KCACR County news

District news items appear separately but topics of general KCACR interest are listed below, with the most recent items at the top of the list. Click here if you can't wait to see all the latest local news. If you think your District's offering (or indeed the county stuff) looks a bit dated don't shoot the messenger — send something in!

Campanophile link added

For some reason there was no link from the KCACR website to that widely used source of ringing information, Campanophile. This wasn't intentional — just an oversight, now rectified. The link, as you might expect is on the Links page (see left).

The Bell Boys — update

There was a programme on Radio 4 on 3 November called The Bell Boys when Ian McMillan, poet, spent a day at Whitechapel Bell Foundry. It will be possible to replay this facinating programme for about a week. Click here to listen in: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00nk2xt/The_Bell_Boys/ (You may find you have to right click and select "Open in New Window" to make it work.)

The following item, whilst not strictly a KCACR matter, seemed to be of such importance and interest to ringers everywhere as to merit inclusion here. Further discussion, wild guesses and general thoughts will be found on the various ringers' lists. This press release is also on The Ringing World website.

John Taylor & Co, Bellfounders, Loughborough

We are open for business!

We are pleased to announce that as from Monday 19 October 2009 we shall recommence trading in our historic name from our premises in Freehold Street, Loughborough.

John Taylor & Co is committed to offering the highest standards of bell and iron founding and engineering excellence associated with the names Taylor and Loughborough around the world for 150 years.

We are delighted to have saved the Museum and important records at Loughborough which we intend to see placed in a Charitable Heritage Trust and developed as part of the national archive which it intended to be accessible to all.

A consortium of well known ringers, senior members of the bell industry and investors has been formed as UK Bellfoundries Ltd and has been successful in its bid for the former operating entity at Loughborough. We are also delighted to announce that Mrs Merle Taylor has agreed to be President of the company.

We are looking forward to continuing working with the other members of the trade as well as individual churches.

We would like to thank all those who have given us their support in recent months — it has been greatly appreciated.

Andrew W R Wilby

On behalf of the Directors of UK Bellfoundries Ltd and John Taylor & Co, The Bellfoundry, Freehold Street, Loughborough LE11 1AR

Quarter peal update

Anthony Leeves, quarter peal recorder extraordinaire, has produced his quarterly [not really an attempt at a pun — honest] report as at 30 September. He tells us that there have been 588 rung so far this year, a little down on last year's 601 for the same period. There has been an encouraging increase in the number of first quarters, up to 23 from 2008's 15. For the full works you'll have to visit the quarter peal page on the left. As ever, thanks to Anthony for his tenacity and attention to detail.

County six-bell competition 2009

On a beautiful sunny afternnon on Saturday 26 September five of the six Districts met at Lynsted for the annual County 6-bell competition. Unfortunately Tonbridge District was unable to attend. The bells were rung up about 3.40 pm so the judges could assess if there were any oddstruck or difficult to handle bells, especially as they have only recently been augmented to six.

Alex Britton was judging the competition together with the Association Secretary who agreed to assist as the second judge was unable to attend at the last minute. As the Hon Sec was judging she passed over to Brian Law the task of carrying out the draw and stewarding for each District.

Ringing commenced at 4.00 pm and at about 5.30 pm when the last band had just completed 120 changes the rope on the fifth rope broke! There was nothing in the rules to say what should be done in these circumstances so after discussion with the bands and the judges it was agreed that the first 120 of each band would be judged.

The judges then made their deliberations and went into the church to deliver the results. Alex Britton gave comments on each band. In general it was felt that the treble, third and sixth caused the most problems. The speed of ringing varied and likewise the methods rung. Two bands rang Plain Bob Doubles, and the other bands rang Grandsire Doubles, Little Bob Minor and Cambridge Surprise Minor respectively. Finally the result was declared and Willesborough, representing Ashford District, were declared the winners. The full results are set out below. The Trophy was presented by Alex Britton.

The Secretary then thanked Alex for judging, all the bands for competing and the ringers from Lynsted for the splendid tea.

The full results are set out below.

Margaret Funnell

	The winning Willesborough band (L-R: Shirley Marshall, Martin Marshall, Christine Marshall, Andrew Clark, Helen Small, Michael Marshall)
	Judge Alex hands over the trophy to Martin Marshall

The Essex Trophy 2009

This year's Essex Trophy 10-bell ringing competition was hosted by the KCACR at Hythe on Saturday 12 September. On the fine sunny afternoon, the six teams who took up the challenge drew for position and the first team was up in the tower by 2.00pm. The remaining teams then followed at regular half hourly intervals. Tea and coffee was available in the church throughout the afternoon and was enjoyed by the ringers and sponsored cyclists too.

The test piece, over the past few years at least, has alternated between Caters and Royal. This year's test was a six course, 324 changes, touch of Erin Caters in which the last three courses were in the backstroke home position. The ringing room, despite open window and fan drawing in cool air, became progressively warmer especially as the sun moved round towards the west. By 5.15pm all the teams had completed their exertions and a splendid ringers' tea complete with scones with jam and cream was set out in the north transept for the assembled teams to enjoy whilst the judge finished his deliberations.

At 6.00pm the judge, Geoffrey Morgan from Honiton in Devon was ready to announce his thoughts and the number of faults incurred by each team. He did this in the order the teams rang, leaving those in the pews scribbling notes to realise the team that rang last came first. The table below gives the results in full.

Unfortunately the KCACR touch came into rounds two rows early and in so doing did not complete the touch. Thanks go to Geoff Morgan for accepting the invitation to judge the contest. Thanks also must go to the Hythe ringers for offering their bells for the event, providing the stewards for teams ascending the tower and especially for putting on such a marvellous tea. It all made the afternoon very pleasant.

Next year's competition will be on Saturday 11 September 2010, hosted by the Essex Association.

Left: the winning Herts County team; right the KCACR team

Paul A Barton

The full Essex Trophy results are available on the EACR website at www.eacr.org.uk/essextrophy. Summary results are at the bottom of the page as before and a new detailed table is now available by following the "Full Results" link.

