Hello! Bell towers this week? Only 6.

For most subcultures I imagine people figure out how to make them competitive (e.g. the spreadsheet nerds have the Microsoft Excel World Championship, and if you're into hobby horsing there's a championship for that, too). Bell ringing follows that tradition, with striking competitions. Yesterday was the Middlesex 6-bell competition in Hackney, in which I rang for 2 towers (ironically on the same day as the national 12-bell in York; "the" striking contest, the bell ringing olympics, etc.).

This was my 3rd competition, and the first in Downe last month was great fun — we came 2nd (out of... 3), but it was a beautiful day with gorgeous company, and I got to explore Charles Darwin's house. The second, an 8-bell competition in Enfield, felt like a disaster (although we came 5th out of 6); I was exhausted after an 04:30 start for hot air ballooning and trains into London on a hot day. But it's all good fun, and a wonder we all get to do this weird thing anyway.

Before this however, I went to ring in Alcester for the first time on Thursday evening. I absolutely love visiting new towers — meeting a new group of people, trying new bells, seeing a new place. And what a lovely group; if there's anything I'm prepared for it's launching myself into a crowd of strangers armed with a smile and a hello. The bells were lovely, too — a ring of 8, re-cast by Taylor's in the late 1940s (similar to Stratford-upon-Avon, an excellent vintage) with metal from the previous bells. And it was nice they could ring something different with me there — I trebled to Bob Triples! They also had a monitor with a live feed of the bells which was cool, I've only seen that once before.

And there's something funny when people ask how long you've been ringing, as they have a general idea of how long it takes to learn something when you practice once or twice a week. And this time when I said 1 year, she was a little surprised, and then she realised oh, you're an addict...

Friday was ringing free (I sanded and epoxied bathroom shelves), but then, Saturday! SATURDAY! I competed for 2 different towers, including the first entry at 1pm, Bishopsgate. We rang Plain Bob Minor, myself on the treble, and it seemed to go okay! A few hiccups, and a kerfuffle in the last section which screwed us a bit, but we settled down and hit the vibe; we got into that rhythm, it was lovely. We came 6th with 70.25 "points" (i.e. faults, the fewer the better). Something I hadn't appreciated which John (captain of Bishopsgate) takes seriously is sportsmanship. They won the last 2 years (they're a good band — I'm the newcomer!), and it's boring if the better bands choose easy methods to win. The judge even mentioned this; he went to a different competition down south where only 4 towers entered because everyone else couldn't be bothered — they chose easy music to get the most marks. So for us we pushed the boat out a little, and it was great to have 10 entries.

With the 12-bell competitions it's different — you're given a set piece to ring, so everyone is judged on the same thing. And this is York performing yesterday, the winning team:

Just delightful.

Anyway the other team I rang for was the novice band from St. James Garlickhythe (i.e. the Royal Jubilee Bellringers, or RJBs, or Garlickhythe), and we came 2nd out of 3. Not ringing a method, but call changes, and "A Novice band shall be one in which no more than two ringers have rung a quarter peal or peal to a method on an inside bell (i.e. bell which rings the stated method, rather than plain hunting)." according to the rules. The RJBs actually had 3 entries, and their team B won with only 35.25 points.

And at the end we did some general ringing, where for the first time I tenor'd to Grandsire Caters, i.e. bonging at the back. Getting into a consistent rhythm on any number of bells is nice, but on 10 and 12 there's something magical about the group vibe coming alive, and ringing heavy bells is a whole wonderful dance unto itself. The tenor at Hackney is "only" 828kg, but I'm working my way up. I rang at St. Magnus the Martyr for service this morning, on the tenor, which is 1,363kg. The heaviest in London is 3,125kg which is a big step up, but I'll get there — it's a ladder with many tenors in-between.

And now that the competition is over where I had to qualify as a novice, I am free to go ring quarter peals on the inside...

Until next Sunday!

- Nick