This years striking competition is being held at Mapledurham where the bells have undergone a rehang and refurbishment so it is your chance to take the opportunity to try them out.

There is also the chance to enter both your normal team and a 'novice' band from your tower.

The inclusion of a 'novice' band is new for this years competition so do please read the rules and entry form carefully and contact Ken Baker if you have any queries.

Full details of this years competition and entry forms can be found in the following links so please do try to enter a team it is always great fun...

• Striking Competition Entry Form
• Novice Striking Competition Entry Form
• Novice Striking Competition Rules

The Right Reverend Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading, will re-dedicate the bells of St Margaret, Mapledurham, at the 5 pm Patronal Service on Sunday 25 July.

The service will also celebrate the inauguration of the new parish of Caversham Thameside and Mapledurham – made up of the churches of St Margaret, Mapledurham, and St Peter and St John , Caversham. The bishop will come to Mapledurham on the Thames, by boat.

There will be ringing from 4 pm, which will give ringers from other churches an opportunity to try out the bells. Refreshments will be served after the service.

The Mapledurham bells date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. They are a light ring of six (the tenor weights 7 1/2 cwt). Originally they all had crown staples, which can cause bells to crack. Two of them have already been recast: the treble in 1787 and the second in 1907. In order to prevent further damage to the bells, and to preserve them for posterity, the Mapledurham Bell Restoration Appeal was launched in September 2003, with the aim of mounting the bells on new headstocks to prevent further cracking. In February this year the Whitechapel Bell Foundry removed the bells and began the restoration work. Whitechapel rehung them in May, with new headstocks and new wheels, and they are now very easy-going and a pleasure to ring.

We would like to thank all those who have contributed time, money, technical expertise and encouragement to make this project possible. We are most grateful for the many donations from individuals in the area and from bell ringers in the Oxford Guild (in particular from the Reading branch) and from those much further away.

A little bit of history: It is probable that there have been six bells at St Margaret, Mapledurham, since 1664. The Latin inscription on the fourth bell says: "There are six of us, and although agreement is rare among brothers, we six are in agreement and we are harmonious - 1664." ("Sex sumus et quamuis rara est concordia fratrum, nos sex concordes, harmonicique sumus 1664").

The second (1664 - recast 1907), third (1623), fourth (1664) and fifth bells (1690) were all cast by the Knight family foundry which was established in Reading in the 16th century and continued there until the early 18th century. Three of those bells had interesting Latin inscriptions. The second was recast by John Warner of London in 1907. The treble was recast in 1787 by Thomas Janaway, who had a foundry in Chelsea , London , and the tenor was cast in 1764 by Robert Wells of Aldbourne, Wiltshire.

The church is mediæval dating mainly from 14th and 15th centuries. The South chapel was described in a will of 1381-95 as being "new built". Access is via the ornamental gate in the East side of the churchyard. The chapel is railed off from the church and remains the private property of the Roman Catholic lord of the manor and owner of the adjacent Mapledurham House. It was intended for the memorial to Sir Robert Bardolph, d 1395, whose brass memorial is in the chapel. A tomb chest in one of the arches of the chapel has effigies of Sir Richard and Lady Blount dating from the early 17th century.

William Butterfield was the architect for the restoration of 1863, which added two timber piers to create the illusion of a North aisle and built a gabled porch on the North side.

The following information is taken from F. Sharpe The Church Bells of Oxfordshire and from Diana McClure.

The Bells are hung in an oak frame with:

• Elm headstocks, now replaced along with new wheels
• Steel gudgeons
• Plain brass bearings
• Traditional English type wheels and
• Traditional stays and sliders

Branch Outing review:

This years outing to the cotswold was organised by Steve and June and it turned out to be a great event. Junes organisation of the lunch and tea went like clockwork and the food and service at both locations was extremely good.

Towers visited were Barnsley, Coln St Aldwyns, Bibury, Northleach, Cold Aston and finally Great Rissington.

Reading Branch visits Cotswold villages - a quick review by Diana McClure

Steve Rossiter and June Saint organised this year’s branch outing. It was quite different from the one they organised last year, but just as enjoyable. Last year we went to Rossiter country, to the north of London . This year we had an English heritage tour, through beautiful Gloucestershire countryside and picture-postcard villages, with roses in full bloom against the warm glow of Cotswold stone walls.

Some people had to miss the morning towers, and others had to leave early, so although it was a very well-attended tour, there weren’t enough ringers to fill a minibus. The first tower was at St Mary in Barnsley, a few miles east of Cirencester: a really beautiful church with a light ring of six bells (4 cwt in C) that go very well, on the ground floor. They were a pleasure to ring.

