CHANGES. The Newsletter of the Alton & Petersfield District. April 2014 Volume 99. Skittles Evening a Striking Success

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1 CHANGES The Newsletter of the Alton & Petersfield District April 2014 Volume 99 Skittles Evening a Striking Success Prize winners from left to right; Matt Watts, Gill Jolliffe, Rob Ham & Ella Martin. At the back end of last year I sent an to Hugh saying If no-one else volunteers at the ADM, I'm quite happy to organise the skittles evening again, the reply I got was Thanks for organising the skittles evening! Not exactly what I had said, but I should have known; stick your head above the parapet, and you'll get a job thrown at it. Anyway, I booked the alley and sent out the posters, then sat back to wait for the orders to come flooding in. Should have known better about that as well. For the first three weeks or so my list only had three names on it, and one of those was mine. But after some gentle nudging, I soon had block bookings from some towers, a smattering from some others, and my list was suddenly almost full. A week before the event I put the food order in, feeling vaguely disappointed that I hadn't filled the last few places, but hopeful that some last minute bookings were sure to come in, and this time I was right. A couple of days later, four more places were booked and I felt really mean about having to turn down a couple of others, but you have to draw the line somewhere or we could have been playing all night. Saturday was a lovely sunny day, and I'm sure that had an effect on everyone's mood, because the atmosphere in the skittle alley was marvellous, with lots of laughter and cheering. The unending energy of the younger children as they helped to stand up the skittles and collected the balls, caused several people to wonder (wistfully?) where on earth they got it from. The arrival of food created a welcome oasis of calm, before the 1 Changes - The newsletter of the Alton & Petersfield District. April 2014

2 excitement of the raffle where there were a staggering 40 prizes to be won. I have it on good authority that Joshua didn't really win all the prizes he went to collect, just that his legs were younger than the others at his table. Then it was back on with the last leg of the game, during which David Cooper tried to give his wife Carol some direction as though he was a curling team captain holding out his broom. The game finished with a bowl off between Gill Jolliffe, Judy Sparling and Jean Sabin who had each scored an impressive 20 points, which Gill promptly won with another good score of seven. Rob Ham won the men's competition with a score of 22 and Ella Martin walked away with the junior prize after scoring 17. The loser's prize went to Matt Watts for his low score of 9. So, in award ceremony style, I would like to thank everyone who came and made this another hugely successful evening. Particularly Jerry for allowing his arm to be twisted and agreeing to do the scoring, Gwen and Lesley for running another magnificent raffle, Ellen for entertaining us with her dancing and encouragement from the sidelines and all of you who brought along raffle prizes and then bought tickets to win something else to take back home. Gwen & Lesley tell me that the raffle was their most successful yet, raising a whopping 85. The rest of the evening paid for itself with just a small profit of 3.10 after the hire of the alley, the food and the prizes have been deducted. Thank you. Valerie Harris. Here are a couple of other photos from the evening. On the left the concentration is intense to see if those last two skittles will fall. On the right is your Editor trying to escape, unsuccessfully, without being photographed. 2

3 Dear Reader So here it is at last, your new basic look Newsletter. I would like to start by making an apology, I had hoped to get this, my first edition as Editor, out a little sooner but I'm afraid I do not have the high levels of technology that my predecessor had and I had to learn how things worked, so please forgive the sometimes rather basic design and layout. I have treated it a bit like a rose bush and deliberately pruned it right back so that it can evolve and grow into the newsletter that you want and I promise I will get better at layout and graphics. Maybe we can all learn together? "Changes has always been a quarterly newsletter, but at the ADM there was a definite feeling amongst our members that they would like it to be monthly. Consequently, I have taken the bull by the horns and can announce that Changes will now be produced on a monthly basis. This means that we can keep things current and alert you to everything that is happening as it happens, rather than having to wait three months. In order to achieve this I am setting the deadline date for copy as the 28th day of each month. Due to this increase in frequency of publication, in order to keep distribution costs down, this newsletter will only be produced in electronic format, so will all Tower Secretary's please make sure that everyone in your Tower gets a copy and please print off any copies for those who may not have access to . I will be producing a small quantity of hard copy's which will be given to the Bookstall and will be available at all District Meetings. I would like to thank all those who have contributed to my first edition. Please do keep up the good work. To those of you who would like to contribute please your articles or comments to me at novellm@aol.com with a subject title of "Changes info". I would love to hear from you. Mike Novell Editor. 3

