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Bell Ringing at All Saints Church Staplehurst
Monthly Reports for 2010
Ringing Report - December 2010
The Staplehurst Bellringers held their AGM on 2nd November with our Rector, Gill, in the Chair. Sue Bassett was re-elected Tower Captain with Ann Fulcher as Assistant Tower Captain and Daniel Brady as Ringing Master. Chris Bassett was re-elected as Steeplekeeper, Roy Barclay as Secretary and Sallyann Barclay as Treasurer.On Saturday 6th November we were honoured to ring for the blessing of Lusa and Mirjam's marriage and to join them for refreshments afterwards. The following week, Saturday 13th November, we entered a band in the Maidstone District Call Change Striking Contest at East Sutton. Last year we finished fourth of seven bands in this competition and we hope to improve on that this year. A report on how we got on will appear in the January magazine.
Despite the fact that winter is now just round the corner the wedding season, it seems, continues as on Saturday 18th December we will be ringing from 11.30am for a 12noon wedding. As well as the regular Sunday Services we will be ringing for some of the extra services over Christmas and, of course, our normal Tuesday practice. We will, as usual, be ringing in the New Year.
Finally the Staplehurst Bellringers would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.
Tower Secretary
Roy Barclay
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Ringing Report - November 2010
On Saturday 2nd October Staplehurst church tower was open to visitors as part of All Saints' Gift Day and a number of people took the opportunity to look at the bells and see what ringing was all about. This resulted in at least one potential recruit. The following Saturday, 9th October we hosted the Annual Meeting of the Maidstone District of the Kent County Association of Change Ringers. Other ringers from churches around the Maidstone area joined us for ringing, and for Evensong kindly conducted by Gill. This was followed by tea and then the business meeting at which the District Officers for the forthcoming year were elected.It seems to be the season for meetings at the moment as on Tuesday 2nd November our ringers will be holding their own Annual General Meeting, at which the Tower Captain, Steeplekeeper, Treasurer and Secretary for the coming year will be elected. Because of this our ringing practice will be curtailed on that evening. A report on our AGM will appear in the December magazine.
On the morning of Saturday 13th November our ringers will be taking part in a ringing competition at East Sutton, and the same afternoon from 4.00 - 4.45pm we will be welcoming ringers from Stepney who will be coming to ring our bells. We also have visiting ringers from the Tonbridge District on Saturday 20th November from 7.00 - 9.00pm, but we will not be holding our usual practice on Tuesday 23rd November as there is a concert in church that evening. That aside there will be the normal Sunday service ringing and Tuesday evening practices during November.
Tower Secretary
Roy Barclay
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Ringing Report - October 2010
On Saturday 14th August several of our bellringers joined others from all over the Maidstone and Tonbridge area for an outing to London, where we rang at six City churches including St Magnus the Martyr in Lower Thames Street. These bells have only recently been restored following bomb damage during the war!Although the wedding season is now all but over, we rang for the blessing of the wedding of Cewin and Daisy on 11th September and were invited to join them for refreshments afterwards. The following Saturday, 18th September, some of our ringers attempted two quarter-peals as part of a Maidstone District event.
On Saturday 2nd October, the tower will be open to visitors from 2.00pm to 5.00pm as part of All Saints' Gift Day. This is your opportunity to see what goes on up in the belfry every Sunday. The following Saturday it is our turn to host the Annual Meeting of the Maidstone District. The bells will be ringing from 3.00pm to 4.30pm when we will have a service at which everyone will be most welcome to join us. There will be further ringing from about 6.30pm until 8.00pm. Other than this there will be the normal Sunday service ringing and Tuesday evening practices during October.
Tower Secretary
Roy Barclay
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Ringing Report - September 2010
As usual August has been rather a quiet month for the Staplehurst Bellringers (no pun intended!). However we did have one happy occasion when we rang for the wedding of Kate Fulcher who was a member of the Staplehurst band until she went to university. We wish Kate and husband Charles well for the future.The other item of news is that we have a new set of ropes for our bells. Provided the ropes are looked after (and ours are) they will last for many years but will eventually wear out and need replacing. A new set of ropes is an expensive outlay - in excess of £1000 for our 10 bells - but we are in the fortunate position of being able to meet the cost totally from our own funds and do not therefore have to call on the church's limited resources. In this instance we have also received donations towards the cost from two individuals - Derek Wood has met the cost of two ropes and an anonymous donor has given £100. We are extremely grateful to both of them.
