St. Davids Diocesan Guild of Bellringers - Guild Practices and Meetings

St. Davids Diocesan Guild of Bellringers

Next Guild Event

Guild Practice

St Mary the Virgin, Pembroke 2-4 pm

Saturday 8 August

The Pembroke ringers are delighted to welcome the Guild back for the first monthly practice since 2018! If you haven't tried the ten beautiful bells here yet after their restoration and augmentation this is an ideal opportunity.

Ringing details - Rounds & Call Changes, Plain Hunt, Grandsire & Stedman Triples & Caters as well as Plain Bob on 5, 6, 7, & 9. Special Method - Yorkshire Surprise Major.

Additional information

The Guild practice is on the last day of the church’s fundraising event ‘Welsh Week’. There will be some art and craft displayed in the church including some bell inspired pieces by Carmarthen art student Saffron Lewis. The church will be open for tea, cake and freshly baked welsh cakes from 10am until 3pm, but bellringers can have tea and cake after the practice as well. Proceeds will go towards church maintenance.

There is a toilet in the church. The church yard will be open and is a nice place for a picnic.

There are several carparks, all shown on Google Maps. Parking in the Main Street is for an hour only and there is often a traffic warden on duty on Saturdays.

Pembroke has lots of cafes and pubs but if you want to be sure of getting lunch in a nice one, it’s a good idea to book e.g. Cafe Rose https://caferose.wales/ and The Old Kings Arms Hotel (the hotel has a car park at the back).

If you didn’t experience the bells before restoration, check out Pembroke’s Bell Restoration website before the practice so you can appreciate what they have been up to over the last few years https://pembrokebellrestoration.wales

Monthly Guild Practice

Attendance at our monthly practices has been good; Sketty 15, Nevern 32, Llandovery 20.

Sketty was a bit of a trek for most members of the Guild, but I appreciated the support of

those Guild members who came, & thankful to Sketty for hosting the practice.

At our practice in Llandovery I was pleased to welcome 2 new ringers to our

Guild, Clive & Suzi, who rang with us. They were recruited in time to Ring

for the King.

At the Llandovery practice we rang lot of rounds & call changes, Plain

Hunting, Plain Bob, Grandsire, Double Oxford, St Clements & 2 touches of Cambridge

Surprise Minor.

A first was Glynis (Nevern) ringing the treble to a touch of Grandsire Doubles. Well done!

Prior to our Guild Practice in Llandovery we rang a Quarter Peal of Grandsire with Claire

Alexander, Peter Hayward (c), Helen Cox, Stephanie McGrath, Anne Bunker & Stephen

McGrath. This was dedicated to Llandovery’s Ring For the King.

Many thanks to Guild members for their continuing help & support.

Overview

At the start of last year our Guild was able to ring the first Quarter Peal on the new 10

belltower at St Brynach, Nevern. We rang 1,296 changes of Plain Bob Caters lasting 45

minutes; dedicated to mark the Platinum Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth

II. Further dedications were made by Bellringers across the Diocese, notably for the Jubilee

Weekend in June.

Little did we know that in September we would be mourning the Monarch’s death. We did

this in unison with belltowers across the Diocese. The bells were 'muffled'.

Once the period of Mourning was over, bells were rung joyfully un-muffled to celebrate the

accession of King Charles III, then his crowning.

Monthly Guild Practice

Attendance at our monthly practices has been good; Nevern 24, Llandysul 22, Llansteffan

23, St Florence 21, Tenby 29, Llandovery 18, Llanbadarn Fawr 23, Haverfordwest 16,

Cardigan 17, St David’s Cathedral 32. The more the merrier, but we also do need the

support of experienced ringers as well.

11 ringers came to an Advanced Practice at Llansteffan, including ringers from outside of

our Diocese.

