Birstall and Wanlip do not currently have their own bands of ringers and the vicar, Rev Amanda Digman, asked if the Leicester Diocesan Guild might be able to help as she’s really keen to have the bells ringing again.

I met with Amanda and the church warden from Wanlip recently and we decided that we’d host an Open Afternoon on Sunday, March 26th. Lots of information was put out on social media and in local newsletters, posters were put up around the area and the event was mentioned during a BBC Radio Leicester interview which had been arranged by Mick Angrave and recorded at Birstall the previous week.

I had no idea how many people would attend, but was pleasantly surprised to see that the church was packed with potential recruits and lots of Guild members who had come along to help with the event.

Following an introductory talk, a demonstration with the church’s model bell and some demonstration ringing on 8, the potential recruits were taken in groups of 3 or 4 and given an initial bell handling session by an ART trained tutor. After being taken through the necessary safety procedures, they chimed a bell and then swung it up to about half way. This gave them the opportunity to get used to the feel of a bell swinging, work out how to hold the rope and develop a nice rhythm and style without worrying too much about the rope flying around! Then they were moved onto a different bell and given their first goes at back strokes. Some also progressed to sampling hand strokes and a couple of teenagers were returning ringers getting used to ringing a bell again. The students ranged from age 6 (a VERY keen little boy with his father) to over 80. All students showed great potential and all of them said they’d like to return for lessons.

As an added bonus, the vicar put on a great spread of drinks, sandwiches and cakes. She confessed to me afterwards that the Bishop had been there the previous day and she’d asked the parishioners to bake extra cakes for our event!

A huge thank you to all the Guild members who came along to support the event. Now the hard work of teaching around a dozen new recruiters begins! All learners will Ring for the King – with the necessary assistance from experienced ringers to enable them to ring for such a special occasion.

Sally