DH decodes, programmes the Satnav and we head off in the wrong direction - deliberately, I might add, before you speculate if our actions mere incompetence, or just designed to torment up the poor machine. We had arranged to pick up one of our fellow ringers, and on this occasion, we actually managed to programme the direction gadget before we left home, instead of having a domestic on the highway.
It was a dreary damp and dismal day. Most people were still indoors, doing sensible things, whilst we headed off in search of unheated churches, in which to play some heavy and not so heavy metal and run the risk of annoying the neighbours. The alternative name for this activity is a bellringing outing.
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| Local Luminescence |
As we rolled down the M5 the land to the east glowed with a luminescent light, in every other direction it was endless greyness.
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| "Who rings in a church like this..." |
The first church door we opened was at the lovely light six at Stoulton. The trouble with delightful bells is that there is the expectation that the ringing is of a high standard. We did our best.
Part way through the ringing the door opened to reveal a dog-collared person, who introduced herself as the local incumbent.
"Are you a vicar?" enquired the youngest member of the party, to the amusement of everyone else.
The Vicar was rather bemused to discover that we were not her in-house ringers, but had travelled from the distant lands of the far county border. The conversation then moved on to mutual acquaintances and former glories, as conversations usually do.
"WR9 4 Quiet Sound!"
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| Stranger on the stairs? No, it is DH! |
Last time I rang here was 1984, when the heaviest bell was 23and a half cwt. They were out of action for a few years before being restored and retuned, resulting in a tenor just under 20cwt. The slippery floor had been covered in carpet, which was a great improvement! After the dainty delights of Stoulton, Powick's bells required a bit more muscle to keep turning. Our efforts were rewarded with suitably stately sounds. Our ringing at Powick was followed by a well-earned lunch!
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| Georgian Grandeur |
"WR1 2 Jolly Japes!"
Actually, the Satnav was not required as the car was in the car park by the river and we are very familiar with the location of All Saints, which is adjacent to the river bridge in the centre of Worcester. We were first to arrive as we had lunched in a different establishment. We waited outside the 'locked front door', not realising that the ringers would enter via a different doorway. This was how we managed to lose the rest of the contingent on the outing.
DH went off on a recce, whilst the KHT and I kept watch (played pokemon) and listened to the many sirens that seemed to be going off around the city. Later we found out that there had been a car fire on the top floor of one of the multistory car parks, which had led to a section of the shopping centre being evacuated. I am glad we didn't park there! All Saints has a ring of twelve, we didn't have enough to ring all the bells on this occasion, but we rang some cracking call changes on ten.
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| Details of the old and the new bells |
Last stop was St Martins in the Cornmarket - a new lightweight ring of ten, where the heaviest bell was about the weight of our fourth! My only new tower of the day, but who cares, ringers gonna ring! These bells have a bright, some may say irritating, sound, vaguely reminiscent of ice cream chimes. If you didn't rush them they were easy to strike well.
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| We heard Cathedral bells tripping down the alleyways |
Our first ringing outing of 2018 was complete. Roll on next week, and our second!
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