Having augmented to 12 we needed to teach lots more ringers in order to ring rounds on 12
regularly on Sunday mornings. Happily now we have over 20 names on the books so we have met that objective but there is now a risk that we will become the victim of our own success!
The Ringing Chamber at Alderney
How do you keep 20 ringers interested & improving with only one set of bells?
Alderney is an isolated tower – to ring anywhere else involves a plane/boat trip. Guernsey is our closest neighbour but a return ticket costs just under £100 & would involve an overnight stay as Alderney airport closes at 6pm and the last boat departs Guernsey much earlier than any practice finishes!
On Alderney we have a Saturday morning practice between 10am and 12noon, with beginners for the first half. We cater for more advanced ringers in the second half of the practice. We also have a general practice on Monday evenings between 5-7pm. Handling sessions are available for 30mins before both practices to stamp out any poor habits creeping in & to perfect raising & lowering.
We have only one service to ring for on Sundays, but an almost regular quarter peal slot on Wednesday lunchtimes. Our vicar is concerned about wear & tear on the fittings, and is reluctant to permit another regular session….but what we still don’t have is enough rope time for novice ringers, and there is nowhere else to go.
We have run some very successful theory afternoons– walking through bob doubles – with the
treble ringer wearing a red jumper so we all notice him (or her) when we pass them, or moving
numbered squares of cardboard to mimic plain hunt, making sure everyone fully understands what is happening with call changes….. etc etc.
Handbell ringing is a big help (there is a separate handbell practice on Thursday evenings) when we have plenty of time to discuss method construction – to work out the BIG picture when ringing. Peal bands coming over to ring peals on Saturday afternoons always support our Saturday morning practices so our better ringers continue to extend their repertoire…but still for all our novices nothing beats standing on the end of a rope and just ringing – if only they had that opportunity!
Our solution? We have just ordered a dumbbell from Matthew Higby. We will hang it in a bedroom & drop the rope down to the ground floor, run Abelsim from a laptop, project the screen onto a big TV & set up an online booking form for members of the band to reserve an hour on the dumbbell, any time they wish.
Matthew has already supplied us with a dumbbell for our Tulloch Ringing Centre and I have been blown away by the ability to ring whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, with a superb band who didn’t mind ringing the same thing again & again. With moving ropes to help me I was able to achieve so much better ringing than by listening alone it really encouraged me to have another go & then of course another go after that!!! The ART Training Scheme is all about setting realistic goals and achieving them in a timely fashion – the Alderney dumbbell is going to enable our novices to make great strides very quickly – delivery due early November – so Alderney is set to be the happiest band of ringers on the Channel Islands (maybe even in the whole W&P!)
St Anne’s Church, Alderney
Helen McGregor – training Officer, St Anne, Alderney