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Bell Ringing at All Saints Church Staplehurst

Monthly Reports for 2010

August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010

April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010

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

Ringing Report - July 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.