Accident at Northfleet

10 July We visited Tony on 10 July and we're glad to be able to say that he seems to be in fairly good nick, all things being considered. He's even had a fairly close haircut and reckons that he's now been able to wash out the remains of the Northfleet dust. It's very DIY in hospital these days, and he had to do the washing with the aid of a flannel and a bowl of water. Quite a feat when you realise that he's not allowed to rise more than 30 degrees from the horizontal! Our visit was somewhat curtailed when the ambulance crew arrived to move him to King's College Hospital in London. He is due to be seen by a specialist dealing with heel injuries on Monday.

13 July When he arrived at King's things moved fairly quickly, and he was seen by a neurosurgeon on Saturday. He offered Tony the choice of lying horizontal for 12 weeks while his vertebrae sorted themselves out, or resting horizontal for five days after undergoing an almost immediate op to patch them up. This would involve putting screws through the two damaged ones and securing with plates. Apparently this is a fairly common procedure, though not with these particular vertebrae. After consideration he decided to go ahead with the op and it was done on Sunday. It was a long job — he went into theatre at around 3.30pm and didn't emerge until about 8.15pm.

14 July The op on Sunday (a screw into each of two vertebrae, fixed with a plate to hold firm) went well, although he was in quite a bit of pain on the Monday, but feeling a bit better by Tuesday (today). His right heel may or may not need a pin, but the tibia will need a plate on one side in due course. The knee op may be performed on Wednesday.

15 July Because of blood clots on the chest the knee op didn't take place.

There is currently an interregnum at Northfleet, but we were delighted to learn that the incumbent-to-be called in to see Tony on Tuesday. Unfortunately Tony was on one of his many visits to the X-ray department, but the incoming cleric left Tony a very encouraging note. However the i-t-b happened to be passing again on Thursday (the 16th) and was able to meet Tony in person.

17 July Owing to the blood clots, Tony's leg op was postponed yet again, and is now expected to take place today. The good news is that possibly the knee and the heel can be dealt with in one go. It seems that some sort of steel cage may be fitted to the leg on a temporary (well, until November) basis, which should allow Tony to walk with crutches fairly quickly. It's also hoped that he will be able to stand for a short while with assistance on Saturday. Amazingly Tony seems to remain fairly cheerful, though he does get very tired from time to time. Webmaster's wife says that people are concerned to know that Tony can wiggle all his toes — which he can. It seems that this means that the spinal cord is still OK.

21 July The leg op has still not taken place due to concern about the blood clots, which basically means that a general anaesthetic is not feasible. However on Friday a local was given and the leg was realigned a bit. He is still on fairly large doses of warfarin to help deal with the embolisms. He was able to eat a little over the weekend and he remains generally cheerful. On Sunday, with the aid of a physiotherapist he was very nearly able to swing his good (left) leg over the side of the bed and try to put some weight on it, but the effort proved too much. On Monday the occupational therapist produced a suitable frame for support and Tony was able to sit up on the bed for about 10 minutes and then STAND for a further eight or so. He was very tired and exhausted at the end of this ordeal though. By today (Tuesday) he was able to sit on a chair for a short while. No definite news of that op yet, though the blood clots seem to be responding well. There is now a possibility that the leg frame may not be necessary and that some sort of plate may be possible. The back op was completely successful and the stitches could well come out soon.

24 July The leg op finally took place on the 22nd, when a couple of pins were inserted in fragments at the top of the tibia. It was decided that no action was needed on the knee but Tony now has a plaster cast from the ankle to the groin. This will remain in place for about six weeks, but will probably be removed after three weeks to allow the surgeons to check up on the wound and change dressings. The heel is going to be allowed to sort itself out after all, which has to be good news. He is now able to do a proper wash and shave, and he is feeling much more chirpy. He has a load of exercises to perform, so he has something to keep him occupied. With any luck he'll be moved to a hospital nearer home before too long.

28 July Tony has now left King's and is in a hospital in Blackheath, which is rather nearer to home. He is undergoing a fairly rigorous physiotherapy regime and the current project is to get him tackling stairs. He is now able to get about relatively easily on crutches, but, as one might expect, he gets tired very quickly. One big advantage of the new hospital is that it is much quieter and he can get some sleep o'nights without emergencies going on all around him. He also doesn't have to endure (other people's we hasten to add) drunken visitors!

1 August Good news! Tony was allowed home on 31 July. He spent much of the first 24 hours or so sleeping, but is very happy to be back home. Their house has several short flights of stairs from one floor to another, but he is beginning to negotiate them, albeit slowly. A community nurse will be visiting from time to time to keep an eye on him, and some visits to the Blackheath clinic will be needed over the coming weeks. A final decision has yet to be taken regarding the knee, which the consultant described as the worst case he'd ever seen. This could mean repair work or possibly a replacement knee.

6 August It's now a month since the accident, and we were able to visit Tony and Carole at home. They are both in pretty good spirit considering, and keeping their fingers crossed about the future. Tony is still on painkillers, and is reminded in no uncertain terms if he forgets a dose. The plaster will probably come off next week for a checkup on the wound, but no further positive news is available yet.

13 August — a report from Tony himself Just to keep you up-to-date, we went to the fracture clinic yesterday to see about my leg (the back is still a separate item, clinic for that in about two weeks) and got a new cast-brace with a hinge to replace the low-tech pot. This supports the knee but allows bending (see attached for before and after photos).

The consultant was very pleased with progress; I can now begin putting weight on the injured heel and learning to bend my knee (at present it is nearly rigid!). We booked a further visit in four weeks' time and this might be the end of the casts. Talk of further operations, arthritis and knee replacements has receded. It seems that I will have a slightly odd gait with the lower leg angled inwards, walking somewhat on the outside of my right foot. If severe or painful, that might be corrected by further surgery. He mentioned running in six months' time though my feeling is that he is not allowing for my back injury.

Overnight the cast slipped and now we're heading off to get it replaced, as the hinge must be properly aligned with the knee joint.

And now for those not of a nervous disposition are the photos of Tony's leg before (left) and after the new set-up. Not quite Kate Moss or J.Lo, but pretty impressive in the circumstances.

24 August — final report from Tony We saw the neurosurgeon today, and he explained more about the injuries and how close I came to having really very severe spinal chord damage: seems I'm very lucky to have not been completely paralysed from the waist down. He was happy with the way the vertebrae are healing and will review things again in three months' time. Meanwhile I might have to wait for two years or so to find out if all the nerve damage will be permanent (some definitely is).

