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On Friday 30 August 2024, a quarter peal of a brand new method was rung at St Milburga's for the first time. The method, now named Stoke St Milborough Surprise Major, was devised by Martin Scott, who also conducted the quarter peal with a band of ringers from The Hereford Diocesan Guild of Bellringers. Members of the band agreed that the composition used produced a lot of pleasant "music" that made it enjoyable to ring. An excerpt of the performance can be heard by clicking the video below. Thanks to Stewart and Helen Sharp for recording the performance and to Henry Lewis, without whom none of this would ever have been possible. Details of the performance are featured here on Bellboard. 
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Bell ringers around the country participated in a national initiative on or around 6th June 2024 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. At St Milburga's, we rang Rounds and Call Changes and Plain Bob Doubles with our local band from 6:30pm to 7:00pm on Thursday 6th June, before joining the wider community for an evening at the village hall. Further details of this and all the other performances given around the country can be viewed here > bb.ringingworld.co.uk/event.php?id=19031   On Friday 31 May 2024, a peal of Nottingham 8-Spliced Surprise Major was rung successfully at St Milburga's Church with some excellent striking throughout. The methods were Bristol, Cambridge, Cassiobury, Cornwall, Glasgow, Lessness, London & Superlative. Here is a link to the composition that was used Youtube clips from the performance can be viewed below and more clips are accessible in this Google Photos album. Congratulations to all of the ringers involved and especially to Stuart, for whom this was the 700th peal as conductor.
To ring in the New Year, six longstanding members of our local band assembled to ring some Rounds and Call Changes shortly before midnight on 31 December 2023. They were Henry & Sheelagh Lewis; Bill & Sue Rees; and Peter & Sue Cornah. On New Year's Day itself, a Quarter Peal of 1250 Cassiobury Surprise Major was rung by members of the Wednesday morning Surprise Major practice group. For all but one member of the band, this was their first Quarter Peal in the method. The video below is of the back six being rung down following the New Year Quarter Peal.  We are delighted to have our two new training bells in place and ready to use. They were installed this week by Neil Thomas and Julian Ferrar on behalf of Matthew Higby and Co. Ltd Church Bell Engineers and will enhance our ability to teach beginners the initial stages of handling a bell. (The sallies on the ropes are designed with three separate bands of colour, making it easier for the learner to work out where to catch it.) We also plan to add sensors to the training bells, which will enable us to practise ten-bell methods via our Abel simulator when all of the other bells are tied. These training bells are a brilliant addition to our teaching and training set-up at Stoke St Milborough Bell Ringers and if anyone wishes to come and give them a go, do get in touch. Footage of one of the training bells in action: www.youtube.com/shorts/NpJQ9uwCTw4   Our 'Ring for the King' band performed Rounds and Call Changes between 10am and 10:30am on Saturday 6th May, just prior to the King Charles III's Coronation Service.
The band were (L-R): Sue Rees; Bill Rees; Catherine Evry; Ashley Smith; Henry Lewis; Camilla Lewis; Astrid Davies; Katherine Askey. Special congratulations to Catherine and Camilla, for whom this was the first performance with a full band of ringers.  Many thanks to everyone who came along to try out bell-ringing at St Milburga's this afternoon (Monday 8th May 2023). We had a cohort of enthusiastic participants who had a go at pulling in their backstrokes on our tied fifth, and some of whom also enjoyed climbing up the ladder to view the bells. Tea and cakes kept everyone well fed and watered, and there was a great community atmosphere to the event. We hope that those of you who expressed an interest will continue to explore the possibilities that bell-ringing has to offer as a lifelong hobby, and we will welcome you back any time to continue your journey.
Ashley Smith Coronation Weekend Introduction to Bell-Ringing Over the course of the Coronation Weekend, you will undoubtedly hear the bells ringing out from many of the local church towers, most probably on Saturday 6th May, the day of the Coronation itself. If you’ve ever wanted to know more about this peculiarly English art and to find out how we are trying to keep it going for the benefit of future generations, you are most welcome to come along to St Milburga’s Church in Stoke St Milborough for a taster session from 2pm to 4pm on Monday 8th May. Henry Lewis will be present to give you a go at handling one of our new bells, and Ashley Smith will be able to take you up the ladder to view the bells in situ, as long as you have a head for heights! You can find out more about the story of our bells on our website www.stmilburga.co.uk and if you wish to come along for this taster session, please make contact with us through the site or by emailing [email protected] Participants can be aged 11 or over, but those aged under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Please also let us know in advance if there are any particular medical issues of which we should be aware, and remember to wear comfortable clothes and flat shoes! Tea, coffee and cake will be served, and there is no charge for the session. Donations to the church are, of course, always very welcome. We look forward to hearing from you. Ashley Smith  |
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