Charles "strikes" again.....

[Serial_Apologist]

Stedman Doubles with baby plus extraneous obbligato:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9aPvSl5abs

Never having studied bell ringing, how do they manage to coordinate the pitch changes? Is it to do with the strength of pull on the rope?

[Serial_Apologist]

With Christmas coming up, does anybody remember those broadcasts when they gave us Christmas morning bells from around the country? I always thought that they must have been recordings.
There was always a hook up around the Empire too, or what was left of it --" Come in Mr Ekeoba from Kenya ! " Sometimes an OB unit followed a postman on his rounds while I twiddled my toes round those parcels at the foot of the bed. Happy Days!

One of my most memorable early experiences in life was at the age of 5 or 6 attending the Christmas Day Mattins in the chapel at the Tower of London. It was a sunny, frosty morning _ there were no fast one-way road systems around the Tower in those days (early '50s.), indeed not a murmur of traffic was to be heard - and as we walked the path to the chapel, the carillion was playing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing". I can hear the harmonic overtones in my mind's ear to this day.

[Anna]

Taylor's is still going though was in administration for a bit a year or two back. There's also the Whitechapel Foundry, basically the same company had been in operation on the same site since the 16th? century. Formerly there were also Warner's and Gillett & Johnston - and prior to the 20th century a host of small local founders such as Rudhall of Gloucester. The Penn family (founders of Pennsylvania) were also bell founders at one time

Just looked into the history of our bells. They were recast by Abraham Rudhall in 1706, prior to that overhauled by Rudhall in 1685. In 1953 they were overhauled by Gillett & Johnson and in 1982 retuned by Whitechapel Foundry. The first peal of 5,040 took place in 1791. Gosh. Bell ringing practice is on Tuesday evenings, it's lovely it drifting across and on a Sunday morning. A sixth bell was recast by Pennington, is that to do with the Penn family I wonder, or was he just a local? I think they are in E flat.

[aeolium]

S_A, are you familiar with any of the rings of bells of the churches mentioned in the nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons", which according to wiki is reminiscent of change ringing?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oranges_and_Lemons

[Serial_Apologist]

S_A, are you familiar with any of the rings of bells of the churches mentioned in the nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons", which according to wiki is reminiscent of change ringing?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oranges_and_Lemons

I guess so, superficially, aeolium.

For years I believed that being born within the sound of Bow Bells made one a Cockney. Then I was told it was the wrong Bow Bells...

[David Underdown]

S_A, with each pull of the rope, the bell (usually) turns slightly more than full-circle and can be held just on the balance. There are two distinct strokes: handstroke, where you are pulling on the sally (the wool covered part of the rope); and backstroke, when you are pulling on the tail end. To change the speed, you do change the force of the pull: but counterintuitive you pull less hard to ring faster, since then the bell does not reach the balance on the opposite stroke. You only ever move one place at a time as adjacent bells swap. The simplest method is plain hunt (shown here on four bells, but hopefully you'll be able to work out the underlying principle):

1234 (start in part of a descending scale, 4 would be the tonic in musical terms)
2143 (here you can see 2&1 and 3&4 have swapped)
2413 (this time just 1&4 have swapped)
4231 (now 4&2 and 3&1)
4321 (just 2&3)
3412 (3&4 and 1&2)
3142 (1&4)
1324 (3&1 and 2&4)
1234 (just 2&3, and back to the start)

Ferretfancy, Bells on Sunday is broadcast every Sunday on Radio 4 (unlike choral evensong it goes out in small hours)