It has been too long!

Some news – we recently welcomed a new ringer to our group. She has rung handbells in a church choir for many years (and is talented in many other ways). But this is her introduction to change ringing. Welcome Twyla! So far she has made it to one rehearsal, and that wasn’t tonight.

But tonight we had 4 ringers: Andrew, Becca, Jane, and Randy. Becca has not been ringing with us for long, and is most comfortable ringing the tenors in Plain Bob major and minor. Tonight she decided to branch out and ring the 3/4 position. We started with simple course of Plain Hunt until she was comfortable with that, with Randy on the trebles, Andrew on 5/6, and Jane on the tenors. We then taught about dodges and lead ends for this pair. By the end of the night, we rang a complete course of Bob major with Becca on the 3/4 pair! We collectively decided that this was an accomplishment worth remembering.

Between attempts of Bob major, Jane, Andrew, and Randy decided to ring a touch of Bob minor. Randy on the trebles, Jane on 3/4, Andrew on the tenors and calling. We rang a fairly simple touch (essentially Bob at home 3 times), but rang quite quickly. Quickly enough that it felt much like a tower, needing to anticipate your ring place without the ability to wait for previous bells to ring. It was very exhilarating!

All in all, a very nice evening of ringing.