4 Minutes of the Alton and Petersfield District Annual District Meeting Held at St. Peter s Petersfield Saturday 11 th January Chairman s welcome and vote of thanks Hugh Routh, chairman, welcomed Viv Nobbs, Guild Master, and her husband to the meeting. He thanked the vicar for taking the service and the use of the church. He thanked Andy Sparling, a district bell ringer, for playing the organ. The district members applauded the St. Peter s ringers and particularly Mary Broadbridge for arranging the wonderful tea. 2. Apologies for absence Apologies were received from Dave and Di Hart (Bramshott), Robert Law (Holybourne), Jill Bury, Simon Wilders, Ellen Chesterton, Janet Meek (Alton St. Lawrence) Julia Brunt (Bramshott) 3. Minutes of the last meeting & matters arising The minutes of the meeting held on 12 th October 2013 at Bentworth had been circulated. (i) Changes see notes to follow (ii) District outing no district outing in 2013 (iii) 10 bell striking competition not entered by our district this year. Only run every alternate year by Guild. 4. The future of the Changes newsletter The matter of Changes the district newsletter. Andy Banks was thanked for his editing of Changes over the last 3 years. Discussion went as follows: Mike Novell not sure if Changes required. Mo Routh suggested including any quarter peals achieved in the district as well as the last set of minutes. Toby Arkless Guildford News includes news from every tower in the district every newsletter. Consensus showed most people do read the Changes. Anita Seamons Changes started for the purpose of getting the minutes out. Andy Banks More than just vehicle for minutes. Val Williams Val and Terry did first copy which came out as a single sheet. This was before the days of . Terry Collins Copy went to every member of the district. Rachael Barber when editor, in the past, she found she wrote most of the copy herself. Difficulty in gathering information from towers. Hugh Routh May fall to tower secretaries or representative tower member to provide information. Toby Arkless Changes Editor doesn t have to be a post for 3 years, like other district committee posts. Too many paper copies too onerous and too expensive. Phil Stott suggested hard copy only sent to members without . Mike Novell may visit towers and check hard copy is available! Judy Sparling proposed Mike Novell as editor. Andy Banks will hand over historic documents in his keeping. Mike will send out Changes every 1/4. 5. Correspondence There was no correspondence. 6. District Officers annual reports Reports were made to the meeting by the treasurer, (proposed by Malcolm Donaldson, seconded by Teresa Brown) Independently examined by Keith Sansom, Ringing Master (proposed by Andy Sparling, seconded by Hugh Routh), Librarian (proposed by Judy Sparling, seconded by Andy Banks), Secretaries report written by Valerie Harris read to the meeting by Madeline King. 4

