Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers
There is not going to be a set time to ring for the Coronation. At the moment we don’t have an indication of the time of the Service at Westminster Abbey, although it is expected to either start at 11 or 11.15. Many bands are planning to ring in the run up to the service (when time is confirmed), however ringing is encouraged at any time convenient to the ringers and Church. As more information is announced we will update accordingly but the time was not known as at 30th March..
The March Branch Practice shall take place at Nettlebed.
All abilities welcome.
A reminder that the Reading Branch AGM is on Saturday 8th February, and all members are both welcome and encouraged to attend.
For more details, visit https://reading.odg.org.uk/wordpress/agm-2020/
Details are now available for the 2020 Reading Branch AGM, being held at St John’s, Mortimer on February 8th.
Coffee and biscuits will be served from 9.40am, with the meeting begining at 10am.
Ringing from 11.15 – 12.30 at St Mary’s, Mortimer.
The agenda can be found here: Reading Branch AGM Agenda 2020.
It’s coming up to that time of the month where we all get to venture to a different tower to ring with ringers from around the branch. December sees us head to St Giles, Reading. This feels like it is almost becoming tradition, and with a slightly later start (10.30), there will be mince pies, tea and coffee available from 10am at the back of the church! So why not head down early, grab a hot drink and mince pie to help you warm up for a good old ring?
Reading ringers have once again had success at a Guild striking competition – this time at the 10-Bell!
For the full article, visit the Guild website.
The November branch practice sees us return to St Margaret, Mapledurham. Last time we were there for the monthly Saturday meet, I decided to cycle the only route I knew – a very steep climb up the hill from Caversham, followed by an equally scary decent into Mapledurham. I wasn’t much looking forward to the return journey until a fellow ringer informed me of a reasonably flat route that could be taken using a bike. Why not try it out yourself this Saturday (9th November) and join us for a ring? All abilities welcome.
Here’s a map of the route described above, starting from Reading station:
There is plenty of ringing to be had between now and Christmas. See the poster below for more details, or take a look at the branch diary.
The 2019 Reading Branch Striking Competition took place at St Mary, Purley-on-Thames (six bells – 8-1-27), on Saturday, 14th September. There were six entries, representing five of Reading Branch’s 23 towers (St Giles-in-Reading entered two teams).
The Tilehurst team came first, beating the St Giles 2 team by two points. Many congratulations to Tilehurst, who also won in 2016, 2017 and 2018!
Caversham came third, beating Pangbourne by one point. St Giles 1 came fifth, three points ahead of Mortimer.
It was good to see four young ringers in the competition. Congratulations to Tom Sherwood, who rang the tenor in the winning team, to Jennifer Ellis, who rang for St Giles 2, to Daniel Page, who rang for Caversham, and to Joseph Barrett, who rang for St Giles 1.
St Mary, Purley, was a lovely setting for the competition, and the weather was perfect for sitting in the sunshine, while the church bells rang out. Many thanks to the Purley band, who served morning coffee with a splendid selection of delicious cakes and biscuits.
See below for photos of the six teams, their score, the position in which they rang, and some of the comments by Judge Steve Smith – who was thanked by Branch Chairman Giles Winter. St Giles 1 rang Call Changes, and the other five teams rang doubles.
The St Mary and St Giles team won a hard-fought ODG 8-bell striking competition on Monday 6th May.
It was fantastic to see two teams from the Reading Branch taking part, as well as having representation from the branch in the ODG Youth team.
A full report to follow at http://odg.org.uk/8-bell-striking-competition-2019/.