Lewisham District – March update

Dear all,

Welcome to March in your Lewisham District…. the clocks will be going forward soon and then it’ll nearly be summer!

Bells, Beer and Curry – Saturday March 9^th

Three of the favourite things in the life of many bellringers (well, mine anyway! N ) – and on Saturday March 9^th we invite you to experience some of the very best of each.

4.30 pm open District Practice at Christ Church, Spitalfields in London – all welcome. These bells are a really superb 17cwt ring of eight, easy to ring and hopefully a real treat for ringers at all levels. The church might possibly be open at the West Front but we’ve been asked PLEASE not to enter that way. We need to meet at the iron gates at the back of the church along Fournier Street, roughly under the “u” indicated by the green arrow on the map below. We’ll leave someone at the gates for the first half an hour or so of the practice to meet any latecomers and escort them up the tower – any problems on the day just call or message Nigel on 07850 801764 and we’ll come and find you. There are toilet facilities available in the church.

6.45 pm – drinks at the Pride of Spitalfields

8.00 pm – curry at Muhib in Brick Lane

A couple of important notes – please read this bit!!!!

1. We printed the start time incorrectly on the pdf calendar we sent out last month – sorry about that. It says 5.00 on the pdf but as above ringing actually runs from 4.30 – 6.30pm
2. Please remember to bring a couple of pounds with you in cash so that we can leave a respectable donation to the tower fund at Christ Church. Gift Aid envelopes will be available there
3. The practice and pub are open to everyone without pre-booking, but if you want to come to the curry then you need to book your place by mid-day on Wednesday 6^th March please  – just email  or send us a WhatsApp on one of the numbers below to let us know if you’re coming.
4. Traffic and parking around Brick Lane can be a bit chaotic – nearest stations are Liverpool Street, Aldgate East or Shoreditch High Street, each about a 5-10 minute walk from the church.

Any questions please just let us know – if you’re not sure whether to come or not then yes, you should!

Bits and pieces

What a great turnout for the February District Practice at Farnborough – 30 people came along to ring at the newest and lightest ring of bells in the District, with successful touches up to Bristol Major. Thank you to Nick for making the local arrangements for us, and to the Change of Horses for hosting a very pleasant and relaxed lunch for those who stayed on.

Once more the 2024 calendar of Events is below – please make sure all your ringers have seen it, and print it out and pin it on to the tower noticeboard as well! The dates are all on the County website calendar too.

The County AGM is to be held at Rainham in the Rochester District on Easter Monday, 1^st April. Please keep an eye on the Association website for further details.

A reminder that both the Call Change and Method Striking Competitions will be held at Crayford on the afternoon of Saturday 11^th May – full details and revised Rules to follow in the April Update, but please have a think about whether your tower will be able to enter either or both of them.

Mary R Andrews

We were saddened to learn of the death of Mary Andrews on 4^th February at the age of 87. Mary had rung at St Mary’s, Bexley, since the 1950s and was Tower Captain there for much of that time. She also served as secretary of the Lewisham District for an extraordinary 40 years, before retiring in 2003 and she was an elected Vice President of the Association. Her funeral is to be held at Bexley at 2pm on Tuesday 5^th March, with a wake to be held afterwards in the Church Hall. Quarter peals have been rung in her memory at Chelsfield, Bexley, Crayford, Ripon Cathedral and Horton Kirby. Rest in peace Mary.

Firsts and Footnotes – from February

Other than the quarters for Mary, February was quite a quiet month! There was one tower bell peal in the District, at Sidcup, and only a handful of quarters. Nevertheless… congratulations to Tom Hinks for conducting his College Road band through the longest handbell peal yet rung for the Association, 8864 Kent TB Major in 3h 50m. Well done to Daniel Oates for ringing his first quarter of Grandsire Triples inside, at Eltham; and to Peter Norwood and Svetlana Sokolova for their first quarter of Spliced, in 3 Minor methods at St Mary Cray. Ann Saunders and Dave Gyles rang their first quarter of February Doubles, at Crayford, and Svetlana’s birthday was marked with a quarter of Cambridge Minor at St Mary Cray (after a few short but spectacular attempts for Norwich). Best wishes were sent from the Bromley band to His Majesty the King following the announcement of his illness. We send our condolences to our District Chairman David Holdridge and his wife Ruth following the death of Ruth’s father Will Harrison at the end of January. Quarters in Will’s memory were rung at Kensington and Eltham.

That’s all

You can contact us any time by email  . We really hope to see you at Spitalfields, or elsewhere, very soon.

Nigel and Ruth