Page 8 - Jigsaw January 2021

Community news..............................................................................
Ringing in the new year? Maybe not, but the ringers are ready
This year has been a very peculiar one for the ‘Ringing World’ and as we now draw towards the start of Advent and Christmas celebrations we can hopefully look forward to better times ahead.
Unfortunately, as in so many other towers and churches, the poignant half-muffled ringing for Remembrance was unable to take place this year.
‘I heard the bells on Christmas Day,
Their old familiar Carols play,’
So begins Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s
poem. Reading these first few lines set me on a search to find other literary mentions of Bells on Christmas Day.
Laurie Lee, in ‘Cider with Rosie’ gives a wonderful portrayal of the bells ringing out over the snow-clad Cotswold Valleys as he and his fellow carol singers make their way home.
Then Charles Dickens, at the end of ‘Christmas Carol’ includes the bells in the awakening of Scrooge as he realises it is a new day and a new start for himself.
We very much look forward to the start of ringing again, as soon as Covid regulations and Cof E guidance can be relinquished. It would be wonderful to be able to ring for Christmas but It is looking unlikely.
In a recent national publication, a fellow ringer from Somerset wrote this letter. I think it sums up how most ringers are feeling at the moment.
“Since lockdown, so many people have been denied the pleasure of taking part in an activity for which they feel so much passion. In my case I can’t wait to climb the medieval spiral staircase in the tower of St, Martin at Worle; to stand in a circle with the other bell- ringers with bell rope in hand. The average distance between ringers is 18 inches. At my advancing age, I feel I must have my ‘fix’ before my body refuses to mount the spiral stairs and my brain fails to function.”
Rest assured, we will be back as soon as it is safe to do so.
THRAPSTON & DISTRICT U3A
2021 promises to be a year when our lives may regain some normality, so that we can soon resume our activities and interest groups with a vengeance.
We have a fascinating speaker lined up each month for the first three months of 2021. We hope our members will enjoy! January commences with ‘Wildlife Photography in Sherwood Forest’.
Please check out our website and facebook page for further information.
The instructions for joining Zoom meetings appear in your monthly Newsletter.
Della’s Foot Care Foot Health Practitioner All Aspects of Foot Health Care
Toe Nail Cutting • Ingrown Toe Nails Verrucas • Fungal Infections Callus Reduction • Corn Removal
Call for an Appointment: 01933 652186 Based in Irthlingborough, Open till 8pm Home Visits Also Available
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Best wishes to all of our members.