Bradfield Ringing Course (England)

Having just returned from the Bradfield Ringing Course(August 15-18 in Berkshire, England), I thought I'd write a few words about the experience. Thecourse offers several levels of instruction, from bell handling up toconducting. I was enrolled in the Plain Hunt group, which they plan torename Foundations for Method Ringing. The overall approach is perhapsbest described by this excerpt from an email received today from the tutorof my group: Thank you for your wholehearted enthusiasm and willingness to throwcaution to the winds and go for something out of your comfort zone! Whilethe principles of Plain Hunt were described and practiced, that was notthe sole focus. We werealso instructed in such things as how to read a blue line, what a dodge is andhow it's executed, what long fifths are, and how the Plain Hunt can be expandedto become Treble Bob Hunting. Each group had a contingent of helpers thatcould form a band of experienced ringers, with each student given theopportunity to have a go at these techniques with a tutor standingbehind. There were also numerous opportunities for extra sessions thatpeople could attend at will on a host of topics such as ropesight,place-counting, bell handling, rope splicing, handbells, calling call changes,raising and lowering in peal, etc., presented by personalities suchas Steve Coleman. And being in England, ample provision wasmade for "tea and biscuits" at regular intervals. Thecafeteria food at Bradfield College, where the course was venued, wasreally quite fine, and accommodation in college dorm rooms was spartan but certainly adequate.

One of the most exciting aspects of the course was theopportunity to ring at numerous different towers in rural Berkshire,Oxfordshire and Hampshire. It was wonderful to visit these small yethugely historic churches, many of them dating from the 12thcentury. Some had ringing rooms on ground level, one even hadthe ropes in the center of the transept raised in a "spider"when not in use; others up stairs that make the steps of my home tower, Trinity Wall Street,seem like a ballroom staircase. (As an aside, it was heartwarming tome to see that each of these churches had a small but beautiful pipeorgan.) Each ringing room and each set of bells had a unique "personality", and the experience definitely hones and improves one's handling skills.

I returned from the course feeling greatly enriched by theexperience, but also with an awareness that taking the course has notcatapulted me into the next level, with Plain Hunt solidly in the bag. I've come to realize that ringing simply doesn't work that way; it's likelearning a musical instrument, or a language, and progress is only made withpractice and over time with instruction. What the course did provide thoughwas an opportunity for extended instruction and focused practice, thusproviding a set of tools to help build a solid foundation inpreparation for method-ringing. It also provided a wonderfulexposure to the social dimension of ringing, which is surely one of itsprincipal attractions and which makes it such an enjoyable pursuit.