Jubilee Ringing

13 Guild Rings celebrated Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee, so 95 bells were rung..

Death of Queen Elizabeth II

12 Guild Rings commemorated the death of Queen Elizabeth II, so 107 bells were rung.

Coronation Ringing

13 Towers Rang to celebrate the Crowning of King Charles III & Queen Camilla, so 66 bells

were rung.

Recruits

Across the diocese we continually look for lapsed ringers & new ringers.

I don’t have a central record of how many ringers returned to Ring For the

King. Haverfordwest welcomed 2 returning ringers & 1 learner.

6 Bell Striking Competition

Saturday 13th May was a glorious day to hold our 6 bell competition in the iconic village of

Laugharne. The weather was warm & sunny which played its part in making the atmosphere

of the competition welcoming & enjoyable.

We had a record breaking 9 bands competing for the Shield.

Nevern ringers, who joined the Guild this year, entered 2 teams, as did Carmarthen.

The judges for the competition were Nigel & Judith Doyle from Sketty. All bands rang the 20

whole pulls, before and after the test piece, well. The judges were thanked for their very fair

& positive comments for all bands to take home, even if they didn’t get into the top 3.

Deserved winners of the competition were Carmarthen, followed by Pembroke then

Laugharne. Laugharne who, as hosts, also excelled in providing such a fine tea-spread for 50

people, which is also another record for attendance at a monthly meeting.

Peals: 3

Quarter Peals: 13

Memorials: Phillip Rogers, a long standing member of our Guild sadly passed away, for

which a memorial was rung at his home tower, Pembroke. Memorials were rung to note

the passing of David Davidson at Carmarthen; and Henry Caldecott in Llandovery.

Publicity: I have written many pieces published in Pobl Dewi, the Diocese Quarterly News

Paper.

Many thanks to Guild members for their continuing help & support.

Saturday 13th May was a glorious day to hold St David’s Guild of Bellringers 6 bell competition in the iconic village of Laugharne. The weather was warm & sunny which played its part in making the atmosphere of the competition welcoming & enjoyable.

This was the first competition that I have organised & the feedback I have had is that it went well. We had a record breaking 9 bands competing for the Shield.

I was particularly pleased that Nevern ringers, who joined the Guild this year, not only entered 1 but 2 teams.

The judges for the competition were Nigel & Judith Doyle from Sketty. All bands rang the 20 whole pulls, before and after the test piece, well. The judges were thanked for their very fair & positive comments for all bands to take home, even if they didn’t get into the top 3.

Deserved winners of the competition were Carmarthen, followed by Pembroke then Laugharne. I was delighted by this result particularly for Laugharne who, as hosts, also excelled in providing such a fine tea-spread for 50 people, which is also another record for attendance at a monthly meeting.

I am sure, a good time was had by all.

Many thanks to Guild members for your continuing help & support.

Stephen

27th May Open Day for St Marys Pembroke at St Davids Cathedral

On 27th May the St Davids Cathedral ringers are kindly hosting an open day for us, to raise funds for our bell restoration project. It would be lovely if you could come along and help. You will of course be able to ring the Cathedral’s beautiful bells! 11am to 4pm. Your help is needed with ringing demonstrations, showing people the bells, selling raffle tickets, collecting donations, talking to people about bells and bellringing. Let Anne know if you can come.

Ring for the King

Throughout the country plans are being made to Ring for the King on the Coronation of King Charles III on 6 May 2023.

For hundreds of years church bells have rung out, not only to call communities to worship, but also to celebrate special occasions, in remembrance of others & to signify special events. They are part of the soundscape of the UK. In June 2022 we all celebrated Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee with the sound of bells. Bells also rang out with a muffled sound throughout the nation as a mark of respect at her passing in September 2022.

Following the announcement of King Charles’ Coronation, we want to recruit more ringers so they are trained in time to Ring for the King.