Looking to the future there are no more weddings this summer requiring bells, but there may be some additional ringing on Saturday 18th September as part of a District event. However this has still to be confirmed. During September we will be ringing as usual for Sunday services and for the High Mass on Wednesday September 8th. We will also be holding our normal Tuesday evening practices.
Tower Secretary
Roy Barclay
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Ringing Report - August 2010
On Wednesday 23rd June we welcomed around 15 members of the Ashford Young Farmers who came to the tower for a demonstration of bellringing and a talk about the history of the tower and bells. Most were bold enough to have a try at ringing - under supervision of course! Then on Saturday 17th July the ringers once again organised the beer tent at the Church Féte which this year was held in the garden of The New Rectory.Saturday 7th August will be a happy day for our bellringers, as we ring for the wedding of Kate Fulcher, daughter of Kevin and Ann, and herself a member of the Staplehurst band until she went to university. We wish Kate and husband-to-be Charles the very best for the future. Ringing will be from 11.00am for the 11.30am wedding and again after the service. There are no other weddings in August requiring bells.
There may be an additional practice on Wednesday 25th August from 7.30 - 9.15pm. That aside, we will be ringing as usual for Sunday services during August and we will be holding our normal Tuesday evening practices.
Tower Secretary
Roy Barclay
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On Saturday, 22nd May, Staplehurst bellringers went on their annual summer outing. The venue this year was West Kent and around 20 ringers had a very enjoyable day in glorious weather. The first church we rang at was in the village of Horton Kirby. We then followed the Darenth Valley down to Otford and on to Chevening, nestling below the North Downs. Following an excellent pub lunch at Chipstead we rang at Sundridge and then over the border into Surrey to ring at Limpsfield. We finished our day back in Kent at Edenbridge. As we travelled through the beautiful countryside, bathed in warm spring sunshine, it was difficult to believe that we were less than 20 miles from the centre of London.Last year the Staplehurst ringers won the Maidstone District Striking Contest, which is open to all 34 churches in the Maidstone area that have bells. On Saturday, 12th June, we defended our title, but unfortunately, this year we were beaten into second place by the ringers of All Saints' Maidstone. We also put in a second band which finished in fifth place.
Looking forward, the ringers will, as usual, be manning the beer tent at the Church Fete, which this year is being held in the garden of The New Rectory, on Saturday, 17th July.
We will only be ringing for one wedding in July, on Saturday 24th for a 2.00pm wedding and there may be an additional practice on Wednesday 21st July, from 7.30 - 9.15pm. That aside, we will be ringing as usual for Sunday services during July and we will be holding our normal Tuesday evening practices.
Tower Secretary
Roy Barclay
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Ringing Report - June 2010
For the third consecutive month we have to start this report on a sad note. We are sorry to say that Mrs Rene Gilder, who rang at Staplehurst during the 'sixties, passed away at the end of April. The quarter-peal rung for Evening Service on 2nd May was also rung as a thanksgiving for her life.On a happier note Adam Brady, one of several accomplished young ringers in our band, celebrated his 18th birthday by ringing a three-hour peal on our bells on Saturday 17th April. The band also included his brother Daniel, and Richard Barclay who was home from university at the time.
On 22nd May we went on our annual outing, ringing at churches in West Kent and Surrey.
Looking forward, on the afternoon of Saturday 12th June Staplehurst will be entering a band in the Maidstone District Striking Contest at Hollingbourne. A report on both these events will appear in the July magazine.
In addition to Sunday Services and our normal Tuesday practice, we will be ringing for weddings on the afternoons of Saturdays 5th and 12th June and on the afternoon of Sunday 6th June we will be ringing for the Staplehurst Airfield Memorial Service. Also, on Wednesday 23rd June there will be additional ringing from 7.30 - 9.15pm.
Tower Secretary
Roy Barclay
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Ringing Report - May 2010
The Staplehurst ringers were sorry to hear of the passing of Molly Wood, wife of Derek, on 5th March. Derek is one of our longest serving ringers, and we were honoured to ring for Molly's funeral. Our thoughts are with him in the difficult days ahead.With the onset of summer comes the season of ringing outings. Our ringers will this year be ringing at churches in the Darenth Valley on Saturday 22nd May. Meanwhile on Saturday 1st May we will be welcoming members of the Ladies' Guild of Ringers who will be ringing our bells on their outing (no doubt bringing a few men with them as well!).