5 7. Guild Executive s report See separate sheet. (This document has not been made available to Changes at the date of going to press.) 8. Election of Officers Chairman No one was willing to stand as Chairman. Hugh asked everyone to think about whether they could do the post. He personally had agreed to step in for one year only when Toby Arkless stood down due to ill health. Ringing Master: Andy Sparling. Proposed by Teresa Brown, seconded by Graham Cane. Re elected Assistant Ringing Master: Graham Cane. Proposed by Madeline King, seconded by Malcolm Donaldson. Re elected Treasurer: Malcolm Donaldson. Proposed by Madeline King, seconded by David Hughes Re elected Executive Committee Representative: Andy Banks. Proposed by Malcolm Donaldson, seconded by Rachael Barber. Re elected Independent examiner: Keith Sansom. Proposed by Hugh Routh, seconded by David Hughes. Re elected Librarian: Judy Sparling. Proposed by Hugh Routh, seconded by Terry Collins. Re elected. Newsletter editor: Mike Novell. Proposed by Judy Sparling, seconded by Valerie Harris. Unanimous vote for all posts. 9. Election of new members Moo Day Full member Petersfield Proposed Madeline King Seconded Phil Stott Susan Walker Senior member Petersfield Pro MK Sec PS Caroline Welsh Senior member Petersfield Pro MK Sec PS Siri Gregory Probationary Liss James Sheldon Probationary Froyle Lorna Sheldon Probationary Froyle 10. District Calendar A calendar was presented for the A&P District which includes Guild events. A district outing was arranged with these dates in mind and has now been included for the 20 th September. The district barbeque has not been arranged yet and further discussion is likely. 5

6 11. Forthcoming events February District Practice Selborne, ITTS Course Bishopstoke, Guild Ed day at Upper Clatford. March Skittles evening Blacknest, District practice, Guild seminar on the Future of ringing at Winchester. April Guild education day Bishopstoke, District Quarterly meeting, Guild education evening seminar. See enclosed note for details. 12. Any other business. Viv Nobbs, Guild Master presented a Christmas card sent from the Bishop of Portsmouth to the group. She told us about the ringing record which had been compiled for David Strong, past master in his last year and who had sadly died. The ITTS training was now established and open to new candidates. The Ringing Roadshow will be worth a visit and there will be more news of this soon. Our Guild has an opening for another Central council representative. This needs careful thought to be considered for nomination. The 22 nd March at Winchester is also a date for the diary. Have your say being the title. Posters available for all towers. The guild want your views on how best to get information out to members. Judy Sparling put forward the idea of having a jigsaw made compiled of photos of our churches. There was enough interest for the idea and Judy will make some more inquiries about cost etc. Toby Arkless asked if any quarter peals were achieved in quarter peal fortnight. Buriton had sent their details to The Ringing World. Mike Novell had explained that Alton had started a programme of ringing quarter peals for their parish for birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Altogether in 2013 the number of ¼ peals had amounted to 21 and they had charged 150 each ring. This also helped with recruitment of ringers. Len Barham, an Alton ringer has been admitted to hospital. Our thoughts go out to him. Meeting closed Retiring collection BRF. Evening ringing following meeting in Petersfield Madeline King Joint secretary 6

7 News from the Towers St Matthew, Blackmoor Tower AGM Friday 31st January 2014 Blackmoor tower held their AGM on Friday 31st January, at a local hostelry and was well attended. On the whole we feel we have had a good year as Blackmoor bell ringers, with newer members progressing to learning methods and a couple of Quarter Peals having been rung. Valerie Harris was thanked for being Ringing Master throughout the year. Various changes were decided upon, the main one being that Malcolm Cooper would step down as Tower Captain after 10 years. Malcolm has been quietly efficient as Tower Captain and we appreciate all the hard work he has put in behind the scenes over the years. Until recently Malcolm was also our Treasurer, handing out floats and ensuring monies were kept in trim over many years. A presentation of a bucket was made to Malcolm to thank him. The bucket did contain a growing kit for chillies, so we wish him success in growing, preparing and consuming fiery meals. Valerie Harris took on the mantle of Tower Captain with the proviso that Malcolm would help her as Vice Captain. David Cooper gave a report regarding the tower and clock maintenance. David has been Steeple Keeper for over 30 years. He has a love hate relationship with the tower clock, climbing the tower 3 times a week to wind it. He had hoped to relax when we had an electric winding mechanism installed a few years ago; but he describes the clock as his cantankerous maiden aunt who demands attention. Most recently a shaft had broken, but fortunately the clock makers, who fitted the electric winding, agreed it was a latent defect and repaired the clock and shaft free of charge. David agreed to continue as Steeple Keeper and to take on an apprentice Steeple Keeper, after some discussion about the duties of the Steeple Keeper Hannah Chambers agreed she would have a go at rodding the gargoyles on the understanding they (along with the baby dragon) would be told not to fight back. Other officers elected were Linda Harwood as Secretary and Alan Waterhouse as Treasurer. The tower funds are reasonably healthy so there was a unanimous vote to give 3,000 to the church funds for roof repairs, which it is hoped will be carried out this year. As there will be scaffolding up a fund raising event of Abseiling down the tower was discussed. Anyone out there interested in Abseiling down Blackmoor Tower for a fee? The Blackmoor Team at their AGM. 7

