If you can offer your skills on one or more of these topics, please contact prworkinggroup@odg.org.uk
You can also download a copy of the poster here:Poster PR
The Guild is grateful to the late Stan Scott for the drawings of our towers which form the background of the artwork on this poster.
As part of the website update project, I set up an ODG twitter account. At the time, there was no way to integrate this with the first attempt at the website update. Now we have ownership of the development, I have integrated our twitter account with the website. This means that as soon as a new news article is published, a tweet will also be sent. If you’re not already, why not follow us @ODGCBR? You’ll see all the latest news as it comes in!
A few questions have been asked of the Facebook page recently, and I acknowledge that this is under-used. At the time of its creation the development of the website was being done by a contractor, leaving time for me as Webmaster to look after the social media. Since then, and in the absence of a Public Relations Officer, I must admit it has been sat there not really doing much. I intend to look into its role and whether it can be made less restrictive in its use. Once I have an update, I’ll be sure to post it.
In the meantime, please do follow @ODGCBR on twitter!
Young Ringers visit Newbury Branch
Wednesday 19th February.
Any young ringers from the ODG who can handle a bell safely by themselves will be welcome. Parents, ringing teachers and more experienced ringers are welcome too.
Donations of £5.00 per young ringer will be collected.
Please let us know if you are coming and any special dietary considerations.
Please complete and bring a 2020 permission form if not already provided.
13:00 St Mary, Speen (tbc) (6, 12-2-12, RG14 1SA) ring and walk to Shaw
14:15 St Mary, Shaw (6, 7-01-12) ring and walk to Central Newbury
15:15 Church Hall, St Nicolas Newbury (10, 1-2-21, RG14 7WH)
Refreshments, ringing
16:30 Event ends
Contact: training-officer@onb.odg.org.uk
The Oxford Diocesan Bell Fund AGM celebrated its 45th anniversary in September 2019.
Since its inception it has been able to assist bell restoration in the Diocese by granting over £400,000 to more than 200 projects. Better still because it is a capital fund, all the money that has been raised is still invested and the grants have been paid from interest and dividends generated by the capital,
Every year there are activities, which generate new money for which the Trustees are very grateful as only by increasing the capital can the Fund keep pace with rising costs, We are keen to ensure the 2020 Leap Year Sponsored Ringing Event, is a resounding success.
First organised in 1979 when Branches were encouraged to organise a sponsored Peal or Quarter Peal and donate the money raised to the Bell Fund. A special Shield was provided by Bill Butler and inscribed by Ted Gosling for presentation to the Branch raising the largest amount of money. Bicester Branch won, raising over £231. We don’t expect peals and quarters (but by all means ring them if you like), any ringing can be sponsored, so presents a great opportunity to involve all levels and abilities and to introduce new members to the work of the Bell Fund.
In 2020 the Sponsored Ringing “Week” will be the 22nd to 29th February, The Shield will be presented to the Branch raising the greatest amount per head of membership. Sponsorship money can be Gift Aided to benefit from recovery of Income Tax.
Sponsor forms are both attached below, and available from the Secretary – Katie Lane (email kt.catchmole@googlemail.com)
ODG Radley Course Saturday 4th April 2020.
This one day course course will have groups covering plain hunt, bob
doubles, grandsire doubles, bob minor, grandsire triples, plain bob
triples and major, depending on demand. Please see poster for details of
how to get further details and an application form.
For the Christmas school holiday outing we visited a light six, Horspath, just outside Oxford. And seventeen school-aged ringers came! They represented seven branches of the ODG, mostly fairly local but some coming from as far as Bloxham, Tilehurst, Faringdon and Clanfield. They were aged between ten and eighteen years old. Almost all the ringing was just by the young ringers, with lots of rounds and call changes, but also some Grandsire, Plain Bob, Stedman and Kent.
The young ringers said how much they liked the Christmas Cribs displayed in the church, (and the mince pies left over from Christmas Day).
And to recognise the season we had a party in the nearby Horspath Hub! We started with some party food kindly provided by Daphne, then played party games and rang carols on handbells. It was good to see the young ringers enjoying each others’ company.
The next young ringers outing will be at half term, on Wednesday 19th February, in the Newbury Branch. Put the date in your diary!
Saturday 2nd November at Shrivenham saw an enthusiastic gathering of ringers from across the region. The event was the ODG Ten-Bell Course and the focus was Grandsire Caters.
