O.D.G. Ten-Bell Competition and General Committee Meeting 2019 - Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers

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	1^st	Very consistent ringing. The back and front bells rang very well together. Leading was consistent with no method faults.	3.05	29
5th	Newbury	2^nd	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	3^rd	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	4^th	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	5^th	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	6^th	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.

Reading band — Reading Team R-L from front, clockwise: Treble,June A Saint, 2. Jack E. Page (2), 3. John Manley. 4. Joanna E. Knight 5. Thomas R. Sherwood 6. James M. Champion 7. Colin R. Cairns 8. D. Giles Winter 9. Douglas J. Beaumont 10. Colin G. Newman

EBSB team — EBSB Team r-L from front, clockwise: Treble, Patricia M. Newton, 2. Ann Davies 3. Angela M. Darvill 4. Matthew R. Johnson 5. Kenneth J. Darvill 6. John C. Davidge 7. George Whiteside 8. Charles M.S.Botting 9. Robert H. Newton (c) 10. Martin J. Whitaker

Sonning Team R-L clockwise from the front: Treble, Lavinia Sullivan 2. Jane A. Mellor 3. Stephen C. Wells 4. Nigel A.L. Mellor (c) 5. Janet E. Menhinick 6. Jon P. Tutcher 7. John A. Harrison 8. David Sullivan 9. Simon C. Farrar 10. Anthony W. Gordon

Old North Berks team — Old North Berks Team R-L from front clockwise:
Treble, Priscilla Morris 2. Gillian Loyd 3. Mary Friskney 4. Josie Irving 5. Sarah Barnes 6. Richard Loyd 7. Tim Pett 8. Christopher Tuckett 9. Stuart Gibson 10. Malcolm Fairbairn

Newbury Team R-Lfrom the front, clockwise:
Treble, Imogen Sculthorp 2. John Kape 3. Mark D. Backhouse 4. Andrew Clark-Maxwell 5. Rachel A. Backhouse 6. Mike J. Winterbourne 7. Richard J. Marshall 8. Mark D. Robins (c) 9. J. Martin Rice 10. David F. Thorpe

Banbury Team R-Lfrom front, clockwise
Treble, Zoe Lee 2. Lionel Smith 3. Liz Smith 4. Alison Varney 5. Sue Burchell 6. Charlotte Holmes 7. Alan Griffin 8. Chris Holmes 9. Graham Clifton (c) 10. Robert Reeves.

Reading Team win — In the absence of the Ted Pett trophy, the judges, Louise Booth and Peter Joyce shake hands with the conductor, Jack Page.

Committee Meeting and Bell Fund Extraordinary Meeting.

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.