8 Blackmoor Bling, our second hand jewellery stall and main fund raising activity was also discussed. We have plenty of stock so if any other tower/ church has an event they would like us to attend please do get in touch with Valerie. Kathy Stearne. The next item was not part of the Blackmoor AGM but relates to part of the Steeple Keeper's duties. A Very Strange Conversation Overheard During Practice. During a conversation about the weather, the Gargoyle Rodder-in-Chief mentioned that he had been out on to the parapet to observe the wind speed, and he was able to report that the wind was indeed speedy. It was observed to have been a good thing that the gargoyles had been promptly rodded at the end of last year. The Chief Gargoyle Rodder suggested that the next time he went out on to the parapet to check the gargoyles, the newly appointed Apprentice Gargoyle Rodder should accompany him. The Apprentice Gargoyle Rodder's Tea Stirrer's Mate put in her two pennyworth, at which point the Chief Gargoyle Rodder complained that he had not received a cup of tea when rodding said gargoyles. The Apprentice Gargoyle Rodder's Tea Stirrer's Mate observed that she was the Apprentice Gargoyle Rodder's Tea Stirrer's Mate, and that when the Apprentice Gargoyle Rodder was rodding gargoyles, she would duly receive a cup of tea. This point settled the matter. Hannah Chambers St Peter, Petersfield Building the Band About three and a half years ago at Petersfield we ran an intensive week-long bell-handling course for children. Although it was held at Petersfield, the bulk of the teaching was undertaken by Terry Collins and Val Williams. Of the seven children who took part, all eventually got as far as ringing at least rounds and call changes. We now retain two which is pretty good going! These junior ringers have since been joined by a third, so we have three regular teenage ringers. They are participating in the Sherborne Ringing Scheme and have all been awarded Level 2 badges so far. We have also taught several adults in the last few years, the last two specifically using the new Association of Ringing Teachers (ART) scheme Learning the Ropes. The newest junior is also progressing through this scheme. It is helpful for a new teacher like me to have some guidelines to follow (the Integrated Teacher Training Scheme - ITTS), and it is not too prescriptive in practice: you can easily adapt it to suit local needs/individual ringers. The new ringers (ART doesn t like the term learners ) find their little progress books helpful, and two have been assessed for, and passed, Level 1. For more information about ART please see its website I am indebted to Terry for being my official ART Mentor and for all his assistance with teaching these ringers and supporting Petersfield ringing in general. Melanie Moore. 8