Whilst the rain lashed down outside, the ringers were dry and warm and full of excitement for the achievements to come. I was there as honorary tenor ringer but in the usual VOWH spirit of learning and development I was encouraged to ring the treble – partial success was gained for me and the other ringers who were able to keep steady whilst the treble was elsewhere!!
The students had ample opportunity to ring with expert support and by lunch time had all improved their practice.
An excellent lunch was provided at the Prince of Wales which allowed for ringers refuelling and to have a critique of the morning’s achievements.
The afternoon’s activity was to include 4 quarter peals – two at Longcot and two at Shrivenham. The first Shrivenham group successfully got their ten bell Grandsire Caters (Pictured) with firsts for a few of us – including me being my first Quarter on 10.
Despite Gallant efforts the other three quarters were lost: one in the last minute! Nonetheless the objective of improved ringing skill on ten bell methods and lots of fun was achieved.
The other quarters rang were:
Shrivenham 1= Grandsire Caters – Got
Shrivenahm 2 = Grandsire Caters
Longcot 1 = Plain & Little plus St Clements
Longcot 2 = Cambridge Surprise Minor.
Thank you to Tony and others for organising and supporting such a successful fun day.
It was a lovely sunny blue sky day in the South Oxfordshire village of Checkendon when a group of keen belfry maintenance personnel met up in the grounds of St Peter and St Paul. Carrying timber wheels, bells, clappers and headstocks, along with tool bags and overalls – it can only mean one thing… – the day had arrived for the much awaited Towers and Belfry Maintenance day! For me it was my first time at such an event and as a newly appointed apprentice steeple keeper of Shrivenham and Longcot Towers, I was keen to learn!
After introductory coffee/tea and biscuits and a welcome from Anthony Williamson – T&B Secretary, the day started with a few words of thanks and encouragement from Katie Lane; Guild Master.
Tony Crabtree then provided an introduction of the day, followed by Len Palfrey who gave an interesting presentation and facilitated discussion regarding health and safety essentials within a church tower. This included undertaking and documenting risk assessments and showing what a belfry maintenance persons tool kit should consist of – top of the list being a decent head torch! We then broke off into groups where we had lively and enthusiastic discussion about issues in our own towers and some useful suggestion to remedy certain issues.
Next we took to the ringing chamber to get a feel of the bells we were going to assess. Raising the bells, ringing, then lowering gave us the chance to assess for any odd struckness, flighty rope drops, sound problems etc. After this we split up into two groups – one group looking at the wheels, ropes and bell gear brought into the church and the other group went into the belfry. The group entering the belfry seemed much larger in numbers and I did wonder if we were going for a record of how many people we could safely house within a belfry. We entered the belfry armed with our assessment sheets which guided us through the standard maintenance of a tower bell, focusing on all the vital components such as headstock, bearings, clapper, stay, slider, wheel, pulleys and of course, the bell frame. We had opportunity to witness a bell being rung whilst tied and understand the moving parts. During the belfry inspection we managed to put our assessment documents to good use and identified a few issues such as a few loose clappers, and a wearing rope which were duly reported. Tony Crabtree had also spotted some odd struckness on the 4th and using the “Twiddle Pins” demonstrated how to improve this.
I really enjoyed the day and have since joined the T&B committee. The useful balance of theory and practical application provided for me an insight to the mechanisms of ringing and an understanding of how a bell works. This, combined with how it feels and rings and then linked with guided assessment provides much more depth and the ability to sort out issues which can improve the experience for the ringer and reduce risks of parts falling off or breaking and the associated damage. We all left with new knowledge and some useful course materials and a maintenance schedule.
This year’s events took place in Sonning Deanery beginning with a morning competition at Warfield. We welcomed back Louise Booth from Bermondsey and Docklands Ringing Centre who officiated at our 6-Bell final last month and, to assist her, she brought her dad, Peter Joyce from Gravesend, Kent.