Tony is very appreciative of the good luck messages he's received (judging by his sitting room ceiling he's probably done better than a significant birthday, though he doesn't feel a rerun would be worth it for another rush of cards), and would like to say a general thank you to everyone.

No more postings will be made now unless anything serious crops up.

David Cawley back in Kent

We are pleased to hear that David Cawley has returned to his home county of Kent after 14 years in downtown Leicester. For further details check out the Canterbury District page.

County 8-bell contest 2009

On a very hot and sunny Saturday afternoon on 27 June all six Districts met at Tenterden for the 8-bell striking competition. Ashford District had chosen the method, Double Norwich Court Bob Major, and a touch of 224 changes was the challenge. The judges, Paul Flavell and Robin Leale from Kingston-upon-Thames, arrived just before 2.00pm. After a short burst of ringing so the judges could decide where to sit the draw took place.

The ringing commenced at 2.15pm. and was completed by 4.00pm, after which the judges made their comments and gave their decision as to the winner.

Paul said this was the 50th striking competition he had judged. He went on to say that with a 28cwt ring it was a brave decision in the choice of method and he preferred to judge rather than ring! Overall the standard was good with very few method mistakes but handstrokes tended to be rushed. The bells were lovely but difficult to ring. He went on to give comments on the individual bands together with the peal speeds. Finally Robin gave out the scores and Ashford was declared to be the winner. Unfortunately Tonbridge District, who won last year, had left the trophy in Speldhurst Tower, so Richard Edwards representing Ashford was presented with a cup of tea.

Peter Sims, the Association Chairman thanked the judges, all the Districts for taking part and the Tenterden band and their helpers for the tea.

Margaret Funnell

Results were as under

posn	District	rang	faults	peal speed
1st	Ashford	5th	90.0%	3h 41m
2nd	Lewisham	4th	87.5%	3h 47m
3rd	Canterbury	6th	80.8%	3h 29m
4th	Tonbridge	1st	79.5%	3h 25m
5th	Maidstone	3rd	77.5%	3h 28m
6th	Rochester	2nd	70.9%	3h 41m

Judge Paul Flavell presents "the cup" to Ashford team captain Richard Edwards, while Robin Leale looks on

The winning Ashford District band in the order they rang (front row left to right, back row left to right): Frank Wenham, Pam Manger, David Manger, Shirley Marshall, Martin Marshall, Karen Edwards, Damien Smith, Richard Edwards. Canine mascot is Luna.

Eighteen hours later . . .

. . . the real trophy was handed over to an Ashford District representatative (David Manger, L) by Anthony Leeves from last year's winning team

For anyone interested in trivia, a photo of the trophy and a list of winners appears below.

Imagine

No, the KCACR hasn't taken on a music critic, but we thought ringers in general might be intrigued by these two links to YouTube. You've probably read/heard about the rendition of John Lennon's Imagine on the bells of Liverpool Cathedral. This took place on 16 May as part of Liverpool's Futuresonic (an Urbanfest of art, music and ideas), and was performed three times between 12 and 1pm on that day. The first link is an external view, while the other is an internal view showing the ringers doing their stuff. Well worth a click we thought. (Talking of clicks, you may find that the best way to make the thing work is to right click on the link and select "open in new window".)

Peal fees

Most KCACR ringers will know that it was agreed at the 2009 AGM that peal fees should be raised from 20p per ringer to 50p.

It has subsequently been brought to my attention that there is a certain amount of disquiet around the county about this decision for a variety of reasons, including: that it was done in some sort of underhand way, that it wasn't done in accordance with the Association's rules and that the Association is anti peal ringers.

This was discussed at some length at the general committee meeting on 2 May 2009 and I am pleased to say the committee completely endorsed:

1. The Association is welcoming of all ringers, provided their aims are the same as the Association's stated aims and are certainly not anti peal ringing (just about all of the committee have rung peals at some time or other).
2. The committee had agreed to recommend an increase in the peal fees up to 50p, as required by the Association's rules. As it was related to the cost of the Handbook, it had been agreed that this should be introduced by Craig Huxley at the AGM — as happened.
3. We all agreed that it would have been better for the increase to have been shown as a separate agenda item. Unfortunately, due to human error, it wasn't, albeit this is not required within the rules. It was certainly not intended to hide the proposed increase as this would have served no purpose. Systems have now been amended to ensure that any future proposals of this nature will not get missed from the AGM agenda.

Finally, just a reminder that the committee members put a lot of time and effort into running the Association and appreciate the backing and help that they get from the vast majority of the membership.

Peter Sims
Chairman KCACR

Ringing around the Olympics

Brenda Barton, who is one of the KCACR representatives on the steering committee of the group, sends us this update.

In summary it is a group originating from a Central Council idea involving the four ringing organisations nearest to the Stratford Olympic/Paralympic site, ie Kent, Essex, Middlesex and Surrey.

Kent is currently represented by Rupert Cheeseman and Brenda Barton of Lewisham District since the area includes a number of Olympic/Paralympic sites. The group has been meeting now for two years. We are currently awaiting a response to our application for the INSPIRE brand mark — this recognises the group as being part of the Cultural Olympiad which embraces projects, events and activities across sport, culture, education, environment, volunteering and enterprise, inspired by the 2012 Games.

Our first ringing school is expected to run from mid-July to mid-September at St Mary's, Leyton. Why Leyton? It is one of the five towers closest to the main site (the others being Hackney, Bow, South Hackney and West Ham). It will be a 10 week course with a tuition fee which will part cover one-to-one tuition, a personal learning plan, a pack of materials plus help/support with links to home towers. Money is being sought from several sources to support the costs.

The aim of the ringing school is to recruit 40-50 learners over the next 3-4 years for this five tower area and bring them up to peal standard for 2012.

To keep up-to-date with the 5 Rings in 5 Years Project, visit their website at http://www.5rings.org.uk.

