Page 24 - Oundle Life May 2023

LET THE BELLS RING
for the new King
Bell ringers traditionally ring to mark important local and national events. Around the Oundle area, we ring regularly for Sunday services, for weddings and funerals. Bells were rung in 2022 to celebrate the Queen’s
Jubilee, in recognition of the Queen’s
passing, and for her funeral. So
there will be lots of ringing over
the bank holiday weekend in May,
to celebrate the King’s Coronation.
Many of the villages around
the Oundle area have bells in the
church, but some of them are not rung regularly, either as they are unable to be
rung, or do not have ringers. So towers such as Warmington, King’s Cliffe and Nassington, who do have ringers, cover a number of churches.
With the date for the coronation of King Charles III set for May 2023, bell ringers across the UK have been planning how to ring for this occasion. Unfortunately there are not enough bell ringers to make sure all the bells can be rung at the same time.
There are about 6,000 sets of bells across
the British Isles, totalling nearly 38,000 bells, but there are only some 30,000 bell ringers. To encourage new ringers for the coronation, a national “Ring for the King” recruitment drive was undertaken in late 2022. Since that time there has been a lot of publicity in both the national and local press, and some 1,700 people have come forward to learn to ring.
Bell ringing is a traditional skill that anyone can do, as it just requires some co-ordination. Ringers come from all walks of life and
range from aged 10, through teenage years, universities, to those in there 80’s.
Some learn to ring when they are still
at school, perhaps as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. Others learn later in life when they find they have more time to spend, or after moving to a new town or village and wanting to pick up a new hobby. It is good exercise as well as a social team event, as tea
and cake or a drink in the pub often follow our ringing.
So what attracts them? For some it is a vocation – to be of service to the Church or Community. There are those who appreciate the unique music of a well-struck piece. The mathematics or intricacies of ringing complex methods, and the mental stimulation that it brings, fascinates many ringers. Others relish the physical challenge of being able to control a bell that may weigh over a ton. And, for ringers around the world, there is the sense of companionship and shared purpose.
If anyone is interested in learning to ring, although it is too late to learn for the coronation, please contact Hilary Hardie, 01780 783855, or Hilary.hardie@btinternet. com. More information on learning how to ring can be found on www.cccbr.org.uk/bellringing/learn/
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