On Thursday 13th May we will be ringing for the Ascension Day High Mass and then on Saturday 15th May for a 12 noon wedding. An additional practice is provisionally planned for Wednesday 26th May from 7.30 - 9.15pm and we will of course be ringing for Sunday Services and our normal Tuesday practice.
Tower Secretary
Roy Barclay
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Ringing Report - April 2010
March was a sad month for the village with the loss of Dr Richard Skinner, one of our longest-serving GP's and former Parish Councillor and Chairman. He had also been very active in the life of All Saints' Church, and the Staplehurst ringers were honoured to ring the bells for his funeral on Friday 12th March.As usual we will not be ringing during Holy Week, but our Practice Nights resume on Tuesday 6th April, with an additional practice scheduled for Wednesday 28th April from 7.30 - 9.15pm. There will also be a peal (three hours' continuous ringing) on Saturday 17th April starting at 9.30am, to celebrate the 18th birthday of Adam Brady, one of our promising young ringers.
Tower Secretary
Roy Barclay
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Ringing Report - March 2010
February was a very quiet month for the Staplehurst ringers (no pun intended!) with just normal ringing for the Sunday Services, the Ash Wednesday Service and our weekly practice. During March, as well as the regular Sunday Service ringing and our normal Tuesday practice, we will also be holding an additional practice on Wednesday 24th March. There will also be a visiting band from the Tonbridge area ringing our bells on Saturday 27th March between 3.15pm and 4.30pm.Through the Parish Magazine we try to give notice of when and why our bells are being rung. However, due to deadline constraints, it is not always possible to do so - for example if we receive a request from a visiting band at short notice.
Tower Secretary
Roy Barclay
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Ringing Report - February 2010
As I write this the snow still lays thick on the ground, as it has for much of the last three weeks. However this has not prevented our bellringers from ringing for all the usual services including Epiphany High Mass whilst a blizzard raged outside. We are indeed lucky that nearly all our band live in the village, unlike some rural parishes where ringers sometimes travel several miles to help out at churches which do not have enough ringers of their own.Since the last issue of the Magazine we have had a very successful New Year's Eve party at the home of Chris and Sue Bassett before “ringing in” 2010 in the traditional style. Unfortunately the band from the Tonbridge area who were due to visit on 11th January were prevented from doing so by the adverse weather.
We have no visiting bands scheduled during February, but we will be ringing for the Ash Wednesday service on 17th February and we will be holding an additional practice on Wednesday 24th February. That apart we will be ringing on our normal Tuesday practice evening and for the regular Sunday Services.
Tower Secretary
Roy Barclay
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Ringing Report - January 2010
The Staplehurst Bellringers hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas and wish you all the best for the New Year.Christmas is now behind us, but the Staplehurst ringers can look back on a very active month. It began in great style on Tuesday 8th December when 24 ringers and their partners enjoyed their Christmas meal at The Bell. Then on the following Saturday some of our ringers joined those from other churches in the area for a special Bellringers' Carol Service at Broomfield, followed by mince pies and mulled wine. In addition to the normal Sunday Services we also rang for the Christingle Service on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Morning. By the time you read this, we will also have enjoyed our traditional New Year's Party and will have “rung in” 2010.
Last year was a very successful one for our ringers. In particular we had several new recruits of varying ages join us and they are progressing well. However, to help keep that momentum going we always need to recruit more ringers. As you will see above there is a good social side to bellringing. We nearly always adjourn to The Bell for liquid refreshment after practice, and once a year we have a day's outing ringing at churches in other parts of the country. Why not make it one of your New Year resolutions to come and visit us at our Tuesday practice and see what it's all about? For more information contact our Tower Captain Sue Bassett on 01580 891917. In case anyone is wondering, I must stress that there is absolutely no requirement for ringers to attend the church services that they ring for (although if they wished to, they would be most welcome).
We have a visiting band of ringers on Monday 11th January and an additional practice on Wednesday 27th January. That apart during January we will be ringing on our normal Tuesday practice evening, for the regular Sunday Services and for the Epiphany High Mass on Wednesday 6th January.
Tower Secretary
Roy Barclay
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