On Saturday 11th March 2023, between 14:00 & 16:00 ringers from across the St David’s Diocese are practicing at St Mary’s Church in Cardigan. If you would like to see this ancient art then come along. Interested in learning to play the largest instruments in the world? You could enrol at Cardigan or any other ringing towers. Alternatively, please contact Diocese Ringing Master, Stephen McGrath, on stdavidsguildriningmaster@gmail.com or his mobile 07775 705 290.

I wrote an article about Bell Ringing in the Diocese across the year, also seeking to recruit more Bell Ringers. It has been published in the December edition of Pobl Dewi.
The link is below.

https://stdavids.churchinwales.org.uk/en/pobl-dewi/the-largest-musical-instruments-in-the-world/

Steve

Yesterday, Saturday 10 September 2022, we had a Guild Practice at Llansteffan. The bells were fully muffled except the tenor which was half muffled. The muffles were loaned for the day by Haverfordwest and were put on the clappers by many volunteers from the Guild who had no reservation about getting dirty (I have to add that Llansteffan bells were not very dirty at all, particularly in comparison with Haverfordwest) then ringing.

After the practice, Haverfordwest’s muffles were taken off and replaced by muffles loaned by Pembroke. The generosity of other towers who offered to loan muffles was much appreciated, notably Nevern, St David’s & Cardigan.

I was delighted that 27 ringers came to the practice, ringing Rounds, Call Changes, Plain Hunt, Cambridge Surprise Major, touches of Grandsire Triples, Stedman Triples, and Plain Bob Major. It was particularly pleasing to ring with the 4 Llansteffan ringers who were self taught and had not rung with the Guild before. Refreshments provided by Llansteffan was much appreciated.

On the Friday, before the practice, I wrote an article for the Western Telegraph about what we were doing to mark death of our Monarch. Their photographer came to see us ringing at Haverfordwest. A link to the article online is below & should be published in the Western Telegraph in the coming week. Online there are also articles about Pembroke, including the need for donations to get the bells ringing again.

https://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/21250546.live-pembrokeshire-honours-late-queen-elizabeth-ii/

Pictured are Stephen McGrath, Mike James, Gavin Sharp, Peter Seal, Sam Ryland & Stephanie McGrath

This was our sombre photo; happy ones are also available.

Bell Restoration, St Mary's Pembroke

For further details, follow the link

Haverfordwest, St Mary's Church

Thursday, 30 January 2020 in 45 minutes (10-3-15)

1260 Grandsire Doubles

1 Penny Mackenzie

2 Richard Bedford

3 Michael Hart

4 Richard Coomer

5 Peter Hayward (C)

6 Stephen McGrath

Rung as a tribute to Mrs Helena McGrath, mother of Stephen McGrath, for her 90th Birthday.

1. First Quarter Peal

4. First in Method & Inside

From the Christmas Tree festival at St Florence

The dedication of the new ropes at Llanelli

Open invitation to join the Llanelli band, to attend the dedication of the new ropes and muffles on the 16 June 2019. Format for the afternoon is as follows:-

Open ringing 4.00 - 5.30 pm

Dedication at 5.30 pm

Service touch and ring down

Evening Service at 6.00 pm

All are most welcome

Results of the 6 bell striking competition held at Laugharne

Firstly a huge thanks to all our ringers from the Guild Officers for supporting this annual event, we had a fantastic turnout, such a pleasure to see so many with so much enthusiasm.

To the band of St Martin's for hosting the event and providing us with a sumptuous tea.

To our adjudicators Nigel and Judith Doyle for a sterling job, their comments will be supplied at a later date.

Here are the results of the day:-

1st place - Carmarthen who rang call changes with 25 faults

2nd place - Haverfordwest who rang Grandsire Doubles with 26 faults

3rd place - Pembroke who rang Grandsire Doubles with 41½ faults

4th place - Laugharne who rang Plain Bob Doubles with 60½ faults

5th place - Llanbadarn (2) who rang Called Changes with 94 faults

6th place - St Florence who rang Called Changes with 134½ faults

7th place - Llanbadarn (1) who rang Called Changes with 148½ faults

8th place - Llandovery Scratch Band who rang Called Changes with 235 faults

The collection made during the tea for the Bell Restoration Fund came to £69.85, thank you to all for your generosity.