9 On 20 th December the Petersfield Ringers held a wonderful Christmas Party, the brainchild of Mary Broadbridge, who organised and master-minded the very successful event. Mary s idea was to thank our many neighbouring ringers who have helped us during the past year by coming to our practices and by welcoming us so warmly to theirs therefore many friends and their spouses/partners from Buriton, Froxfield, Steep and Liss were among the guests. Also invited was our vicar Will Hughes who is a good friend to the ringers, truly values our service to the church and visits us regularly on Sunday mornings to pray with us and support our ringing. Unfortunately friends from East Meon could not join us because the only night we could book the church hall was a Friday. The hall was bedecked with Christmas decorations, festive table cloths and pretty floral centrepieces, appropriate jolly music was played, and a splendid and ample buffet laid out for all to enjoy. Guests were welcomed with glasses of mulled wine and invited to sit with old friends or new at the waiting tables. It was lovely to see people mingling between towers and chatting so animatedly. There was a lot of laughter! While eating, the team at each table was invited to do some silly puzzles and investigations so we found out who had the longest middle name, whose eye-lashes were the longest and whose birthday was nearest to Christmas. The last answer fell rather flat when we learned that Tom James s birthday is on Christmas Day! After the meal, we all sat in a big friendly circle and played daft party games, including Grandma s Footsteps and Good Morning, Your Majesty. The fun was rounded off by a rowdy pass-theparcel (to the sound of change-ringing), which included a treat, a booby prize or most popularly except for the person involved a mad hat to wear and a forfeit. Forfeits included wearing a fez and repeating a tongue-twister 10 times fast and wearing an angel hair-band and walking around the circle writhing and hissing like a snake. (You get the idea). All lost their inhibitions and joined in with a will; perhaps the mulled wine and other alcohol helped in this regard! Hugh Routh won the Lindt chocolate bell in the middle of the parcel. More than 50 ringers and friends aged between 13 and 80+ attended and all agreed that the evening was great fun. The only problem for Mary is that people started talking about a repeat event next year even as they were putting on their coats to leave! Melanie Moor. 9

10 St Mary, Selborne From Christmas to February. Selborne bell ringers had an eventful Christmas! It started well with ringing for Carol Services at Selborne and Newton Valence. But Christmas Eve came with stormy weather, and so did the power cuts. The whole village lost electricity, so the Christingle Service was rung by torch and candle light. Midnight Service was cancelled and Christmas Day dawned desperately without the promised power! The Christmas Day service was rung for, again with dim lighting and it was very chilly (as the heating pumps are electric) and our Vice Captain, Nick James, was pressed into service to pump the organ bellows as they too run on electricity (that is, the organ bellows run on electricity, not Nick!). At last, the village regained power about 6pm after a challenging day (we're not sure how many resorted to barbecued turkey!). New Year s Day was also rung in by the Selborne ringers in unusual circumstances. Travelling to church through floods, we rang the old year out ponderously on the funereal minor key front five and Elaine Barnett tolled the tenor for midnight. Ringing in the New Year was joyous with all eight bells, watched by villagers who gather in the Church each year to celebrate in this unique way. Meanwhile, the weather outside was joining in with thunder and lightning in noisy celebration; what would Gilbert White have made of that?! We drove home through a white countryside, as the hail storm had covered the fields in ice. It was rather ethereal. The first Sunday of the New Year gave us our first Quarter Peal success: Grandsire Doubles, a first for Kathy Stearne ringing her first QP 'inside'. In February we rang another Quarter Peal of Grandsire Doubles to celebrate Nick James' Birthday. Then there was the now you see it, now you don't District Practice on Saturday 8 th February. Selborne extended its usual warm welcome by providing home-made biscuits and refreshments, and the Practice was well attended and enjoyed by all. What will the rest of the year throw at us? We are not sure whether to look forward with excitement or trepidation! Kathy Stearne. Selborne loves Grandsire! After some intensive practising during the year, Nick, Brenda and Kathy scored 'firsts' whilst ringing Grandsire Doubles at Selborne. It was Kathy's first QP inside, Brenda's first in the method and Nick's first Quarter Peal as Conductor. A really great team effort from everyone involved, thanks to you all! Rachael Barber (Tower Captain) Selborne, Hants. 4 Aug, 1260 Grandsire Doubles: Mike Novell 1, Emma Rouse 2, Nicholas James (C) 3, Rachael Barber 4, Roger Barber 5, Andrew Banks 6. For Evensong. First Quarter Peal as Conductor. 10

