News and information 2008
December
We
wish our ringers and ringers everywhere (especially our friends in
Harare) a Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year. Thank you to
all who have rung our bells week in, week out, and to those who have
visited our tower during the year.
Sunday service ringing over the Festive Period will be as
usual. There will also be ringing at 11pm Christmas Eve for the
Midnight Mass service at 11.30pm, also at 10am for the Christmas
Morning service at 10.30am and at 12 noon on New Year's Day.
THERE WILL BE NO PRACTICE ON
FRIDAY 26 DECEMBER (Boxing Day).
Sunday
21 December. The following is part of a message sent to
our ringing friends in Harare, Zimbabwe.
"We wish you to know that we are thinking of you all at this festive
time as far as we are concerned, though whether you are all able to
regard it as such we do not know. Anyway Christmas greetings to
you and all the other ringers and their families and friends."
Sunday 14 December. We are delighted
to welcome a new grandson for one
of our ringers John Horsfield.
Charlie John Horsfield arrived at 3.04pm today weighing in at 7lb 1oz.
Congratulations to John and to son John-Paul and daughter-in-law
Helen. This is especially
good news bearing in mind the sad death of John's wife Enid earlier
this year (see under February).
Sunday 7 December. One of our
ringers, Sue Calvert, participated in the Santa Run on the promenade to
raise money for Ty Gobaith, Hope House, childrens' hospice. Over
600 'Santas' turned up which must have been quite confusing to the
youngsters watching, but they raised a lot of money for these good
causes. Sue herself contributed £150 by her
sponsorship. Well done Sue.
Sue (right) with her
friends Sonia and Lucy who also took part in the 'run' from the pier
end to the paddling pool end of the prom.
November
Wednesday 26 November. The
handbell team visited one of our former ringing members Brian Blythe
who following a stroke, is being looked after at the Convent of Mercy
Nursing Home in Colwyn Bay. Seasonal tunes were played with some of the
residents singing along as well. We finished the visit by ringing a
couple of tunes for Brian in his room and we were pleased that his wife
Betty was able to join us.
We wish Brian well and hope for an improvement in his condition.
Left to right: Brian,
Betty, Stan Whittaker, Linda Fraser, John Horsfield, Ann Mills, Carolyn
Ratcliff, and Robin Marsh
Saturday 22 November.
Five of our tower members joined members of
the NWA (Gwynedd & W Clwyd) Branch on a day's ringing at Hope,
Farndon, Holt, Eccleston and Buckley. A very pleasant day and a good
turnout.
Saturday 15 November. The
handbell ringers provided entertainment at the Parish Christmas Fair,
playing seasonal tunes outside the church. There is another
photograph on the parish Holy Trinity Events 2008 page.
October
Friday 31 October. One of our ringers Gillian
Blackwell
with her newborn grand daughter Katie Ffion Ashton who weighed in at
9lb 10oz. Congratulations to Gillian and to daughter Carol and her
husband.
Sunday 19 October. Last Sunday's quarter peal attracted
the attention of quite a number of people in the town at the time it
was being rung including "Oscar" who has a website blog called
www.thoughtsofoscar.blogspot.com
Whilst some people have an idea who "Oscar" is, nevertheless it seems
he continues to remain anonymous. His site is really quite interesting
with his thoughts on lots of things which happen in Conwy County with a
number of organisations and individuals being on the receiving end of
his critical comments. Fortunately he seems to like bellringing
and his comments last Sunday were very critical of a "yob" who made an
inane remark in the direction of the bells. The story appears
under the heading "Speechless" and Sunday's date 12th October.
Sunday 12 October. Members of the Bangor Students' Society
of Change Ringers (with NWA) rang a quarter peal of 1260 St Clements
College Bob Minor for evensong. The ringers were, Peter Cox 1, Ron
Miers 2, Donald R Marshall 3, David Raggett 4, Garry Peel 5, Jason M
Walker 6 (C). First in the method 5. First in the method as
conductor 6.
Just over 18 months ago, Brian Blythe,
one of our "senior" ringers
suffered a stroke and became hospitalised. He was then
transferred to a
Colwyn Bay nursing home where he remains to the present day. Brian
cannot move without assistance, or even speak, but he can still see,
read, hear, and understand, as local ringers Stan Whittaker and John
Horsfield found when visiting him last week.
Brian became a ringer in about 1978 at Smarden in Kent and subsequently
joined us in Llandudno a few years ago when he and wife Betty moved to
the area. Whilst a member of our tower Brian and Betty
celebrated their
Golden Wedding Anniversary in March 2004 and we were delighted to ring
a quarter peal for them and four other couples who were celebrating
Ruby Wedding Anniversaries. We all wish Brian well and hope that his
condition will improve.
The photograph here was taken in Holy Trinity's ringing chamber on the
happy occasion of Brian and Betty's Golden Wedding anniversary.
September
Monday 29 September. Members
of the Isle Valley Youths started their 'Tour of Wales 2008' at Holy
Trinity. A quarter peal of 1280 Plain Bob Major was rung.