Brenda Barton

County AGM 2009

The 2009 AGM took place at Aylesford on Easter Monday, 13 April when about 60 members and friends attended the service at SS Peter & Paul Aylesford, preceded by a service touch of Bristol Major by an invited band. Following the service a very welcome lunch was served to about 40 people in the Brassey Centre, where, among the other goodies, there was Goacher's on tap. After lunch the meeting commenced at about 2.40pm with the Chairman, David Manger, welcoming some 85 members and guests. The meeting took the usual format with reports by the officers followed by elections. All officers were re-elected save for the Chairman who had carried out his three-year stint and was standing down. Peter Sims was elected Chairman for the ensuing three years. There were no takers for the posts of Education and Publicity Officers, so these slots remain unfilled. David Manger and Damien Smith were elected as two of the "extra three" on the general committee, while all other officers were re-elected (see officers page on the left).

There were three certificates presented marking KCACR membership for 50 years, and the Chairman noted that this was the first time for some years that all certificate recipients had been able to to attend to receive them at the AGM.

The Ashford District had proposed that David Manger be elected as a Vice President for his services to the Association and the meeting readily supported the election. Congratulations David — you've earned it!

It was agreed by the meeting that peal fees should be increased to 50 pence forthwith [later confirmed to take effect from 1 May 2009]. The meeting ended with David Manger handing over the chain of office to Peter Sims and the Rev Stanley Evans closing the meeting with a prayer and the Grace.

Margaret Funnell
Frank Lewis

There are a few piccies below. Click on the thumbnail image to see a larger version.

	The top table as the meeting started (Margaret Funnell, David Manger, Pat Phipps)
	David M and Ann Gilbert from Sturry after the presentation of her 50 years' membership certificate
	Ann's husband, Monty, seems to be reading the small print after his 50-year certificate presentation
	Chairman David Manger with David Gower after his 50-year certificate presentation
	Retiring Chairman Manger installs the badge of office on his successor, Peter Sims
	The ex-Chairman greets the new boy
	A close-up of the new chain of office, modelled by Peter Sims

Email addresses on website

Churches Conservation Trust 40th anniversary celebrations

The Churches Conservation Trust began its 40th anniversary celebrations with the ringing of bells in 70 CCT churches across the country, including St Michael, East Peckham, in the Tonbridge District.

Ray Taylor writes: It was an absolute pleasure to visit St Michael's at East Peckham on the afternoon of 21 February 2009 to bask in the sunshine with a clear view over the surrounding area while listening to ringers from Canterbury Cathedral ring a well-struck quarter peal of Grandsire Doubles. The Churches Conservation Trust had arranged for the BBC to broadcast information on regional news programmes about the ringing that was taking place across the country to support their 40th anniversary celebrations, and this brought a number of spectators. Links to the East Peckham broadcast and a press release are included below.

My thanks to Andrew, Cathryn and Philip Hills, Jo Horton, Paul Barton and Len Huckstep for ringing at this event.

Links are here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7903108.stm (BBC), which includes video footage of some of the ringing, and here http://www.kentnews.co.uk/kent-news/Bells-ringing-out-to-mark-celebration-of-churches-newsinkent21283.aspx?news=local (Kent on Sunday). If you have trouble viewing the video clip, try right clicking on the link and then choose "open in new window" (thanks Ray for pointing this out).

Further information about the Churches Conservation Trust can be obtained from www.visitchurches.org.uk.

Eleven regular true Triples methods

The following writeup was provided by Adrian Hackford from Lyminge. Sounds a great idea. [The story will appear in the January edition of the Canterbury District newsletter, so it seemed a good idea to put it here rather than on the District page.]

On 27 December 2008 a band of Canterbury District ringers rang a quarter peal of Hereward Bob Triples at Sheldwich, thereby completing all eleven regular true Triples methods to quarter peals for six of the band. Ringing mainly at Lyminge and Sheldwich, but also at Elham and Selling, the core group consisted of Philip, Cathryn and Andrew Hills, Len Huckstep, Tina Bouldin and Adrian Hackford who also researched and called the quarter peals. As the core group consisted of six ringers, the band was supported throughout the project by a number of "guest" ringers including Paul Barton, Donald Niblett, Steve Marsh and Mike Godfrey. The quarters were all rung during 2007 and 2008. Guidance with the methods and compositions was provided by Steve Coleman, some of which he also composed for the band.

A "true Triples" method is one in which all the changes in the plain course are triple changes, ie where three pairs of bells are being swapped simultaneously. Plain Bob Triples or St Simon's Triples, for example, are not "true Triples" methods because they have only a double change at the lead end. Essentially, a regular true Triples method is created by adding an extra hunt bell to a right-place, symmetrical plain Minor method, of which there are apparently eleven. What makes them "regular" is that they have the same lead ends as Grandsire, albeit in a different order. The eleven regular true Triples methods are as follows, and were rung in this order:

Grandsire Triples

Single Oxford Bob Triples

St Clement's College Bob Triples

Double Oxford Bob Triples

Double Grandsire Triples

London Bob Triples

Reverse Grandsire Triples

Double Court Bob Triples

Single Court Bob Triples

College Bob Triples

Hereward Bob Triples

With the exception of Grandsire and Single Oxford, all the quarter peals were "First in method for all". It appears that the other nine have fallen into general disuse, with only St Clement's getting the occasional airing. There is a case to be made for the reintroduction of some of these methods into the standard repertoire. For the average Triples ringer they will provide a new challenge and a refreshing change from the usual staple diet of Plain Bob and Grandsire, and some of the more complex regular true Triples methods such as Double Grandsire and London Bob will serve as a valuable transition from plain ringing to Surprise ringing.

If any individuals or bands are interested in attempting plain courses, touches or quarter peals in one or more of the eleven regular true Triples methods and would like to draw on the research already done during this project, please contact Adrian Hackford in Lyminge.

County 10-bell challenge (update)

The County 10-bell challenge (originally a sort of needle match between Lewisham and Ashford) was held on Saturday 29 November at St Alfege, Greenwich, with five of the KCACR Districts entering teams. The judges were Richard Pearce and Ruth Blackwell from the Guildford Guild, who produced the results as under.

The band in order clockwise from bottom right: 1 Donald Niblett, 2 Andrew Corby, 3 Cathryn Hills, 4 Andrew Hills, 5 Len Huckstep, 6 Clare Larter, 7 Christopher Robinson, 8 Paul Barton, 9 Philip Larter, 10 Philip Hills.

