Do I sound like a broken record? This may be the last time I post about a quarter peal with 6 bells, as we have now almost all managed ringing one. The last time I post will be when Karen is part of the band, or a new (as yet unknown) member rings a quarter with us.

But we rang a new quarter peal today! This was exciting for a couple of reasons, besides just the thrill of ringing a quarter peal.

First, this was the first time Maggie has rung a quarter peal, ever. The first time is always cause for celebration.

Second, Maggie has been on vacation for a few weeks. She returned for a week, but has been gone essentially since 6 August. But having been gone for so long, she just stepped in and rang a quarter peal tonight. So it seems we can ring a quarter peal pretty much at will now. Which also feels like an accomplishment.

The quarter peal is listed on BellBoard.

Sadly, I neglected to photograph the band.

For the past few weeks during our normal rehearsals, we have been considering ringing another quarter peal. This would be a band of 3 people on 6 bells: Andrew on the trebles, Randy on 3, 4, and Jane on the tenors, conducting. But rarely (if ever) have we had those three together with no one else, so have not attempted the quarter during our regular rehearsals. (After all, when a ringer comes to rehearsal, they are really not interested in watching someone else ring a quarter peal. They want to ring!)

So, we scheduled a Saturday in October to make the attempt. Originally scheduled for October 20, we discovered that we could actually all meet on October 6! This was due to Andrew not being able to travel as originally planned, due to the recent hurricane in the Carolinas. So we met at Jane’s house this morning. We blocked out 2 hours to make the attempt.

The first attempt was about 10 minutes. There were a couple of bobbles which somehow resulted in bells 2 and 4 getting switched! Rather than try to make it right, Jane stopped us. After all, is it really official if we made such a mistake during the attempt? I don’t think so.

After a small break, we had another go, and this time we were successful! 41 minutes of ringing, and we all have another quarter peal under our belts.

For Andrew, this is his second quarter in hand, and the first in North America. Also the first on trebles.

For Randy, this is his fourth quarter in hand, and otherwise not special.

For Jane, this is just one of many quarter peals she has rung in hand.

My hope is to ring a quarter on 8 soon. Stay tuned! (Do people still say that?)