We nearly had a lock-out at the next tower, St John the Baptist at Coln St Aldwyns (eight bells, 7 cwt in A flat). While Steve went off in search of the vicar, who provided him with the key, we had ample time to look at the church and surrounding village. The church is lovely on the outside, with interesting carvings and a scratch dial cut into the Cotswold stone. Eventually, Steve was able to take us up an exciting succession of ladders, through a trap door, to a cosy ringing chamber. Seven of the bells go very nicely, but the tenor is challenging, as the rope comes down through the wooden box that holds the clock works. It doesn’t leave much room for ringing.

The next church was St Mary, at Bibury (six bells, 9-0-15 in A flat), a ground floor ring. The bells are lovely, like the church, which also has a scratch dial and lots of roses in the churchyard.

The next stop was at the Sherborne Arms, just outside Aldsworth, a beautiful setting for a very good lunch. June Saint had organised the pre-ordering of the meals and these were ready for us the moment we arrived at the Pub...well done June.

Kelvin Britten had to leave after lunch, and June and John Wells joined us at the next tower, SS Peter and Paul at Northleach (eight bells, 18 ½ cwt in E). This was the heaviest ring of the day, and also the biggest church – Doug Beaumont told us that it is called The Cathedral of the Cotswolds.

The church of St Andrew at Cold Aston has a ground floor ring of five bells (5 cwt in B). They go very nicely. Afterwards we stopped for a cream tea at The Rose Tree, in Bourton-on-the-Water, a beautiful little town. Here the four South Stoke ringers said goodbye – it was the first time they had come on a branch outing, and they said they had very much enjoyed it.

The last tower was at St John the Baptist, Great Rissington, a lovely six (11 cwt in F) in a ground floor ring, between the nave and the chancel. The village itself was beautiful, like all the others we visited that day.

Thank you, June and Steve, for a very enjoyable day. We did lots of ringing, Called Changes, Grandsire, Plain Bob, Stedman, Spliced Surprise, etc, in beautiful surroundings. We hope Steve got back home in time for the first match in the Football World Cup.
Diana McClure

Reading Branch 2010 AGM - PLEASE READ!

At the recent AGM a number of decisions were agreed which changes the current Branch Diary card for 2010.

BRANCH PRACTICES - held on the 2nd Saturday of the month will now take place between 18.00 and 20.00 - please note the change of time!

HIGHER NUMBERS PRACTICE - These practices take place on the last Sunday of the month at St Laurence in Reading and will now be between 13.00 and 14.30pm - please note the change of time!

MONDAY AFTERNOON PRACTICES - These will be replaced after the March practice at Swallowfiled by an organised Quarter Peal attempt. If you would like to attempt a Quarter Peal on the 1st Monday of the month please contact Jim Diserens (01491 824504) or John Wells (0118 9410061) in advance so that arrangements can be made for your request.

READING WIN AGAIN!

The Judges were Steve Stanford and Sarah Ward from Bedfordshire and having tried out the bells they were made cosey in the Old Court House adjacent to the Church from where they could hear the bells very well. No nasty busses passing between the judges and the tower this year!

The jusges remarks about the Reading team performance were - Team 6 (Reading) Pulled out into almost perfect rounds - an excellent start. Confident ringing that was not hurried - just at the righ speed. Just a few minor trips. 93%

For a full report with all the details please visit the Guild website at http://www.odg.org.uk/newspage.html#Events

Competition Results

St Mary's Reading wins the Guild 6 Bell Striking competition by half a point!. A full round up and details of the winners can be found on the Guild website at www.odg.org.uk/newpage.html#competition

Although only six teams took part this year it was still a very close fought contest. All Bands rang a 240 of Grandsire Doubles.

Robin Middleton receives the trophy from Ken Darvill who judged the contest along with Angela Darvill

Ken made comments about each teams efforts and stated that overall each band had performed very well on what he classed as "quite difficult" bells.

The results were as follows. 6th place went to Pangbourne with 27 faults then came Tilehurst in 5th place with 26 faults. 4th with 22 faults were St Laurence, Reading. Caversham came in 3rd with 17.5 faults followed by St Mary, Reading with 17 faults and finally Goring, the winners with 16 faults.

As can be seen by the scoring there was very little in it between 3rd and 1st position so a close call.

Goring then announced that they would probably be unable to represent the Reading Branch at the Guild contest in October due to many members of their team being unavailable. Thus it looks like St Mary, Reading will go forward in their place being the runners up. However a final decision has yet to be made by Goring.

