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Jack Beaney Trophy
The annual Wotton Branch Striking competition, for the Beaney Trophy, was held on 5th July at Coaley. Six teams entered including ‘composite’ teams made up of bands who can’t either muster enough ringers to make up their own church team or those ringers who are spare. Judging the competition, in the rain, was Rachel Coates from Gloucester. The results were given in St. Bartholomew’s church. They were:
1st Dursley Divas from St James the Great who rang Cambridge Surprise Minor and who, the judge said, ‘made her forget the rain’.
2nd Berkeley and Friends who rang Grandsire Doubles and had a very good finish
3rd Wotton who also had a very nice finish
Joint 4th Abbie’s Invitation Band who rang call changes which improved towards the end of their test piece. (Abbie is a young ringer from Cromhall)
Joint 4th Dursley Desperadoes who rang Grandsire Doubles and also improved towards the end
6th Cam and Coaley rang Plain Bob Doubles and who experienced some slight confusion towards the end.
The Dursley Teams were:
Dursley Divas: Anne Pope; Philip Pope; John Taylor; Ian Unsworth; Jane Bull and Andrew Bull
Dursley Desperadoes: Bernard Bowden; Elizabeth Byrne; Andrew Binstead; Frank Byrne; Jennifer Rogers and Bob Grover
Other Dursley ringers helping out in other teams: Helen Parker and David Hipwell.
Dursley now go on to represent the Wotton Branch in the Gloucester and Bristol Diocesan Association competition for the Croome Trophy next April.
National 12 Bell Striking Competition at Lincoln
On a much grander scale, the National 12 bell Striking Competition was held at Lincoln Cathedral on Saturday 28th June. A report was shown on BBC TV as part of the Sunday Life Program on 6th July. Nine teams had won through to the final after the eliminators. This competition brings together, arguably, the best and most talented bellringing teams in the world. The judging of each team’s performance was undertaken by four very experienced and expert judges. Each team had 15 minutes to practise and then ring the test piece (lasting about 15 minutes) which was the same for each team. There is very keen competition between each team, and one overriding ambition, to remove the dominance of Birmingham
Choral Evensong in the Cathedral saw those being ordained the next day making their legal declarations of loyalty to the Queen and the Bishop during the singing of the anthem, appropriately, considering the occasion, “The Twelve” by William Walton. The results were announced after Choral Evensong, and upwards of 400 people, including the BBC film crew, listened to the judges give their opinions and verdicts on each team.
The results: 1st Birmingham; 2nd Ancient Society of College Youths; 3rd Society of Royal Cumberland Youths; 4th Leeds; 5th St Paul’s Cathedral; 6th York; 7th Stockton-on-Tees; 8th Guildford; 9th Bristol.
Birmingham produced, by far, the best ringing of the day and reign for another year.
Next year’s competition final will be at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, which should give the home team a distinct advantage and displace mighty Birmingham from the top spot. Birmingham have won this competition more times than any other team.
As one Yorkshire person pointed out; ‘There are 3 Yorkshire Teams in the final today’. Perhaps, next year, it might be Leeds.
Should anybody wish to listen to the actual ringing, modern technology makes this possible via: http://www.grimmett.org/12bell/lincoln. Included are the comments made by the judges on each team’s performance and three options;
1) Listen to the ringing as heard by the ringers in the ringing room as they ring.
2) Listen to the ringing as the judges heard it via a link which gives a much clearer and accurate sound
3) Copy it onto a CD
The difference clarity between option 1 and 2 is quite remarkable and there is some question as to the appropriateness of using this method. ‘Hooray’ for modern technology?
Quarter peals rung at St James’
Sunday 22 June, 2008
1296 changes of Cambridge Surprise Major in 46 minutes
(1) Helen Parker (2) John Taylor (3) Jane Bull (4) Frank Byrne
(5) Andrew Binstead (Conductor) (6) Philip Pope
Tuesday, 9 July, 2008 (on the simulator)
1280 changes of Lessness Surprise Major in 48 minutes
(1) John Taylor (2) John Cornock (3) Jonathan Adkins (4) Anne Pope
(5) Elizabeth Byrne (6) Andrew Bull (7) Frank Byrne (conductor) (8) Philip Pope
First in the method for 4 and 5
Sunday 13 July, 2008
1250 changes of Lessness Suprise Major in 46 minutes
(1) Helen Parker (2) Ian Bucknell (3) John
Taylor (4) Andrew Binstead
(5) Frank Byrne (6) Ian Unsworth (7) Andrew Bull (8) Philip Pope (conductor)
For Choral Evensong Frank Byrne