, but they still figure frequently in a Vicar’s timetable. Some priests rather resent having to spend time with a non-churchgoing family which has “booked the church” for a one-off rite of passage.

St Martin’s, Worcester
We are delighted to hear from Mark Regan that the £150,000 required to install a new ring of bells at St Martin’s Church in Worcester has now been raised. The project team is still awaiting the outcome of a faculty application before work can commence.