Judges Richard and Ruth with Canterbury team captain Don Niblett (holding trophy) and KCACR chairman David Manger

Floodlit shot of Greenwich church. Thanks to Rupert Cheeseman for the photos.

Peter Romney We are very sorry to have to report that Peter Romney died peacefully just after midday today (14 September 2008). Further details are on the Tonbridge District page. Our thoughts are with Margaret and the family.

Peter's ringing books

Following the death of Peter his widow, Margaret, asked me to dispose of his ringing books. She wished all proceeds from sales to be donated to the KCACR Bell Restoration Fund, a project with which Peter was associated for many years. These books were offered on the KCACR site in the first instance until 3 November and the highest bids received by that date were accepted.

By the middle of December most of the books had been sold, and a cheque for nearly £1200 winged its way to the BRF coffers. The books were then offered to a wider public via one of the ringers' lists, and by early February all books (and a redundant wheel) were sold, bringing the final total to a magnificent £1306.

A really sincere and grateful thank you to all who have contributed to this project — there have been buyers from all over the place as well as the UK, including Australia and Canada. And a special thank you to Margaret for her generosity. Finally, I am extremely grateful to Fraser Clift for all his help with pointing me in the right direction on prices to ask.

Frank Lewis, Webmaster KCACR

Is there a calligrapher in the house?

Hazel Basford, KCACR librarian and historian extraordinaire, is looking for a calligrapher. If you can help her, or know anyone who could, please contact her at hazel[at]basford.com. She writes:

While at the RW Roadshow I spoke to Alan Regin about the CC Roll of Honour books and was interested to see the book for the ringers who died in WW2. There are quite a few from Kent and the calligrapher of the book was also a Kent ringer. I have asked Alan to let me have a list of the names of the Kent ringers and I will then see whether I can gather the same information for them as I have for the WW1 ringers. There is room to add the names to the book at the Cathedral, but I will have to find a calligrapher to match the standard of Jack Peppiatt's work. I am confident that the Association will agree we should have a record of our losses in WW2 to match that for the earlier war.

The publicity poster used at Dover

Heritage Open Days Heritage Open Days celebrates England's architecture and culture by allowing visitors free access to interesting properties that are either not usually open, or would normally charge an entrance fee. Every year on four days in September, buildings of every age, style and function, ranging from castles to factories, town halls to tithe barns, parish churches to Buddhist temples, throw open their doors to the public. This year's dates were Thursday 11 to Sunday 14 September, but the details have been left in place so that others may get an idea of what HODs are all about. Organised by volunteers — usually property owners or managers — for local people, Heritage Open Days is England's biggest and most popular voluntary cultural event. Last year the event attracted up to 1 million visitors. The Civic Trust gives central co-ordination and a national voice to the event, which is made possible by funding and support from English Heritage. Details are at http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/about/ This was raised at the recent meeting of the General Committee and members heard about plans to open the churches at Hythe, Speldhurst and Dover. The latter, for one, will take visitors up to the clock chamber, from which they can safely see the bells. The meeting agreed that if ringers are participating, it's best done within the context of the local programmes of events. However, the Committee felt that it could still be sensible to register the Association as an organiser for next year's Heritage Open Days, to assist towers who wish to participate in localities where there are no other initiatives. Peter Dale, County PRO 2005-2008

Training officer

The long and short of it is that we currently don't have one. We are in need of one however, someone to take on a really satisfying and truly worthwhile role. Catherine Lewis, who did the job for 15 years, says she really enjoyed it, but felt she'd probably got in a bit of a rut and a change was needed. She has written some notes on the skills/qualities she thinks are necessary, along with a few words on how she did the job (just to give an idea of how it can work) — they are available here.

All about ringing for experts and nonringers alike — update

Are you an established ringer with questions about ringing that you were afraid to ask? Are you new to ringing? Are you just visiting this site by chance and would like to find out a little about this amazing bunch of people?

There is now a worldwide freeby ringing encyclopedia on the Internet, called Changeringing Wiki. This covers just about every ringing topic you could ever think about, and then some (and it's gowing all the time). This is written and edited by ringers (mainly Graham John at present), so it's far from the usual sort of stuff you find in newspapers. Try the link on the links page (or click here if you're keen to get started).

New portrait of Redleader

Webmaster recently received the attached photo from an anonymous KCACR PRO chappie. The suggested caption went something like this: "The Bell Restoration Officer's discussions may sometimes be of a rather technical nature." As ever, the opinions of our contributors do not necesssarily reflect the views of the board of directors of the KCACR website.

The Jubi Peal Walter Dobbie's portable Silver Jubilee ring (the Jubi Peal) is now being looked after by Charles Tassell at Ulcombe. Requests to borrow this equipment should be made to Charles on 01622 858733 or email to charles@tassell.co.uk. There is no hire charge, but a donation to the BRF will be requested.

The Jubi Peal in action

County events in 2009/2010

Hard hat area

The shot on the right shows a safety fence erected around building work at St Martin-in-the-Fields. Should we be proud that a ringer is being used to demonstrate safety measures? Or is the recent spate of dodgy publicity having the wrong effect? Thanks to Brian Butcher for the photo.

Cloches de verre

The photo on the left shows one of those typical French enamelled advertising panels, this one having a fairly topical content for ringers. We've come across ceramic (flowerpot to you and me) bells, but there must be a case [pun noted, but not necessarily intended] for producing bottle bells. This particular panel is available for sale on one or two websites, and it looks as though it might be going for a couple of hundred euros. Thanks to Fraser Clift of Kemsing for spotting this one

Mills & Boon in Kent?

At the service at a recent District meeting we were intrigued to see that one of the hymns appeared in the service sheet as "As pants the heart for cooling streams". Will the ripping of soft silk blouses come next, we wonder?.

