Tag: #callingitround

Is #bellringing the pursuit of aimless joy?

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

I was reading an article about how a woman and her child walked round and round in circles in the deep snow like Winnie the Pooh and Piglet.  It had no purpose, barely counted as exercise and once more snow fell they’d do it all again.  Sometimes for over an hour.  #bellringing can be a bit like that.  We can go ringing, be it practice night, a quarter peal or peal attempt, a training day or service ringing.  Sometimes #bellringing can have no real purpose but we do it anyway.  When the child was asked why she was trudging in circles in the snow for ages, seemingly pointlessly, her simple answer was because it’s fun. #bellringing can be like that too!

Ask people who make sand sculptures, or balance stones, why they do that when they know their efforts will be lost to the elements, and they’ll tell you that it helps them shed stress, entertain others and in some cases “mess with people’s heads”.  #bellringing can be like that too! Once we’ve rung our bells, the sound is lost for ever (unless you’ve recorded it and uploaded it to YouTube). It was transitory; there and now gone.  But we do it for the fleeting joy of the activity itself.

We can spend a lot of time obsessing over personal goals and problems, feeling the weight of expectation and the fears that go with them.  #bellringing can trick us into take a break from all of that.  I often consider it therapy after a bad day at the office.  To be able to do something physical, that requires my full attention, and stretches my brain.  It can become a meditation, a moment to be in the present.  When we ring with others we can feel that we are part of something bigger but it’s equally as transient as our few moments or hours of #bellringing itself.

When we think of #bellringing vanishing into the larger scheme of space and time, along with any method mistakes we may make, we needn’t be afraid to try a new bell, a new method, have a go at conducting something for the first time.  In the few moments that follow, it becomes ephemeral and consigned to history.

Calling it Round – Bryn Reinstadler

Image by Fuzz from Pixabay

Not content with bringing the world the virtual #bellringing platform Ringing Room which has been an absolute saviour for many when we were unable to ring real bells, one half of the developer team, Bryn, has now given us the first few chapters of a new “book” entitled Calling it Round, a guide to learning when, how and what to call touches of simple methods.  Best of all it’s free and available at https://callingitround.cccbr.org.uk/

Calling and conducting is something that I don’t get to practice too often.  Generally, there are only one or two people who call touches in our tower, or even for a plain course it tends to be the same person.  And I have to say, men!  I’m not hyper feminist, but why can’t the calling be shared out more?  Why can’t some of us women do it?  The research in https://www.womeninringing.info/ demonstrates the gender imbalances in #bellringing that need to be addressed. I have called touches, and even a few quarter peals of Plain Bob Doubles.  I have called a touch of Grandsire Doubles once, with someone standing behind me, nudging me when to shout “Bob”.  I have called Bob Courses of Grandsire Caters or Cinques but only from the treble because it’s easy to see when the treble is in thirds on the way to the front.

I can call “Go” and “Stop” for things, but don’t get the opportunity, so have built in some hesitancy about knowing when to say “That’s all”, especially for Surprise methods as I’m never sure when to say it during the dodge. I cannot conduct though.  I don’t know what the coursing orders should be, I can’t see what other bells are doing, I only just have a handle on what my bell is doing.

I have tried to read other books on calling and conducting but as they are all text, I find them hard to follow and the tone and language can sometimes be hard to relate to.

I say “book” but this new variation is available on line only and not intended to be released in print, although there are some calls for that. The great thing of it being available on line is that there are interactive elements.  After distilling some theory in an interesting and easy manner, your understanding is then tested by some multiple choice questions, videos to watch with questions afterwards and exercises to complete.

This new resource takes it right back to the basics of even how to say “Go”, “That’s all” and “Stand”.  When the calls should be made but also how to say it, speaking clearly and how voice pitch has an impact on the effectiveness of the call.

Subsequent chapters look at simple touches, learning how to call a quarter peal, conducting by way of checking the ringing, coursing orders and lots of other resources to help with understanding compositions.

The final sections on choosing the touch whether for practice night or Sunday service ringing, placing bands, giving guidance and handbell conducting give supplemental skills that every Tower Captain, aspiring Tower Captain, or person asked to call a piece a ringing should read and take note of.

I have made it known, on several occasions, about my desire to call more touches and of different methods, but also just to say “Go” and “That’s all” for plain courses.  This seems to have fallen on deaf ears over the years.

With this easy to use “book” I will work through the exercises to increase my understanding, knowledge and confidence at calling.  I may never reach the dizzy heights of becoming a Conductor, but at least I’ll be able to say “Go”, “That’s all” and “Stand”.  I will continue to push to be given more chances to put it into practice.