The ringers were Mandy Spearing 1, Liz Rendell 2, Eddie Hancock 3,
Lynne Smith 4, Bruce Hicks 5, Janet Wyatt 6, Terry Spearing 7, Patrick
Rendell 8 (C)
We hope you all enjoyed your visit to Wales and Llandudno in particular.
Wednesday 17 September. We
received an email from Ruth Hutchinson in Harare. Despite the
possible encouraging signs about power sharing in Zimbabwe, our friends
at Harare Cathedral are still unable to ring the bells there and so the
'lock-out' continues. We extend our good wishes to the ringers
(particularly for their personal safety), and hope that a satisfactory
solution will be found at an early date.
(For the background to this issue, please see
information under July and August)
Saturday 13 September. The
North Wales Association striking competition took place at Christ
Church, Prestatyn. We
entered a team ringing a touch of Bob Doubles, and came a creditable
fourth after Bangor, Buckley and Mold. The team was David Jones, Lynn
Ferriday, Elizabeth Curtis, Martin J Brown, David Raggett and Stan
Whittaker.
Saturday 6 September.
Three members, tower captain Stan Whittaker, John Horsfield and Gillian
Blackwell attended the Ringing World Roadshow held at Stoneleigh Park
in Warwickshire. An enjoyable and interesting expereience with
lots to see. We also met friends from other towers and amongst
the trade stands visited, we were pleased especially to see Brian and
Diana White and Graham Clifton of Whites of Appleton (the
bellhangers
who carried out Holy Trinity's re-hang
in 2002), and Big Wilf
(Grove)
and wife Cherie who have visited Holy Trinity tower on a number of
occasions.
August
Saturday 23 August. We
welcomed members of the Exonian Society who were on their annual tour,
this year to North Wales. We hope you all enjoyed your visit to
this area and to Llandudno in particular.
A quarter peal of 1250 Yorkshire S Major was rung in
44 minutes by: Judy A M Howard 1, Lesley A Tucker 2, P Wendy Campbell
3, Judith M Reading 4, Susan M Sawyer 5, Simon J Reading 6, Graham P
Tucker 7, Ian L C Campbell 8.
The Exonian Society bellringers.
Sunday 17 August. We have
noted with
concern the item in a recent edition of the Ringing World outlining the
current situation of our ringing colleagues at Harare Cathedral (see
below). Our
tower captain has made email contact with his opposite
number there offering support and a donation to help. (The latter has
now been sent).
We hope to remain in contact and to monitor what is
happening, and also to let our friends there know that we are thinking
of them in their difficulty and
are extending our best wishes for a swift solution.
July
A letter sent from Harare which appeared in the Ringing World
(July
25th 2008)
News from Harare Cathedral
I am the Tower Captain at Harare Cathedral and would be glad if you
would give publicity to this report of what has happened to my Deputy,
an African. I am writing with his approval, but think it wise not to
publish his name.
The background, which has had a lot of publicity in the National Press
as well as the Church Times, is that in August 2007, the then Bishop,
Nolbert Kunonga, decided without due authority to remove the Diocese of
Harare from the Province of Central Africa, which comprises Malawi,
Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The result of this was that Kunonga was sacked
and later excommunicated, by the then acting Dean of the Province. A
retired Bishop, Sebastian Bakare, was appointed to act in his place.
On February 3rd. 2008, Bishop Bakare was consecrated at the Sports
Stadium. This venue was chosen because the numbers of people who wanted
to attend would have overwhelmed the Cathedral. It was planned that he
should subsequently be enthroned in the Cathedral. As Feb 3rd was also
the AGM weekend of the Zimbabwe Guild of Bell Ringers, a team of
ringers was waiting to ring for the arrival of the new Bishop. This was
not to be as the former Bishop, Kunonga, together with his wife and a
group of thugs, locked the Cathedral, invading the tower and driving
out the ringers. The Cathedral has remained locked ever since. The
bells, including the tenor, had to be left up, and some ringers did not
have time to collect their things. Amongst these was the Deputy Tower
Captain who left his jacket. In the pocket was his Ringing World diary,
his ID, and US$250 which he had managed to get hold of for a new
passport. He is a cross border trader, for whom these documents are
essential.
In April he decided to try and ask for these documents to be returned.
He approached one of the Kunonga priests still attached to the
Cathedral, who passed him onto to others, all of whom put him off with
excuses, such as we do not have the keys to the tower. This was untrue
as Mrs Kunonga had taken the keys on Feb 3rd and they had in fact
already broken into the tower and removed all the ringing documents.
Finally on the fourth or fifth attempt they said he could come in. He
was sat down on a concrete seat, and four thugs appeared. He was then
questioned with the ex-Bishop watching. Being asked why he had a diary
from England, why he was a ringer, and what was his relationship to
Ruth Hutchinson, who was known to support Bishop Bakare. They then
started to hit him and kick him after he had been knocked to the
ground. They threatened to kill him if he ever came near the Cathedral
again, or saw me. When they let him go he managed to stagger to report
to the police, who so far have taken no action.
This young man spent the next two weeks at home in bed, unable to see
with his left eye and convinced he was going to be blind. He had
multiple bruising and a grossly swollen hand which had been trodden on.
