My brother has recently eloped, and we have been trying to get a quarter peal round for the last couple of weeks. Our string of frustrations is a good way to encapsulate the progress of our ringing over the last few months.

(We have had a long period 'off-blog' in 2012, as our software reconstruction got held up by a broken arm.  This also had a detrimental effect on our various handbell projects, although it didn't stop our handbell ringing completely.)

Step back to the 28th of March, when we got an email from my brother saying he was going on 'vacation' with his fiancee and (soon-to-be) step-daughter.  As it happened, Josy was coming round for some ringing that very evening - a perfect opportunity to knock off a quarter peal of Plain Bob.  Well, some cancelled trains and the late cold start prevented the necessary concentration, so we gave up and had a play with some Cambridge.

The next day was 'the day' and also was the Easter Service at our primary school, in which the Handbell Club was doing its first public performance.  Our nine school ringers regaled parents with rounds on 8 and 10 as they entered the school, and then, after a nerve-wracking wait, performed some round and call changes to the Assembly.  They held their nerve very well, and let me video them briefly, which I emailed to my brother (I had promised him bell ringing).

Pass a few days forward, and we are practising some of the 41 Surprise Minor with Jonathan.  This happened to be a longish quarter peal length, and would have done the job, except that we didn't quite come round.  Still, it was a useful practice, and we felt that a peal attempt on all 41 was not beyond possibility.

Roll on this morning, and Jonathan arrived, armed with hours of DVDs, and the full day cleared in his schedule.  Some eight (or possibly nine) attempts, several chocolate cupcakes, a lunch break, and numerous cups of tea and coffee later, we gave in.

Instead we rattled off a nice quarter of Cambridge:

Scottish Association
Glasgow
1 Albany Quadrant
Saturday 7 April 2012 in 32m
1320 Cambridge Surprise Minor
1-2   Tina R Stoecklin
3-4   Jonathan S Frye
5-6   Simon J Gay (C)
Congratulations to Paul and Alison Stoecklin, married on 29th March in Savannah, Georgia, USA.

(view this quarter on Campanophile)

The children deserved a medal for behaving through a whole day of ringing, but they got cupcakes instead.