Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath precerd to the roote …..
Thane longen folk to goon on pilgrimages ….
And specially from every shires ende
Of Engelond to Reddynge they wende
The joyous handbelle ringinge for so seke
That them wyth joye hath fill’d whan they were seeke.

And so commenced the 2014 Handbell Day with quarters a-plenty to be had. Another miracle of engineering by June and John Wells making sure that all had the methods they wanted in the pairs that they required. This year we happened to be a little short of good conductors and so the method level was not as advanced as it has been in the past and Grandsire Caters took a nose dive. However, we came to the end of the day with roughly the same degree of success, namely two thirds of the quarters were successful.

Thank you, Jenny and Trevor for the loan of your home: we had even more people this year with an increase of youngsters keen to learn to ring handbells, some of them before they had tried tower bells. Thank you, the kitchen staff who once again came up with the goods, though without June Saint badgering us we were a little tardy with the meal, while hungry ringers looked on.

In the main it was the same old faces minus a few experienced ringers and plus some new faces to add their talents. It is a Guild Day but we frequently get the support of ringers outside our area and some from a very long way away.

Successful quarters were:

1440 Oxford T. B. Royal – Liz O’Brien 1-2, Patricia Newton 3-4, Tom Hinks 5-6 (C), Katharine Firman 7-8, Ken Davenport 9-10.

1312 Kent T. B. Major – Chris Tuckett 1-2, Helen McGregor 3-4, John Wells 5-6 (C), James Champion 7-8.

1280 4-Spliced S. Major (C,Y,N,R) – June Wells 1-2 (C), Jack Page 3-4, Chris Cole 5-6, Robert Newton 7-8.

1282 Cambridge S. Royal – Angela Darvill 1-2, Ken Darvill 3-4, Graham John 5-6, Tom Hinks 7-8 (C) Neville Parkin 9-10.

1250 Yorkshire S. Major – Patricia Newton 1-2, Helen McGregor 3-4, Jack Page 5-6, Robert Newton 7-8 (C)

1280 Oxford T. B. Major – Marcia Dieppe 1-2, Katharine Firman, 3-4, Janet Menhinick 5-6, Tim Pett 7-8 (C)

1215 Stedman Caters – Anne Parkin 1-2, Angela Darvill 3-4, Ken Darvill 5-6 (C), Robert Newton 7-8, Neville Parkin 9-10.

1344 Yorkshire S. Major - Chris Tuckett 1-2, Patricia Newton 3-4, Graham John 5-6 (C), Peter Felton 7-8

1344 Plain Bob Major - Margaret Chapman 1-2, Lucy Bailey 3-4, Chris Cole 5-6, Jack Page 7-8 (C)

1264 Plain Bob Major – Peter Bevis 1-2, Katharine Firman 3-4, Ken Davenport 5-6 (C), Mary Friskney 7-8

1360 Kent T. B Royal – Robert Newton 1-2, Helen McGregor 3-4, Ken Davenport 5-6, John Harrison 7-8, Jack Page – 9-10 (C)

1280 Yorkshire S. Major – Patricia Newton 1-2, Katharine Firman 3-4, Graham John 5-6 (C), Jenny Page 7-8

1260 Grandsire Triples - Hilarie Rogers 1-2, Margaret Chapman 3-4, Peter Felton 5-6 (C), John White 7-8.  First in hand in method 1-2 and 7-8.

1344 Plain Bob Major – Marcia Dieppe 1-2, June Wells 3-4, John Wells 5-6 (C), Peter Ellis 7-8.

1250 Yorkshire S. Major – Marcia Dieppe 1-2, June Wells 3-4, Katharine Firman 5-6, John Wells 7-8 (C)

1344 Plain and Little Bob Major – Peter Bevis 1-2, Helen McGregor 3-4, Graham John 5-6 (C), James Champion 7-8.

1264 St Clement’s C. B. Major - Peter Bevis 1-2, Helen McGregor 3-4, Katharine Firman 5-6, Ken Davenport 7-8 (C).

1344 Kent and Oxford T. B. Major – Liz O’Brien 1-2, Patricia Newton 3-4, Janet Menhinick 5-6, John Wells 7-8 (C).

1344 Plain Bob Major – Hilarie Rogers 1-2, Anne Parkin 3-4, Jack Page 5-6, John White 7-8 (C).