(A follow-up to the peal rung at Bidford-on-Avon and reported in the October Newsletter)
Oh no! the day has dawned: Saturday 14th July. What seemed like a good idea back in December 2011 no longer had the same appeal. Sam (Precious) had wanted to use his ringing as part of his Duke of Edinburgh gold award. He had used it also for the two earlier awards. If this was to be his gold then he really needed a challenge. 2012 was a good year for a peal. We had various good reasons, not least the Jubilee. Our Vicar gave permission for a peal so it was now down to finding a band and more importantly a conductor.
Eventually the date was set and a band was arranged. Having lived in Bidford for nearly 29 years I always had the plan that I might manage to circle the Tower to peals. I only had 2 more bells to ring to achieve this goal. However one of these bells was the Tenor (oh no!). Having broken my wrist some 18 months earlier, would my wrist stand up to this? And my last peal was back in 2002. Would I also be able to stand ringing the Tenor behind to a Doubles method for almost 3 hours? The concentration….!!
Too late to back out now. Surprisingly, once we got started, no
problems. The time went by quite quickly even though I could
clearly see the clock. Towards the last half hour I started
thinking, Come on now, keep the striking right; we're
almost there. Please don't go wrong
.
THAT's ALL!
Hooray we have done it. Well
done, Sam; only your quarter to call.
Thanks go to Martin for conducting. The photograph was taken and it was over to The Bulls Head for a drink. Next question is: do I still try and aim to circle the Tower with only the 6th left? The jury is still out.
Sandra Parker
(Of course you should go for the 6th, Sandra!! You will regret it if you don't. Ed)