St Mary’s Haverfordwest Shows Solidarity with Notre Dames

Following the devastating fire at the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris on 15th April, Prime Minister Teresa May and the Archbishops of Wales, Canterbury & York and have asked for bells at churches and cathedrals across the UK to ring out in solidarity on Maundy Thursday 18th April for 7 Minutes at 7pm.

During Holy week tower bells are not normally rung, however, as requested Haverfordwest St Mary’s rang to show solidarity with Notre-Dame. The bells were rung for 7 minutes at 7pm and then we fired the bells 7 times. Firing bells is where all the bells are rung at the same time to create a loud crash of sounds, which is a way of marking a significant event.

Pictured behind Steve McGrath, Tower Captain, are from left to right, Samantha Ryland, Jason Prytherch, Michael Hart, Stephanie McGrath & Richard Coomer.

12/08/2018 6 Bell Striking Competition

Firstly we have to thank our two judges, Sue Gomm and Malcolm Johns from Brecon, for braving the appalling weather and heavy traffic to come to Tenby for our postponed striking competition.

After the problems we had earlier in the year getting any bands to enter, we had four tower bands in the rescheduled competition. The judges commented that all the ringing was of a high standard and that the final placings were close. The results were:

1st Haverfordwest 4.5 faults

2nd Carmarthen 8 faults

3rd St Florence 32 faults

4th Pembroke 42.5 faults

With the resurgence of ringing at Haverfordwest, they have entered the competition for the first time in many years. Special mention must be made of the performance by the St Florence band, half of whom have only learned to ring in the past few years, who came a well deserved 3rd.

Steve McGrath being presented with the shield by Sue Gomm

Ringers Wanted!

Are you a lapsed ringer, living in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire or Ceredigion? Or have you wanted to learn to ring: to join a wonderful social circle while supporting your local church and continuing a British heritage spanning nearly 400 years? We want to hear from you, warmly welcoming both past and present ringers AND new ringers aged from 12 to 80+! Please contact your local tower directly or email our Guild Secretary, Dawn Howells.

01/08/2018 - Pembroke Tower 'Open Event' 4th August 2018

The open tower event on Saturday 4th August 2018, is part of St. Mary’s Church flower festival to commemorate the end of WW1. The event will last for 2 hours. During this time there will be a talk in the main church, two demonstrations of bell ringing and visits to see the bells and the ringing chamber. Pembroke Tower 'Open Event' runs between 12noon and 2pm and there will be ringing demonstrations at 12.30pm & 1.30pm with a talk on bell-ringing in the church at 1pm.

Guild members who are able to help 'on-the-day' will be more than welcome!

27/07/2018 - A 'First' for Lanarthne

Society of Ancient Llanarthne Youths

Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire

St David

Wednesday, 25 July 2018 in 2m (8 in A)

48 Dusty Bob Minimus

John Bellamy

Barbara Fewster

Liz Cruwys

Chris Tough (C)

A multi extent block of Dusty Bob Minimus (-14-14.12.14.34 le 12 1423) has been rung for the first time.

11/07/2018 - Philip Brenan, St Davids

It is with sadness that we notify you of the passing of Philip Brenan on 14th June, after an unfortunate accident whilst on holiday His funeral was on 4th July and the St Davids Band rang half-muffled. The Guild officers remember and thank Philip for his service to both ringing and his church. We send our condolences to his family and friends, and may he now Rest In Peace and rise in Glory