Louise set down their modus operandi for judging striking competitions and added that the bells were a good choice for a striking competition on account of their falseness. They both enjoyed the musical test piece, 269 Grandsire Caters, especially the music of the back bells. Six teams took part, Oxford City Branch having had to cancel through lack of numbers.
| Placed | Branch | Rang | Comments | Peal Speed | Faults |
| 1st | Reading | 1st | Very consistent ringing. The back and front bells rang very well together. Leading was consistent with no method faults. | 3.05 | 29 |
| 5th | Newbury | 2nd | No method errors. The ringing got better as it went along. There were some anxious moments but they were soon rectified. There was some variation in speed. | 3.08 | 102 |
| 2nd | EBSB | 3rd | Plenty of potential. Strangely, the ringing was better in the middle of the row. A few inconsistencies. A good rhythm was established with occasional gaps. | 3.04 | 40 |
| 4th | ONB | 4th | The last two leads were really good. Mostly good ringing but some rushing on the front bells. It was good while the back bells were on the front and they recovered well from a trip. | 3.08 | 85 |
| 3rd | Sonning Deanery | 5th | There was a bit of a trip near the end. Reasonable ringing and some of it very good. There were inconsistencies of speed between the front and back bells. | 3.04 | 69 |
| 6th | Banbury | 6th | Last two leads were very good. If only the rest had been the same! Some bells were trying to beat the rhythm and there were hesitations. Could this have been attributed to the slower ringing speed? | 3.17 | 103 |
People made a Herculean effort to attend in atrocious weather conditions, especially those from the North of the Guild. Unfortunately, the Ted Peett trophy couldn’t be presented as it seems to have been lost! Instead, young Jack Page, conductor of the Reading band was congratulated by the judges. You might have heard more about him in the Birmingham area! The judges were thanked warmly by Deputy Master, Tony Crabtree, as were the Warfield ringers for their arrangements and a splendid lunch.
This meeting, held in the Ark at Sonning Church, was called to discuss the future of the two Guild bell funds and to amalgamate them while satisfying the rules of the Charities Commission. This idea has been a bone of contention within the membership almost since the Capital Bell Fund was established in the ’70s by the late Henry Lawrenson et al. Brian Gatward, Vice President of the Guild and for many years its treasurer, gave us a history of the Restoration Fund, which was established in 1926 mostly in memory of dead ringers from WWI and, for some, this has always had some sentimental attachment. Tim Pett seconded the motion that the two funds should be amalgamated and this time, for the first time ever, there were no detractors.
Groups were formed to discuss how we can gain better methods of communication within the Guild and with other ringers and the general public. These ideas were shared with the membership and will be taken forward by the Master, Katie Lane and the rest of her team. They also have plans to make better uses of the General Committee and to reduce its numbers to make debate more efficient.
The Sonning ringers put on a fantastic and imaginative tea and were thanked for it, once again by the Deputy Master.
On behalf of ART
The ART Awards continue to grow every year – with over £3,000 in prize money waiting to be won. Now is your chance to apply for the 2020 ART Awards!
The teaching awards are open to everyone – not just ART Members or those using ‘Learning the Ropes’ scheme – the aim is to encourage and recognise the people and groups leading best practice and innovation in the teaching and development of ringing. The individual ringing awards are open to those who have completed one of the Learning the Ropes programmes (on tower or hand bells) or participated in the Learning the Ropes Plus scheme.
Click here to find out more and to apply – www.ringingteachers.org/recognition/awards
Prizes will be awarded in the following categories:
Prize of £400 – sponsored by the Sarah Beacham Memorial Trust
Prize of £400 – sponsored by the Sarah Beacham Memorial Trust
Prize of £500 – sponsored by John Taylor & Co.
Prize of £400 – sponsored by AbelSim
Prize of £500 – sponsored by CCCBR
Prize of £400 – sponsored by Talent Innovations
The ART Learning the Ropes Individual Achievement Awards
Two prizes of £250 – sponsored by the Ancient Society of College Youths
Five highly commended prizes of £25 each
The judges aren’t looking for the most professional application; what they are looking for is ideas, commitment and results. So if you’re looking at new ways of recruiting it’s not just the idea, but the number of people you recruited and whether they stayed. Easy ways to show that – number retained a year or two later, new recruits coming in (success breeds success), quarter peals, striking competition results, practice attendance, or ringing progress (LtR Levels) … and don’t forget photos and quotes. There’s no magic formula; think why what you’re doing has been successful and put it down on paper. Please don’t be modest!
Hopefully having convinced you that the ART Awards might be relevant to you or a ringer or group you know, what are the common themes that appear in previous years’ winning applications?
If you recognise and identify with any of these themes, why not consider applying for yourself or a ringer or group you know? There will be an ART Award that’s right for your application….and if you applied and didn’t win last year, how about applying again, now you’ve got another year under your belt – Lerryn School did that last year and they won!
Further information and application forms are available at www.ringingteachers.org/recognition/awards The closing date for applications is 31 December 2019 – so now is the time to make sure that those doing great work don’t miss out!