11 Selborne, Hants. 3 Nov, 1260 Grandsire Doubles: Rachael Barber 1, Brenda Updegraff 2, Emma Rouse 3, Nicholas James 4, Roger Barber (C) 5, Jerry Barnett 6. For Evensong. First Quarter Peal of Grandsire - 2. Selborne, Hants. 5 Jan, 1260 Grandsire Doubles: Rachael Barber 1, Kathy Stearne 2, Emma Rouse 3, Nicholas James 4, Roger Barber (C) 5, Jerry Barnett 6. For Evensong. First Quarter Peal 'inside' - 2. Selborne, Hants. 2 Feb, 1260 Grandsire Doubles: Rachael Barber 1, Brenda Updegraff 2, Diane Hart 3, Nicholas James 4, Roger Barber (C) 5, David Hart 6. For Evensong. Rung with Birthday compliments to Nicholas James. The ringers for Nick James first Quarter Peal of Grandsire Doubles as Conductor. From left to right; Nicholas James, Emma Rouse, Mike Novell (front row), Rachael Barber, Roger Barber, Andrew Banks (back row). All Saints, East Meon. Sunday 12 th January Plain Bob Doubles 1 Maureen Balmer (1 st Qtr, 1 st attempt) 2 Terry Collins (C) 3 Val Williams 4 Ben Evans 5 Teresa Brown 6 Malcolm Donaldson Birthday compliment to the conductor. Quarter Peal 11

12 Thanksgiving Saturday 18 th January 2014 General ringing was held prior to the thanksgiving service for: Patricia Bailey ( ) Thank you to everyone who participated. Robert Ham 12

13 The Diary This section gives the details of all up coming events during the next six months for both the District and Guild, along with any events that may be specific to your tower. April 5th April - Guild Education Day - Stedman Triples. The day will be based at Bishop's Waltham. 12th April - District Quarterly Meeting at All Saints, Alton. Ringing from 3pm. 26th April - Surprise Major Practice at SS Peter and Paul, Hawkley from 6.30pm till 8.00pm. May 5th May - Alton Outing. (The Kent Tour) 10th May - District General Practice at St Mary the Virgin, Bramshott from 5.30pm till 7.00pm. 17th May - Inter Tower 8 Bell Striking Competition will be held at St Lawrence, Alton starting at 10am. 17th May - Inter Tower 6 Bell Striking Competition will be held at All Saints, Alton starting at 10am. 31st May - Surprise Major Practice at St Mary, Selborne from 6.30pm till 8.00pm. June 7th June - District General Practice at St Nicholas, Chawton from 5.30pm till 7.00pm. July 5th July - Guild AGM at Goodworth Clatford. 12th July - District Quarterly Meeting (venue to be confirmed). August 4th August - Britain entered the First World War. 13th August - District Practice at Winchester Cathedral. 14th to 17th August - Bradfield Ringing Course. September 6th September - Ringing Roadshow at Newbury Racecourse. Here you can meet other ringers, have a go on a mini-ring and see all the latest in ringing technology. 13th September - District General Practice (venue to be confirmed). 20th September - District Outing. 13

14 And Finally In this edition the Editor has a few final things to say. I would like to start this section by thanking Andy Banks for looking after the Changes Newsletters over the past 4 years. Without his good stewardship the publication may not have survived. It seems that at each land mark issue, the next is the 100th issue, something new happens. On this occasion it will be the move from being a quarterly to a monthly newsletter. I also want to expand the contents to include your comments and discussions about ringing and what you want in the newsletter. Each month there will be features on people and methods, plus I have decided to include a reprint, courtesy of The Ringing World, of their series of articles entitled "The Learning Curve". I will endeavour to make improvements to each new issue so that, as I said at the beginning, the newsletter is as you want it. How to contribute. Perhaps there is something you want to say about ringing, has something unusual or humorous happened in your tower or do you have an interesting fact about ringing or your tower. Whatever it is please do send me the details by at novellm@aol.com and in the subject box give it the title "Changes info". This will enable me to quickly identify any contributions so that they can be published as soon as possible. I look forward to hearing from you. Your (very new) Editor. In the next edition of Changes A personal view of the "Have Your Say" Conference in Winchester. An Interesting Fact from Froxfield. An interview with our new Librarian. The first part of "The Learning Curve". And much, much more... 14