06/07/2018 - Alan Regin MBE, A Story Worth Reading

With 11th November fast approaching, and the attempt by ringers across the UK to mark the 100th anniversary of the cessation of hostilities in 1918, we thought you might like to read Alan Regin's story about his mission to mark the death of every ringer killed in WW1. A great read through the link, plus some wonderful photos

https://www.essentialsurrey.co.uk/celebrity-interview/for-whom-the-bells-toll/

02/07/2018 - Haverfordwest Peal for our Guild Chaplin

This saturday a successful peal was rung both to mark the retirement of Rev Nicholas Cale, Vicar of Haverfordwest AND to mark the ordination of the St Davids Guild Chaplain, Jim Flanagan as Assistant Curate to Pen-Bre today at St David’s Cathedral. Congratulations to Fr. Jim and all concerned with the peal.

Saturday, 30 June 2018 in 2h 57

Haverfordwest, St Mary the Virgin

Tenor: 19–3–16 in E♭

5040 Grandsire Triples

Composed by J J Parker - Parker’s 12 part, 7 obs

1. Alwyn R Lewis

2. Barbara R Fewster

3. Robert E Hardy

4. Kevin J Musty

5. Peter L R Hayward

6. Andrew C John

7. Jonathan W Lewis (C)

8. Ian P Hastilow

30/06/2018 - Rounds & Call Changes Practice @ Carmarthen

A new practice for your diary, especially for all our learners who want to improve their rounds & call changes on the glorious 8 bells at Carmarthen. This is planned for the 22nd September from 10.00-12.30 with more details to follow

30/06/2018 - Guild Surprise Minor Practice UPDATE

Interested in attending? Please kindly let our Training Officer know if you are planning to attend, and let Barbara know if there is a specific Surprise Minor method you would like to have a go at!

And learning to treble bob? Then this is the training session for you

06/06/2018 - Guild Surprise Minor Practice

To be confirmed, but it is intended to hold a Guild Surprise Minor practice at St Florence on Sunday 22nd July at 2.30pm - 5.00pm. All are welcome!

05/06/2018 - June/July Pembroke Practice Nights

There will be no practice at St. Mary’s Pembroke on 26th June and 3rd July due to so many people being away. Ringers are encouraged to go to Tenby practice instead.

14/05/2018 - Guild Practice & Rope Blessing at Laugharne

With the postponement of the Guild striking competition, it was decided to hold a monthly practice instead at Laugharne. With new ropes recently fitted, a special blessing was performed by Father Chris at the start of the well-attended afternoon's practice. Succesful touches of Kent & Cambridge were rung for the more experienced, while call changes through to Grandsire Doubles were ably managed too.

Laugharne tower gives a warm welcome to visiting ringers, both from the Guild and those visiting the area, especially during July when several local ringers are away.

07/05/2018 - Ann Hitchcock, Carmarthen

It is with sadness that we report the death of Ann Hitchcock, long time ringer at Carmarthen, on Saturday 28th April. Ann learned to ring at Llanbadarn Fawr some 60 years ago where she met Robert, our Tower Captain at Carmarthen, and she rang until very recently - she will be much missed. The Guild officers remember and thank Ann for her many years' service to both ringing and her church. We send our condolences, especially to Robert, and her family and friends. May she now Rest In Peace and rise in Glory.

Ann's funeral will be at St Peters Church, Carmarthen on Monday 14th May at 1.15pm, with ringing from 12.30pm for all who wish to celebrate Ann's life.

05/05/2018 - Guild 10-Bell Practice

Unfortunately, the 10-bell practice scheduled for Saturday 19th May at St Davids has been cancelled due to insufficient numbers

13/04/2018 - Llanbadarn Fawr Practice Night

Advance notice that practice night at Llanbadarn Fawr will switch from Thursday to Wednesday from 2nd May 2018

11/04/2018 - Llandysul Practice Night

Tower Captain of Llandysul wishes to express her thanks to Guild members who are travelling from far and wide to assist in teaching learners, and to allow method ringing on 6 bells with the more experienced - indeed, a successful touch of St. Simons Bob Doubles was achieved this Wednesday. