Thankyou very much to all the organisers who made sure there were enough people at the right towers at the right time, and for an interesting Saturday evening social which didn’t quite go to plan due to the torrential storm that broke over us after finishing ringing on the Saturday afternoon!

Here are a few reports from some of the students:

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I have been learning to ring for just over a year with a great band at Whitwick, who have been patient with me and supported me on my learning journey but recommended I get out and try and ring in other towers, so applied to be part of LDG weekend course. I was pleased to have been accepted but worried when I received the schedule the evening before the course started as I had been placed in a group entitled ‘doubles’ and was not the first group, so worried the course would be too advanced for me, but the weekend was great, and I felt supported in my learning over the weekend – Thank you!

I arrived on Friday evening at Cop Oak and wandered into the hall nervous and unsure, I was approached by the course organiser, Carol who asked me if I would mind moving to the ‘plain hunt’ group as it would even the numbers out, with relief I accepted as felt this was a better level for me. We made our way into our learning groups for a getting to know you session and had a welcome speech from the course director -Mark and then we were off to our first tower.

At our first tower we were met by a great group of helpers, some who were with us just for that evening and the others who stayed with us they whole weekend. These group of helpers, were so helpful, with a nod or a rope swing to help you find your your way through the method but also with their advice and guidance, giving us great hints and tips to improve our ringing styles – thank you! Our Tutor for the weekend gave us one to one guidance, allowed us all to progress at our own pace and tailored the method/teaching to our own needs, he pushed us where we needed to be pushed and encouraged us too – Thank you John, promise I will continue to try and be more dynamic with the rope!!!

We had a memorable Saturday evening social with a beetle drive by our phone lights and a excellent buffet (thank you Carol and team) by emergency lighting only, thanks to the power cut caused by the storm that raged outside. The light (and water) came back in time for the quiz – organised Gail and family – Thank you. We had some great pub lunches, visited 4 different towers (some with great tea and cakes) and the whole weekend was so well organised and really enjoyable. 

I feel like  my confidence increased, I added a few more towers to my growing list of towers I have rung at and despite my concern at the beginning, returned to my own tower for practice, confident to have a go at ringing Plain Bob doubles from the 2nd bell. I look forward to continuing my learning journey and hopefully attending the course again next year. 

Susie Scales

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Arguably the course started for me on Wednesday with a frantic revision of Cambridge minor online during a quiet spell at work. On Friday, we first rang at Thornton. Although the bells had a long draft, Mark Pendery and his merry band of helpers were there to keep us going. I played a touch of Cambridge for the first time that night, which felt absolutely amazing.

The next day, we rang at Belton and Shepshed, I managed to ring Norwich minor and Cambridge major, which was beyond what I’d aimed to do that weekend and felt fantastic. The bells were lovely and all the helpers were full of great advice. On the way back to Copt Oak I got caught in an absolutely biblical thunderstorm, literally everyone was driving at 10 mph! Despite that I still missed the turning to Copt Oak because I couldn’t see it in the hail! When I finally arrived, there was no electricity or water, but with multiple people dashing out in the rain to heat the jacket potatoes in someone’s caravan, we still managed to have a delightful buffet, play giant jenga and do the quiz – which we came second in!

The final day was open ringing at Birstall, I focussed mainly on reinforcing my knowledge of Cambridge and Norwich minor, with a bit of plain bob as well. It was a really fun weekend and I have learned a huge amount that will set me in good stead for years to come.

Jake Harkett

What a brilliant weekend, the weekend surpassed my expectations, in one word the experience was fantastic. In the early stage there was an element of challenge, direction and advice from the course leader and bags of encouragement which was invaluable. I expected to get quite a lot from the course, I have to say the course surpassed my expectations.

The hands on sessions were hugely beneficial with perfect blend of advice and help. Mark the Course leader has a lovely calm manner and advised with lots of encouragement. A huge thanks to all the very experienced helpers. I can’t wait to take my new gained learning to my home tower. The visited towers were varied and very welcoming, overall the course was very well thought thorough, a most rewarding weekend which will pay dividends.

Bob Cosnett

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The course was suggested to help my confidence and skill at ringing. I was in a group of four learners run by Dave and Nicky Carling (and Daisy the dog). Our skills were very similar but Dave and Nicky targeted our individual needs. We rang at three different churches and took turns to ring with experienced ringers on all the other bells. Between ringing we were able to talk to other experienced ringers and ask questions and listen to constructive advice, also pet Daisy the dog.

I felt the course really helped move me forward. Instead of using bell numbers, I can now use place values which I feel will help in working towards methods.

Sue Gosling

I was hoping to get more practice with trebling to plain bob minor, in preparation for learning to ring plain bob inside. By the second session on Saturday I was ringing plain bob minor on the second. The tutors were really helpful and encouraging, and all happy to share their knowledge and experience. I also found it useful to ring at different towers-I hadn’t rung at any of the three towers we visited before this course.

Our group also included a dog, Daisy, who was one of the calmest, well behaved dogs I’ve met, despite loud bells and a thunderstorm. I’m grateful to all of the helpers who were ringing with us, who were also happy to pass on their own tips and advice.

Jen Gosling