A full detailed report with pictures and teams is in the Branch newsletter Issue 97

The 2009 Quiz Night at the Morrell Room, Streatley was a great success.

Joyce and Keith Vernon (and their family) did a superb job in hosting the event, doing all the catering, washing up and master of ceremonies tasks without a hitch anywhere.

There were fourteen teams who took part and the team names were themed on names of the Thames locks.

It soon became clear that there were some serious "Quizzers" amongst each team and a spirited banter between teams soon took hold along with the Quizmaster who told a good number of "Irish" jokes between rounds

The final outcome was that Days Lock (aka Henley Tower) were the winners

A super evening all round and it raised a good sum for the Shiplake Bell Restoration Fund.

The eight bells at St Peter & St Paul Shiplake are shortly to be replaced by a completely new eight hung in a new frame lower in the tower.

Part of the project planning included scheduling the last peal on the old bells and this was successfully accomplished in excellent style on Saturday 11th July.

The band comprised four members of the Sunday Service band together with four friends from the ODG. This was only Tower Captain Cyril Crouch's third peal, his last being PB Triples on the treble in 1952! It also celebrated the award of a First Class Honours degree in Medieval History to Jo Knight of the local band.

The band is really looking forward to repeating the event on the new ring! Hopefully it will not be the last peal rung on some at least of the old bells, as three of them are already earmarked to help with augmentations of a ring of 3 to 6 and a ring of 4 to 5 whilst another is likely to be used to augment a chime of 4 to 5.

From Left to Right - Doug Beaumont, Stephen Smith, Roy Woodruff, Jo Knight, Cyril Crouch, Hilarie Rogers, Chris Tuckett, Bob Partridge

This was the first inside and first major for Cyril Crouch and to celebrate Jo Knights achievement of gaining a first class honours degree in medieval history

NOTE: The 5 heaviest of our new bells are being cast on Friday 24th July and the remainder will follow in August of this year.

This year’s branch outing was organized by June Saint and Steve Rossiter, and it took place in Hertfordshire, where Steve learnt to ring.

Seventeen of us went in the minibus, expertly driven by Steve, who - in spite of road works on the M25:- got us to the first church on time: 9.30 am at St Giles, South Mymms .

For those of us who associate the name with the service station on the A1/M25, it was a revelation: a beautiful 800-year old church in a very pretty village, with six lovely bells (11 cwt).

Ian Judd was in charge: we rang Grandsire, Bob Doubles, London and Bob Minor.

The nice young man who let us in complimented Reading ringing.

Next stop was Christchurch (10 bells – 24 cwt), Southgate , which gets its name because it was the south gate to Enfield Chase, formerly a royal hunting ground.

Here we were joined by Wendy and Robin Middleton, Kate Davis, and Steve’s father, Peter Rossiter.

Steve was welcomed as an old friend – this was where he learnt to ring on 10 bells.

They have a lovely deep sound.

Steve was in charge and we rang called changes, plain hunt on nine, Stedman and Grandsire Caters and Yorkshire Royal spliced with Little Bob. Jim Diserens, who had not been feeling well, rang the 24-cwt tenor, and immediately felt much better.

St Mary Magdalene (8 bells – 9 cwt), Enfield , came next.

We were given a warm welcome by Peter Rossiter, the tower captain. Steve learnt to ring here on “lumpy 19-cwt bells” which were replaced about 10 years ago with much lighter bells, which go beautifully.

They were of particular interest to Reading ringers, as they are very similar to the ones that Whitechapel will cast for Shiplake this summer. John Wells was in charge here, and we rang called changes, Yorkshire Major, Grandsire Triples, plain hunt, and Bristol Major.

Underneath the ringing chamber, there is a very pleasant carpeted room where one can sit and watch the bells ringing, on a television screen.

Peter Rossiter very kindly took the group photograph outside the church at Enfield (on no less than six cameras), and we said goodbye to Wendy and Robin, and to Kate. It was lovely to see them, and very good of them to make the long journey for just two towers.

Reading Branch members outside St Mary Magdalene, Enfield: L to R, back/middle row: Robin and Wendy Middleton, Antoinette Jackson, Markus Buss, Jim Diserens, Steve Rossiter, Ruth Hine, Kelvin Britton, Kate Davis, John Wells, James Champion, middle/front row: Lindsey Barker, Viv Bloundele, Bobbie May, Helen Diserens, June Wells, Diana McClure, Julie Champion, and, front row: June Saint and Ian Judd.

