Training

We organise workshops & courses throughout the year in response to need/requests, and if not immediately full, are advertised in our newsletters. If people don't tell us what their needs are, of course we have to guess!

Here is a selection of the courses/workshops we have run:

• A Central Council weekend course for student teachers
• Plain Bob
• Bell-Handling clinic - using video to diagnose and correct faults
• Introduction to Treble Bob
• Ringing heavier working bells
• Introduction to conducting by coursing order
• Introduction to 10/12 bell ringing, held in Hull
• Grandsire
• Double Oxford Bob Minor
• Stedman Doubles

Why do we ring so many quarter peals?

Because they are a wonderful opportunity for someone to have intensive practice at a recently acquired, or rusty skill. Think about it: say you've just become reasonably competent at ringing the treble to Doubles. On a practice night you'll get probably 2 goes at it, 3 if you are lucky. In a quarter peal you'll get 11 goes straight off, one after another! Additionally the ringing is likely to be steadier and better than on a practice night, because everyone, especially you if you are nervous, has a chance to settle down.

People are often worried they won't be able to keep going for about 40 mins non-stop. Actually, most people after their first quarter are surprised how quickly the time seemed to pass! They are also delighted to see their name appear in the Ringing World afterwards.

REMEMBER:

If there is something you'd like us to organise please say so!

Peal Ringing

We encourage people to ring peals, ringing's absolute benchmark of achievement. They are officially recorded by the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers, and printed in display format in the Ringing World.

I won't pretend they are easy to begin with - but challenging yourself is very beneficial, and I reckon it's much easier than running the London Marathon! The average peal rung for someone inexperienced will take somewhere between two and a half and three hours. The ringing standard experienced at times during the peal should be the best you have ever taken part in.

If we suggest to someone that they might be ready for their first peal, it is because we are reasonably confident they are up to the challenge; we don't want people to fail. Of course not all peals and quarter peals are successful, but we all just do our best each time to work together for success.