His wife sold their refrigerator in order to have money to go to a
doctor about his eyes. The doctor charged very little and with this
medical care his sight is now back to normal. But he has been unable to
carry on his business for three months.
Ruth Hutchinson
Tower Captain. Harare Cathedral
Zimbabwe
Monday 7 July. On
Monday evening a half muffled quarter peal of 1260 Plain Bob Doubles
was rung by members of the North Wales Association of Bellringers
(including three of our own bell ringers), in memory of the Rt Revd P
Anthony Crockett (23 August 1945 - 30 June 2008), Bishop of Bangor 16
July 2004 - 30 June 2008, whose Requiem Mass and Funeral took place at
Bangor Cathedral earlier in the day. Requiescat
in Pace.
The ringers were: 1 Lynn Ferriday, 2 Ron Miers,
3 Elizabeth Curtis, 4
Martin J Brown (C), 5 Tony Diserens, 6 Stan Whittaker.
May
Friday 30 May. A
quarter peal of 1260 Grandsire Triples was rung to celebrate the end of
the Bangor University academic year and as a farewell compliment to
those students not returning next year. The ringers were: Ron
Miers 1, Alison Greenhalgh 2, Tony Diserens 3, Donald Marshall 4,
Martin J Brown 5, Garry Peal 6 (C), Tim Hollinghurst 7, Stan Whittaker
8.
Two students, Garry Peal and Tim Hollinghurst, regular visitors to our
tower, were included in the band, and this was Garry's 75th quarter
peal.
Saturday 17 May.
There was a Branch Striking Competition at Prestatyn. The
Llandudno team, which came third, is shown in the photograph
below.
Back row (l - r):
David Raggett (C), Lynn Ferriday, Stan Whittaker, Jason Walker.
Front row: Ellen Jenkins, Gillian Blackwell.
We were also pleased to play host to a group of bell ringers from the
Frodsham area of Cheshire on this day, led by Duncan Hyde. We
hope you enjoyed your visit to North Wales towers and Llandudno in
particular.
Wednesday 14 May.
Tower Captain Stan Whittaker gave a talk about bellringing to
members of the Probus Club of Ormeside, Llandudno, at their monthly
luncheon meeting. He had been hoping to recruit one or two new
members
but no takers so far!
Sunday
4 May. A quarter peal of 1260 Grandsire Doubles was rung
for Evensong and to mark the 21st Llandudno Victorian Extravaganza
Festival. The ringers were:- Lynn Ferriday 1, Jason Walker 2,
Stuart Raggett 3, David Raggett 4 (C), Thomas Raggett 5, Stan Whittaker
6.
March
4 March. James
Whittaker arranged and conducted a quarter peal of 1260 Grandsire
Doubles at St Petrock's Church, Exeter, in memory of Enid
Horsfield. The
bell ringers were 1 Naomi Jolliffe, 2 Richard Johnson, 3 Maff Glover, 4
Tom Hinks, 5 James Whittaker (C), 6 Robert Dietz. James has been
a
student in Exeter and is currently domiciled there.
February
29
February. The funeral took place today of Enid Horsfield
and the bells were rung half muffled before and after the
service. The bell ringers were Stan Whittaker, Gillian Blackwell,
Elizabeth Curtis, Sue Calvert, Linda Fraser and Ellen
Jenkins. A good number of fellow ringers and friends joined
family members for the service.
Later a quarter peal of 1260 Plain Bob Doubles was rung half muffled in
memory of Enid and to celebrate her life. The ringers for this were:-
Lynn Ferriday 1, Jason Walker 2, Elizabeth Curtis 3, Garry Peal 4,
David Raggett (C) 5, and Stan Whittaker 6.
We were pleased that John (Enid's husband, himself a ringer), daughter
Nicola, son John-Paul, and other family members and friends were able
to join us at the end of the quarter peal. The bell ringers and
Enid's family are shown in the photograph below.
Please see below for a tribute to Enid Horsfield
21st
February. We were all saddened
to learn that Enid Horsfield passed away earlier today - she had fought
her terminal illness with great courage and our
sympathy and thoughts are with John and the family at this time.
May
she rest in peace
and rise in
glory.
16
February. Several of our members attended the AGM of the
North Wales Association (Gwynedd & West Clwyd Branch) held this
year at St Margaret's Church (The Marble Church), Bodelwyddan. Sadly it
was not well attended generally but members enjoyed ringing followed by
a short service of evensong, tea and the meeting itself. Tony Diserens
(Bangor) continues as Ringing Master, Tim Hollinghurst (Bangor) takes
on the role of secretary vacated by Michael Bridges, and Stan Whittaker
(Llandudno) continues as treasurer.
10
February. For Evensong, the North
Wales Association of Church Bellringers rang a Quarter Peal of 1320
Cambridge Surprise Minor. The bell ringers were: 1.
Ron Miers, 2.Martin J Brown, 3. Tony Diserens, 4. David Raggett, 5.
Garry Peel (C), 6, Tim Hollinghurst.
January
Last updated: January 2009.
Archived: January 2016.