Click the image for a larger version of the picture.

We had lunch at The Ridgeway Tavern, which served good food at moderate prices, after rather a long wait – in spite of June Saint having phoned in the order a couple of hours earlier. It made us late for the next tower, St Mary the Virgin (8 bells – 10 cwt) at Monken Hadley, but Steve phoned to warn them, and the outing proceeded without a hitch.

The road to Monken Hadley could be called Millionaires’ Row – large houses with very impressive security gates. The church itself was lovely, with very nice bells. Jim Diserens was in charge. Here we rang called changes, Grandsire and Stedman Triples, and five leads of Surprise Spliced Major.

After a tea-break in Barnet (important, as there’d been no time for coffee or dessert at the Ridgeway), we rang at St John the Baptist (8 bells – 22 cwt) in Chipping Barnet, lovely bells, sound wonderful. There was a stuffed kangaroo on top of the clock cupboard – a memento of the tower captain’s visit to Australia . June Wells was in charge and we rang called changes, Grandsire and Bob Triples, and spliced surprise major: BFLG – Bristol , Belfast , London and Glasgow - nothing to do with a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich.

The last tower was St Nicholas (6 bells – 6 cwt) at Elstree. The local ringer who let us in said that the treble and second bell were “a bit flighty”, and the less experienced ringers (such as myself) wholeheartedly agreed with him, but of course it didn’t worry the good ringers. Antoinette Jackson was in charge, and we rang Grandsire and Stedman Doubles, Bob Minor, and Cambridge.

There was one unfortunate incident, at the end of a lovely day: Markus Buss hit his head as he got into the bus, and ended up with mild concussion – the perils of being tall. The sing-along on the return journey may have exacerbated his condition. We’re pleased to report that he’s now recovered and is ringing bells again.

Apart from poor Markus, we all had a very good time.

Thank you, Steve and June, for organizing a most enjoyable outing.

Diana McClure

This year's outing took us to Devon, for a trip around many of the lovely churches in the Okehampton area. The venues were investigated and booked for us by Roy Smith, formerly Tower Captain of Henley, who must have put in hours of effort prior to our arrival.

There were seventeen of us in the group, including two children - a broad mixture of experienced and novice ringers as well as a few non-ringing spouses, and including ringers from Reading and Shiplake. We were, thanks to Roy, all able to book into the same hotel and adjacent campsite, which made a convenient starting point for our excursions.

The weekend began for us on May 24th, and by mid-afternoon most people had arrived. The weather was typical for Devon, sunny one minute and raining the next, but we are an intrepid lot and, ignoring the threat of a downpour, several of us set off to explore the area around the Meldon reservoir, which is about a mile away from the hotel. This was well worth a visit, as the views from the dam are spectacular and the walks are fairly easy. We returned in time for an early dinner, and afterwards set off for Inwardleigh, our first tower.

The church of St. Petroc at Inwardleigh is quite small but very beautiful, set high on a hill with lovely views across to the edge of Dartmoor. The church boasts a ring of six bells, and a nice Millennium window with some intriguing pictures. We especially liked the one of the fox and bath towel - which we later found out was actually a wolf with St Petroc's cloak. Ah well, it would still make a very good name for a pub. Inwardleigh itself is a small place and it seems incredible that it once had its own school and post office. After ringing, some opted to return to the hotel for an early night, while others set off for the pub. We all managed to make it to breakfast the next morning, after which we set off again for Inwardleigh and another session on the bells - a good opportunity to practice in preparation for the Sunday service. Roy and his wife Judith entertained us all to coffee afterwards, before we made our way to the next venue, Northlew.

The Millennium Window in St Petroc, Inwardleigh. Photo by Mike Romans

Click the image for a larger version of the picture.

St Thomas of Canterbury at Northlew is another beautiful church, very old with some wonderful carvings. There is an amazing rood screen which was restored as a war memorial after WW1. This is worth a visit in its own right - we had fun trying to spot all the birds hidden among the carvings. This church also has six bells, and like all the others we visited that day, the ringing chamber was on the ground floor - which made a pleasant change for us as anyone who has climbed the 52 stairs at Henley will appreciate! By the time we had finished here we were all ready for lunch, despite the enormous breakfast that most of us had had.

The first call after lunch was at Black Torrington, St Mary's church. Six bells and a notable wagon roof, and then on to St Michael's at Shebbear. This is yet another lovely little church, very old and with a ring of six bells. We followed this by a visit to Bradford, All Saints church which dates back to the 12th century and has six bells and an interesting Norman doorway. By this time most people were pretty tired and looking forward to relaxing over a good dinner, which we had at the Crossways Inn at Folly Gate.

