STEEPLE KEEPING

Hello! Happy Sunday :)

I missed writing weekly boat updates , and there's a book inside me about the zen of bell ringing, so this here blog is an attempt to fill that void and document this obsession of mine. Also I want the writing practice — all mistakes are my own, and any typos are artisanal.

So, bellringing. Ringing church bells. WTF? I discovered it in late 2024 after a friend pointed out the practice night in Stratford-upon-Avon, and the moment I realised this was a "a thing," I knew. I knew this was part of my future — it's a very me-shaped activity.

This place will be a weekly update of ringing things (and occasionally other me-shaped things), places I've rung, things I'm learning, thoughts I'm having. ETC!

This week

11:30, I'm sat here by the Monument in London, just having rung for Sunday services in the city and Camberwell before that. And this week was particularly ringing-heavy, with 9 churches in total — Bromley, Bishopsgate, Waterloo, Holloway, central London, Aldgate, Cripplegate, and the 2 churches this morning. I also rang 2 bells up in Stratford-upon-Avon after some belfry maintenance (more on that below), but I'm not sure that counts.

Part of what makes it addictive is a simple idea of ringing your bell in the right place, but actually doing it well takes years. And it's a team sport, not something you really practice alone, which inherently limits how quickly you can progress.

One of my favourite times to ring is at Bishopsgate for their Wednesday lunchtime service, where I get to cycle into the city (another favourite London pastime). For one piece this week I trebled (i.e. rang the first bell, the smallest) to Plain Bob Major (8 bells, and the red line in that link), which, eurgh. Luckily I had an elite ringer next to me helping, but I rely so much on "ropesight" at the moment which makes ringing on more bells harder, and with no tenor behind it often feels messy. I've noticed myself getting better at feeling my place, and the rhythm, but I've still a ways to go...

Then after ringing in Holloway that evening, I caught a train to Stratford-upon-Avon for STEEPLE KEEPING. Even though I moved to London, at this year's annual meeting they named me co-steeple keeper (which I was rather touched by, and besides I'm still rebuilding a boat there), and on Thursday morning the band and I did a belfry cleaning session. Because there's a gap the birds get through, the bell chamber was covered in twigs and dust from the past year.

Then back to London for a music lesson and more ringing. That evening we did Plain Bob Minor (6 bells, I was "inside" the method) which finally sounded okay! That left me on a high, especially after the clusterfuck of a sound I helped create the night before. And a photo from that evening, my favourite so far of me in action:

As an exercise we rang facing outwards to practice listening & feeling your place, instead of relying on seeing the ropes.

And it is a high (maybe I'll call it "The Ringer's High"), where you and the band are on form and ring something that sounds & feels good. And the better you get, the more complicated pieces you can ring for that high (even just ringing "rounds" nicely is satisfying, which isn't a given...). Last Sunday I got to ring in Beccles in Suffolk for their service, and although we only did call changes (i.e., not a set piece of music, but someone re-orders the bells by calling "changes," e.g. if the order is 123456 you might swap the 4 & 5 so the next order is 123546), the vibes were immaculate and we truly got in the zone.

On Friday I went to Aldgate for their practice, and although I felt tired that was lovely (cycling through the city again, in the evening sun!); I rang Grandsire Doubles inside, and to finish I trebled to Grandsire Triples which was lovely. Again, the zone! The vibes!

Then on Saturday I got to ring for a wedding by the Barbican, which was great fun. I was expecting 8, and had made my ringing ability clear, but we ended up being 10 and I had to sheepishly say I hadn't trebled to anything on 10 and couldn't ring methods (and wasn't going to try for the first time lest we crash out), so we did call changes instead which did sound lovely. Ringing for a wedding is one of my favourite things, there's something so very beautiful and wholesome about it. Oh and one of the ringers complimented me on my ringing (I was easily the least experienced there), which was very sweet.

And now, today — the services this morning, and I'm off for more side questing and a bike ride. Many more thoughts to come, and next week it's a striking competition...