Dear all,
Once again it’s time for the monthly roundup of news from your Lewisham District – a few days early this time because of the PPBM on Saturday.
Spice and Spliced at Bromley!
It was great to see so many people once again at the March District practice – the Friday night format seemed to be popular with 21 ringers arriving in the tower, and 14 making it to the end of the night in the curry house. Ringing included Stedman, Plain Hunt, Plain Bob, Grandsire, Call Changes, London Minor and Major, and some Spliced to finish. Thanks to Tom for making all the local arrangements.
Practice Plus Business Meeting – this Saturday
The next Practice Plus Business Meeting will be held at St Nicholas’ Chislehurst this coming Saturday, 1st April, 1000 until 1215ish. We’ll hold the Business Meeting in the church during the practice, for which the agenda is:
- Apologies for Absence
- Record of any members lost since the last meeting
- Adoption of the Minutes of the last meeting held at Hayes (draft attached) and any Matters Arising
- Election of new members (details and requirements can be found here)
- County Rep Update
- 120 Club draw
- Any Other Business (please notify David in advance of any significant items)
We’re delighted that the Rector of St Nicholas, the Rev Dr Jonathan Bauer, will be joining us at the end of the meeting to bless the beautiful peal board which has been commissioned by Lucy in memory of her husband Mark Jones, who died in 2011 from a rare form of cancer at the age of just 36. Mark learnt to ring at St Nicholas, rang his first peal there and is buried in the ancient churchyard at the West end of the tower. The board which will be installed at St Nick’s shortly will be a lasting tribute to a fine ringer and a great friend to so many of us.
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There’s no District practice in May, because it’s…
Competition time!
The District call change and striking competitions are to be held on the afternoon of Saturday 20th May at St Mary Cray. Full Rules for each competition are at https://kcacr.org.uk/lewisham-district/lewisham-district-competition-results/, but here are the headlines:
- Striking comp: 240 changes of any recognised Doubles or Minor method. Individual band members’ names need not be submitted in advance, so rule 8 will not be applied.
- Call change comp: 120 rows; about 12 calls; maximum of three ringers in any band who have previously rung a peal. Rules 5, 15 and 16 will not be applied. Any band who “normally” rings together is welcome to enter.
If you’d like to enter a band for either or both, please just email us – no later than Saturday 6th May – Coronation Day! Don’t forget to include the name of your tower and which of the competition(s) you’re planning to enter.
Firsts and Footnotes
March’s highlights so far, from BellBoard:
- First quarter peal in the method – Svetlana Sokolova, 1320 Kent Treble Bob Minor at Bexley
- First of Stedman – also Svetlana, 1296 Triples at Bromley
- First Surprise Royal inside – Steph Runting, 1282 Yorkshire at Maidstone (not strictly in the District I know but a noteworthy achievement nonetheless!)
- First in the method and completes the Standard 8 Surprise Major to quarter peals – Becca Hardy, 1280 London at Bromley
- Circled the tower to quarter peals as Conductor – Rupert Cheeseman at Bexley
Happy 16th birthday to Fraser Storie, marked with a quarter peal at Hayes, and congratulations to Dickon Love on ringing his 1,700th peal.
That’s all
Please keep talking to us – you can get in contact any time by email . We hope to see you at Chislehurst on Saturday!
Best wishes
Ruth & Nigel