Ringing World 5181 (13 August 2010)

Front Cover: New eight at Pillaton dedicated by Richard Warwick
On Saturday, 19th June the Bishop of Truro, the Rt Revd Tim Thornton, dedicated the two new trebles at St Odulph’s Church, Pillaton, Cornwall and rededicated the refurbished, retuned and rehung original six. This occasion marked the culmination of the successful project to augment the ring to celebrate the 750th anniversary of the church’s foundation in 1259, the bicentenary of the installation of three bells in 1809 and the centenary of the augmentation to six in 1909.

Popular ex captain married
Adam Rae-Smith was responsible when Ringing Master of improving the Kintbury ringing ten-fold. We were all happy for him when he announced his plans to marry Melanie on Saturday, July 17th.

Thinking the unthinkable – 2
Performance and quality
At its core, ringing is a skilled, performance-based activity. Many extra layers can add a richer experience to that – art, science, heritage and social friendship – but underneath it all, a ringer is a performer. That fact seems to get lost in much discussion and thinking about ringing, and it seems to have been squeezed out of popular ringing culture.

Letters
Celebrating 2012 - Keith Groseley
Horse bells - Anne Willis
Bells and Music - Mark Regan
RW delivery - Madeleine Cheesman
Selection - Ian Roulstone
A puzzle - John Davis

Australia bellringing tour 2009
This tour was a great success thanks to the hard work of John Cater who organised a tour of 54 towers. Not only did he organise the towers but also accommodation, car hire and internal flights for 24 ringers some of whom had never embarked on such a journey before. This must have been quite a headache as everything had to be paid for in advance, and ensuring that everyone was met at Brisbane as we had arranged our own International flights.

Obituary
Thanksgiving for the life of Ken Newman

Peterborough Cathedral bells ring for Thanksgiving Service for Dr Stanley Vann, Master of Music at the Cathedral 1953-1977
A quarter peal of Grandsire Caters was rung at Peterborough Cathedral for the Thanksgiving Service for Dr Stanley Vann on Sunday 18th July. Dr Vann was Master of Music at Peterborough Cathedral between 1953 and 1977 and during his tenure he raised the standard of choral singing to new heights, provoking John Betjeman to comment that the choir was ‘matchless’.

Tail Ends
I am hopeless at remembering names. I find I need to use word associations. For example, I occasionally meet a man named Serge. To me he has to be Mr Grey Woollen Trousers. I am a lot better at remembering numbers, and it would be much easier for me if people had numbers, not names; given that nowadays we all have a multiplicity of personal identification numbers (and, please, do not cause me to rend my serge trousers by saying PIN number) I expect that, in time, life for me will be much easier. Although bureaucrats are always suspicious when I quote my driver’s licence number from memory. Yet I never was a trainspotter.

Thought for the week
Hospitality
I know of no other activity or hobby where we are welcomed and invited to take part in our shared interest as readily or as universally as ringing. Drop into a practice night anywhere, and invariably we will be drawn into the ringing, and into the social gathering afterwards.

225 days and counting!
 “What – Christmas?”
“No! The Ringing World Centenary Day – Saturday, 26th March 2011!”
“Really? So what are they planning for that then?”
“Quite a lot really. Let me tell you about it …”