Child protection (update March 2008)

At the KCACR General Committee meeting on 22 November 2003, the question of Child Protection was raised, and it was suggested that the topic should be featured on this website. This has now been done, using a link to the Central Council's guidelines. These guidelines have, in the light of recent developments, been updated as of 29 March 2004, so if you haven't checked them out recently, now's the time. It should be emphasised that they are just what they say they are, guidelines, and local requirements will be laid down by dioceses and parishes. KCACR firmly supports the need for good Child Protection practice and expects all ringers to behave properly towards young and vulnerable ringers. The Central Council guidance is commended to tower captains A new facility added to this site early in September 2006 is a downloadable copy of a suitable Permission to ring form. This is the form approved by the Central Council and has been in use in Kent for some time. Anyone teaching youngsters is advised to get hold of a copy of this form and get parents/guardians/carers or whoever to fill it in.

Child Protection issues were discussed at District meetings in 2007. A survey of towers represented at the six meetings indicated that PCC representatives had agreed that good practice could be achieved by following CC guidance in over 80% of towers where CP issues had been addressed. In these towers a limited number of ringers had been required to provide CRB checks.

The KCACR expects all towers to work towards achieving local agreement on CP policy: ultimately the tower has to accept the PCC ruling. We are supporting national initiatives by Central Council aimed at securing agreement with the House of Bishops, seeking a protocol which emphasises the need for vigilance and appropriate behaviour but limits the need for CRB checks to those, locally agreed, who lead ringing and training.

If assistance or information is required in relation to the following issues please contact:

• Child Protection Nigel Spencer: np&mjs@fireflyuk.net or phone 01303 260524.
• Health & Safety Peter Sims: sps.petersimms@btclick.com (note that Sims and simms are correct!)

If infomation is required on any other issue please contact any of the officers named on the officers page on the left.

Framework for training ringers

The Education Committee of the Central Council has produced a Framework to help bands, whatever their local circumstances, to take a more systematic approach to the way they train their learners. The Framework covers all angles, but is not prescriptive. Its headings cover all aspects relevant to training, and the statements under each heading describe objectives that good practice will achieve, but it's down to each band to decide how to get the best results.

The easiest way to use the Framework is as a checklist. For each aspect, does the way you do things take account of it? Is it practical (taking account of your situation)? Do you need to do anything about it? Could you explain why you do what you do, if anyone asked?

The Framework headings can also provide the structure for a written code of practice for your tower, if you ever needed to produce one.

Articles describing the history and development of the Framework were published in The Ringing World on 21 October 2005 (p1010)*, 12 May 2006 (p446) and 9 June 2006 (p542).

*A copy (in PDF format) of this article is available here.

If you have any comments or questions, please please contact the Chairman of the Central Council Education Committee at edchair@cccbr.org.uk.

Lock up your lightning conductors

No, this doesn't apply to ringers of fast peals, but to those bits of copper that run down the side of your towers. With scrap copper fetching about £2900 per tonne (that is about £1.30 a pound in real money) easily nickable sections of lightning conductor (LC) are a worthwhile source of revenue for certain types of villain. After all, many LCs are in obscure parts of the church, often out of sight from the road, and all you need is a lightweight ladder and a pair of cutters and — bingo! — you can snip out about 10 quids' worth of copper in no time at all.

There has been a spate of this sort of thing for a while now. Several churches around the Stockton / Darlington area have been targeted, plus three towers (and the town hall) around Cleckheaton. Nearer home, Limpsfield Chart, just over the border in Surrey, lost about 20 feet of LC. The latest attack was at Brasted, where no fewer than three LCs were cut off in their prime. The perpetrators here weren't too clever, since one of the LCs was actually an aluminium one — but the damage was still done.

There probably isn't any way to stop this sort of thing, and we don't know if there are any means of protecting LCs. Also it's not too clear whether periodical checks by steeplekeepers serve much purpose (the s/k at Brasted checked about three weeks prior to the theft) but maybe ringers could provide a useful service to their churches by having a quick shufti at the LCs on their towers every now and then. The folk at Brasted were going to have a simulator practice the other night, but it had been a stormy and thundery day, so it was felt that it might be safer to abandon the event.

A great pity, really, to be held to ransom by a few mindless yobs.

The KCACR 8-bell competition trophy

By some lucky chance webmaster just happened to have the KCACR 8-bell striking competition trophy in his kitchen early in September 2006 and he decided to take a photo — after all not everyone in the county has had a chance to see it yet. So here it is in all its glory, with a list of the holders of the trophy over the past 23 years.

For those not too sure about the 8-bell striking competition, a few explanatory words might be in order. The 6-bell competition starts with a competition in each District, and the winners in each District represent that District at the County final. The 8-bell version, on the other hand, is organised around teams selected by Districts to take part, so there is no local contest. You'll notice that Lewisham and Tonbridge have quite often been winners and for quite some time there's been some pretty intense competition going on there — and long may it last!

The trophy		The winners
		1985 Ashford 1986 Lewisham 1987 Lewisham 1988 Lewisham 1989 Tonbridge 1990 Tonbridge 1991 Lewisham 1992 Lewisham 1993 Lewisham 1994 Ashford 1995 Tonbridge 1996 Lewisham 1997 Canterbury 1998 Lewisham 1999 Tonbridge 2000 Lewisham 2001 Canterbury 2002 Tonbridge 2003 Lewisham 2004 Canterbury 2005 Rochester 2006 Tonbridge 2007 Canterbury 2008 Tonbridge 2009 Ashford

Email addresses for KCACR officers

Following a suggestion made at a recent general committee meeting, generic email addresses have now been set up for Association officers. These addresses will remain static whoever actually holds the office. So, if Fred Bloggs takes over from Frank as webmaster, Fred's email address will remain webmaster@kcacr.org.uk.

KCACR and Bell Restoration Fund Rules

Know your rights! An up-to-date copy of the KCACR Rules is now provided on the website as well as in the annual Handbook. This will be modified as and when any changes are made, so the version here will always be the latest. To download your copy of the Rules as a PDF file click here.

Insurance update

Further to the note which appeared on this page during most of 2005, the following is a brief résumé of the Association's insurance cover.

The Association has two insurance policies to protect its members.

Personal accident insurance

This provides cover in the event that a member is injured in an accident, resulting in permanent or temporary disablement, or in death. The level of cover (as at January 2006) is as follows:

Temporary total disablement has an excess of the first seven days, and cover does not extend beyond 104 weeks from the date of the occurrence of the accident.

