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The
final peal of 5040 changes, rung on five bells before the
new sixth bell was installed, was undertaken on Saturday 1st
December 2001. The ringing lasted for two hours, thirty-five
minutes and was conducted by Ray Martin on the fifth bell.
On the treble was Patrick Biggs, ringing in his first peal;
second bell was John Hunt; third Kate Hand, also ringing her
first peal; and fourth bell was Claire Johnson. We rang a
combination of four methods - Plain Bob doubles, St Martins,
St Simons and Grandsire - each method consisting of 1260 changes.
Ringing a peal is quite a challenge, and has not been undertaken
on Lubenham bells by local ringers since August 1987! But
once we had settled down to the ringing we enjoyed the challenge,
suffering only minor blisters and aching arms. It is good
team work and certainly good for stimulating the grey matter!
Needless to say, after standing for that amount of time and
concentrating to such an extent, we were happy to repair to
the local hostelry and imbibe some liquid refreshment.
The new sixth bell arrived the following Thursday and was
left on display in the church over the weekend. Various comments
were made regarding its size: some thought it was small, others
considered it to be large, but all agreed it looked very impressive
and the golden colour of the metal was of particular interest.
Before it was cast there had been a considerable amount of
deliberation over the inscription; eventually it was decided
that, since so many people had kindly contributed to the bell
fund, the inscription should reflect this generosity. Therefore
on one side of the bell are the simple words, "All Saints'
Ringers and Friends".
The
bell hangers stayed with us for around a week working on the
installation, ably assisted by Frank Cook, Patrick Biggs and
Don Johnson. By providing their labour these three saved us
a total of £668.00 on the final cost, for which we give grateful
thanks. Some of the time they were handling cold steel and
heavy lifting gear, and it must have been a nightmare as it
is very cold at the top of the tower. But stalwarts they were,
and they never complained: they even said they enjoyed every
minute, fmding the work and learning the mechanics to be very
interesting! I admire their fortitude, as once or twice when
I venture up the old, almost vertical, ladder I found the
gale-force wind through the louvres cutting and certainly
an inhospitable environment, from which I hastily retreated.
They did all agree that the worst part was looking down through
the trap doors as they hauled up the bell. That point was
my cue to make the coffee!
On
the following Friday a group of us rang a few methods to try
the new bell. We were delighted with the sound: it really
did round off the five bells. We are now looking forward to
the dedication service and continuing to ring our bells on
a regular basis. We have a lively group of all ages and at
all stages and what is very encouraging is the way the 'young
bell ringers' are progressing. Having said that, there is
always a welcome for anyone who wants to learn and provide
the continuity of ringing in the village.
Finally, let me apologise if, for a while, we clatter the
bells more than usual! Counting up to six will take some getting
used to and I shall have to use the fingers of both hands!
Hopefully we shall soon have mastered the art of ringing six
bells and the many more challenging methods to use.
Have
you ever thought of coming to join the bellringers, instead
of sitting at home and enjoying the sound? We always welcome
new ringers, regardless of age and experience: at the moment,
one of our number is just seven years old, and the age range
goes right up to 84! We practise every other Wednesday evening;
next time you hear the bells, let them draw you along to the
church to find out more.
Claire Johnson
February 2002
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