The next day was Sunday and we were all up with the larks to be ready to ring for the morning service at Inwardleigh. This was a great pleasure as we were made very welcome by the Vicar and congregation. We then set off for our final tower, which was at All Saints, Okehampton. This fine church, on a hill at the edge of Okehampton, is much larger than the other churches we visited, and has a wonderful William Morris window featuring three pre-Raphaelite angels. We climbed up to the ringing chamber and joined the resident Band in some West Country Change Ringing, which was an experience that none of us is likely to forget. It's hard to describe how awe-inspiring it was - it's probably something that you have to experience for yourself in order to realise how differently they do things, and how good it was. Finally, we were invited to the home of Mischa Thompson in Okehampton, whose late husband Denis was responsible for installing a mini-ring of six bells - the Denmisch Ring - in the garage. This consists of six Saxilby simulators which were fascinating, and much admired and envied by all of us. Mischa would like to open up the simulator to more people, and is keen to maximise its potential as a teaching aid. Anyone interested in visiting her can contact her at mischa@mdthompson.me.uk.

Everywhere we went there was a kindly welcome from the local ringers; it was fascinating to learn of the different ways that they handle the bells in Devon, and quite a culture shock for some of us.

Thank you to everyone who helped us, and especially to Roy without whom it would all have been a lot more difficult.

Good company, lovely scenery and a great chance to extend your experience and confidence. What more could anyone want!

At Inwardleigh from left to right. Joyce Vernon, David Bowyer, Diana Attfield, Ruth Bowyer, Joyce Hynd, June Romans, Caroline Leeming, Roy Smith, Keith Vernon, Pam Cooper, Joan Bennett and Viv Bloundele. Photo by Mike Romans

Click the image for a larger version of the picture.

For any band planning an outing it pays to have members willing to arrange it in their own family heartland. St Giles made use of this, and not for the first time, on our Late Spring outing on 16 May, when local knowledge helped Colin Parker organise a first class lunch and Jill Galloway four towers, in their home territory in Buckingham and, as we understand, with a minimum effort. A bonus for drivers is to be given accurate details of parking facilities for each tower in advance.

Many outing reports comment on the difficulties of access to towers, awkward bells or other problems: no such opportunity for complaint was provided from our visits to Chenies (6), Amersham (12), Chalfont St Giles (8) and Hughenden (8). All the churches are picturesque in their various ways, the ringing chambers well kept, the bells friendly and the locals welcoming. Any weaknesses, it has to be admitted, lay with the visiting band!

Although the date was known well in advance some key members of the band were unable to come, but help from Alan Ainsworth and John Potter at Amersham enabled us to use all 12 bells for part of our time there and ring passable call changes. We were joined by two of the missing regulars after lunch, and thus had enough strength for the eights in the afternoon, with the customary courteous cooperation of the children. Ringing lowlights included failure to complete our current target of 5-spliced Surprise Major at Amersham, but highlights after lunch included a well struck course of Pudsey, 3-spliced and a first touch of Kent Major, rung under protest.

In some years this might be an Early Summer outing, but the fresh wind, and bright sun before a heavy shower (luckily while we were in the last tower) put it climatologically in the Late Spring classification. Whichever it was, the day was thoroughly enjoyed by all, while it expanded the range for the less experienced, and provided new towers for most. The social side was as relaxed as ever (and the organiser’s attitude after lunch is shown in the photo).

James Milford

At Chalfont St Giles, L. to R: Kelvin Britton, Steve Bennett (with Michael); Markus Buss, Chris Barrett (with Joseph), Helen Bennett, Frankie Milford, Kate Davis, Lindsey Barker, James Milford, Sarah Barrett, Ruth Hine, Jill Galloway, Chris Phillips, and, having a well-earned rest after organising the outing, Colin Parker. Photo by Chris Phillips

Click the image for a larger version of the picture.

As eleven bands entered this year they were split into two heats. One was held at Banbury and the other at Adderbury

The six teams that won through to the final were High Wycombe, Banbury, North Bucks, St Aldate, Oxford, EBSB and St Mary with St Laurence, Reading.

Unfortunately the Reading "B" team and the Reading "J" team were eliminated at the heat stage.

The eventual winners were High Wycombe with St Mary with St Laurence, Reading coming a very close second.

For more details of the days events and the full list of scores and placings please go to the Guild website at www.odg.org.uk/newspage.html#competition