Members are covered while ringing, instructing, inspecting, or doing work of any description on towers and/or bells and/or their fittings and framework anywhere in the UK, including travelling directly to and from the church or up to wherever there is a break in the journey. Learners who have not yet been elected members are included whilst under instruction by a member of the Association.

Public liability insurance

This gives protection against claims from third parties for compensation following accidental injuries to persons and/or damage to property. The policy held by the Association provides indemnity up to £1 million for any one occurrence, or series of occurrences arising from one event. Property damage is subject to a £250 excess.

Members are covered while ringing, instructing, maintaining, inspecting, or doing minor repairs on towers and/or bells and/or their fittings and framework anywhere in the UK. Minor repairs in this context consist of any works not involving removing the bells from the frame, and are restricted to internal work only. Member to member cover is no longer provided, but this should be covered under the Liability element of a member's household Contents policy since the member would be acting in a private capacity and any claim would fall upon this insurance.

Major works will be offered to a church by the BRF subcommittee on the understanding that the church is responsible for insurance.

Note from the General Secretary

The above is only an outline description of the general circumstances that could give rise to a claim, the persons covered under those circumstances, and the maximum levels of cover to be expected. Please direct any questions about particular scenarios to me (margaretkcacr@aol.com) so that I can seek a definitive ruling from the insurers.

Guidelines for BRF grant applications and practical assistance

The KCACR Bell Restoration Officer has drawn up a set of guidelines to be applied by local fundraisers when applying to the KCACR for a grant towards work on bells.

KCACR can help with bell restoration in two ways

1. By practical help in doing some of the work or, in some cases all of the work, in the tower.
2. By financial assistance in the form of a grant.

For the full guidelines and the opportunity to download a PDF version, click here.

Giftaid and donations to the BRF

Did you know that if you pay UK income tax at the standard rate and give £100 to the BRF using the Giftaid scheme, then we can claim an extra £28 back from the taxman? If you pay higher rate tax you too can reclaim £23. So, if you are a higher rate taxpayer, the BRF receives £128 for every £100 you give AND it costs you only £77. This is an offer from the taxman that you just can't refuse. Note, however, that this applies only to the BRF, which is registered as a charity.

So what are you waiting for? Click on the logo below to download a PDF copy of the Giftaid form, fill it in and send if off with your generous donation before you forget (oh, by the way, the download has two copies of the form on it so you can give one to a friend too).

The Revenue people are delightfully vague about the expression "gift aid" — it's sometimes Gift Aid, sometimes Giftaid, and sometimes, as in their logo, "giftaid" — we don't care so long as you use it.

You do not need to fill in a new form each time you make a donation, because the Association will keep all forms, only producing them if the Revenue folk ask to see them. Technically if you've already filled in a form for another organisation then you don't need to do it again, but it makes administration so much easier if each fund has its own forms.

KCACR membership nomination form

An updated version of the membership form (version 2.4) is now available from this site, and may be retrieved by clicking here. This is only a slight modification of the previous version, but it excludes the option to enter "associated" towers as well as the member's main tower, as decided at the general committee meeting on 28 February 2009.

Note that this form is in PDF format and requires Acrobat Reader to access and print it. If you haven't already got a copy of Acrobat Reader it may be downloaded from a number of Internet sites — or it often appears on CDs attached to computer magazines. If all else fails, get someone else to download it for you (they'll have to do your printing for you, too).

The church bells of Kent

This is a site compiled and maintained by Dickon Love and contains details of all the towers within the area of the KCACR which have three or more bells hung for ringing. Each tower entry includes a tower picture, details of current and previous bells and tower history. In some cases there are links to tower home pages and pictures of the bells. There are also quite a few files of sounds of the bells.

So if you haven't visited CBofK recently, then here's yer chance. Click here to go there right away.

KCACR membership — what's in it for me?

[The following article by Peter Sims in an Ashford District Newsletter some time ago seems to answer a lot of questions we hear voiced from time to time. Any comments to webmaster or Peter would be appreciated. — Ed]

As a relatively long serving member of the Ashford District Committee and District Representative on the County Committee of the KCACR I am often asked questions like: Are there any benefits of me being a member? What do I get for my annual subs? Where does all the money go? or, Why can't I be a ringer without bothering having to join the KCACR? All very good questions and effectively asking, "What does the Association do for its members?"

For a normal member the fee is £9 per year (very cheap by anybody's reckoning — about 4 pints of beer, or 2-3 weeks average spend on the lottery). "But what do I get for it?" is the normal response. First and foremost the fact of being a member of a long established charitable ringing association — the only one that covers the whole of Kent, which in turn is part of the national Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. Maybe the objects of the Association should be used as a reminder of what it is all about:

The establishment, maintenance and encouragement of service ringing in the churches in its area: the recognition of ringers as church workers and the proper care and use of bells and belfries; the cultivation of the art of change ringing.'

How do we go about trying to achieve this? The answer is: in a variety of ways, but primarily the ringers from the Districts meet on a monthly basis to share time together, practise things they might not otherwise be able to ring and generally share good news and bad news alike, encouraging and helping each other wherever practical. Many members frequently go to other towers to assist at weekly practice sessions, and quite a few help out with Sunday service ringing at other towers in addition to their own.

But who gets my £9 per year? 50% of all subs goes immediately to the Bell Restoration Fund, whereby it is used to keep bells around the county in a suitable state for ringing. The latest grant was £4000 to Eastchurch - a small parish church with a population of a few hundred. Without this grant towards the overall cost of £16,000 for major works the bells would probably have fallen into a permanent state of disrepair. Fundraising for similar projects forms a significant part of our activities. Of the remaining £4.50 approx £1.50 is paid on insurance for all members. Insurance carried by individual churches for ringers varies considerably and in some instances doesn't even exist. The insurance via KCACR covers all paid up members for both personal accident (whereby the individual can claim for injuries they suffer as a result of ringing activities, including those suffered whilst travelling to and from ringing), or for public liability (whereby somebody may decide to sue a ringer as a result of some damage they feel has been inflicted upon them or their property during the course of a ringing activity). As most of you are well aware, in this increasingly litigious age, everybody thinks it is their right to sue for almost anything, so to have the knowledge of good insurance cover is very comforting. Full details of the cover should be available in your tower, but can be obtained from the District Secretary on request.

