On Saturday the 15th July Ailsa and I (Evie) we went to The Croft in Steventon to the New Ringers Session.
When we got there, we went to a white tent where we got assigned into groups. There were a lot of the people there I didn’t know but they were all kind and friendly. The lady who was running it (Katie Lane) gave us a little chat (about the wider ringing community and the structure of the Guild) and then we all went to our first activity group. We were in group 3. We did hand bells first. We each had half an hour in each activity.
When doing the hand bells, we were divided into 3 and we each had 2 bells. I had the 7 and 8. To start off we did rounds then we did dodging with our own bells, then dodging with our neighbour, which was much harder! (Evie was very excited to be able to ring the heavy bells for once!)
Evie on Handbells
Next, we did the mini ring. The mini ring is portable bells. At first, they were hard to control but then it got easier. On the tiny bells we did rounds and call changes. So far so fun. (Again, Evie was able to ring the ‘big’ bells!).
Evie on the Mini Ring
Last but not least was the talk about the words that we didn’t know. A lot of them I knew the meaning but towards the end there were some that I didn’t know. There were even a couple Ailsa didn’t know! (This was a useful section on ringing terms that you hear but don’t necessarily understand).
There were four kids including me. None of the kids were in the same group as me. My favourite activity was the mini ring.
I am so happy that I was invited I had such a good time. Thank you.
Evie (Age 10), Ringer from Stewkley.
(Additions in italics by Ailsa).