A further £1.50 is spent providing every member with their own copy of the KCACR Handbook. This was recently reviewed as "one of the best, if not the best, in the country". The massive work of preparing the Handbook ready for printing is done entirely on a voluntary basis. Approx 50p is spent on publicity and training material, particularly aimed at trying to encourage new ringers as well as generally spreading the news about bells and ringing. Another 50p is spent on officers' expenses attending national meetings (please note; nobody is paid by the Association and many of the officers pay their own expenses as well as giving up their time to attend these meetings). The final 50p is spent in a variety of ways, including postage, payment of auditors and general running expenses, Nobody derives any financial benefit from the Association and many give a great deal; this is typified by the fact that even this newsletter is paid for entirely by the generosity of various individuals - tower copies are distributed free and the money from any copies sold to individuals is donated to the Bell Restoration Fund. [Peter is speaking about the Ashford District here, but most other Districts work in much the same way. — Ed]

If you think the Association should be "giving more", the question is, "What more would you like and how much more are you prepared to pay for it?" The last time a significant increase in subs was put before the county membership at an AGM it was overwhelmingly defeated. If you feel strongly that the Association should be doing more, please speak out constructively. Perhaps the final question should not be, "What more can the Association do for me?", but, "What more can I do for the Association?"

World War I records

Hazel Basford, our County Librarian, has put an enormous an amount of effort into researching the lives and deaths of KCACR ringers during the First World War. How would you cope if half of your band was killed over a period of six months? How would you feel if many of your mates had disappeared, never to return? Have a look at Hazel's report. It's an eye-opener. New items are slowly being added as they come to light. The latest (November 2002) offering is a poem about the Hayesmore brothers from Rolvenden.

Wedding fees

There has been some discussion in the County over the years of an idea for BRF fundraising. One suggestion (originating in the Ashford District) was that wedding fees should be raised by £10 (per wedding, not per rope), and that this additional sum should go to the BRF. This is not intended to be an edict from on high, but is an idea that might be discussed at a local (tower even) level. I have no idea how often Kent bells are rung for weddings, but even if it's only a couple of hundred times a year that could bring in a couple of grand for the BRF.

The scheme also has the great advantage of taking some of the burden off ringers — who after all should not always be called on to fund restoration work (so far as I know organists don't have funds to repair organs any more than choirs raise money for surplices and music). The load is spread much more thinly over a much larger catchment area — after all another tenner on top of the thousands reportedly spent on weddings shouldn't be too much of a problem for the folks being married.

Obviously approval for this sort of venture would have to be sought from the local vicar/PCC, but if the situation was explained by the local ringers, I doubt if there would be many problems. What do people feel about this idea? Think about it. Raise it at your District meetings. Discuss it at your tower meetings. Tell this site about it. But do something.

[It has to be said that, since this item was originally written, quite a few towers now do operate the so-called "spliced fund", and nearly £1600 was raised this way in 2003. But this still represents only about 160 weddings, so we could still do better.]

Was Freud a ringer?

Our lives, like bells while clanging,
An ordered course pursue.

Thus ran the start of the final verse of the Ringers' Hymn as printed in the service sheet at a recent District meeting. One wonders what Mr Wilder put in the original version — have we been under an illusion all these years?

Ringers' grace before meals

This is an occasional service provided for KCACR clerics at a loss for words when it comes to saying grace before a ringing event. This particular version was compiled by the Bishop of Norwich for the 2002 Central Council meeting.

Tenors and trebles, sallies and stays
These are all part of our ringing ways
Plain Bob and Grandsire, methods and peals —
Ringers work hard, so deserve their big meals.
So God bless our table, and we trust he will
Bless all the members of our Central Council.

Bishop Graham (himself a "lapsed" ringer) preaches a pretty mean sermon and gives a very good after-dinner speech, so he won't have to rely on verse too much, but this grace did seem a bit different. Minor modifications for local use would be quite acceptable without breach of copyright.

Roger Bailey

One of the links on the Homepage is to Roger Bailey's Ringing Resources site. Roger has links to all associations, many towers, all sorts of Central Council stuff, methods, ringing software, ringers' email addresses, weather forecasts, railway timetables — you name it, it's there. In fact so comprehensive is the site that The Ringing World no longer bothers to maintain separate listings, but sends you off to RB. Give it a go, but allow plenty of time, coz you could spend a long while surfing around.

Books about ringing

People often ask about books available to ringers. Because we are a relatively small market you will never find ringing books in bookshops, but there are quite a few obtainable from the Central Council and other specialised outlets. Click on the book logo above to go straight to a detailed bibliography.

A bit of etymology

[The following article by Gerald Sinfield appeared in the April 2000 issue of the Maidstone District's newsletter, The Belfry, and looked worth reproducing here — Ed]

Nowadays, the word Belfry relates to a bell tower, either as part of or attached to a church or other building, or standing apart on its own; but initially the word had no connection with bells and is not directly named after the bells which are now hung inside. The word originated in the middle ages from the Germanic word "bercfrit", which itself comes from two old German words, "bercen" for protect and "frit" for peace, and refers to an item of the German military. The Germans built movable covered wooden towers which were then called "bergfieds", or peace shelters. They were used to attack castles, walled cities under siege, or other fortifications. Soldiers would enter the siege towers and move them from inside, whilst all the time protected from enemy archers and other attacks, until they were alongside the enemy walls. From that position, the soldiers would then break through or climb over the walls. They proved so effective that many other European armies adopted the idea, with the result that the name then appeared in their languages also.

By about 1500 the siege tower idea was imported into this country, but the English found the name "bergfied" difficult to pronounce and so it was altered, appearing as the Middle English word of "berfrey". When gunpowder was further developed and used as a propellant as well as an explosive, there were then better means of breaking through defended walls. The wooden berfreys were suddenly obsolete, but because of their robust construction, they were hauled within the walls of cities to serve as watchtowers instead. Here they were equipped with bells, so that the watchman inside could sound the alarm.

Over the years, people began to associate the word "berfrey" with the word "bell" and they began to pronounce it as "belfry". Later, when churches were built with bell towers, the name was used for them as well, and the word Belfry is so used to this day.

You can either email the webmaster (webmaster@kcacr.org.uk) or write to me at the address on the officers page.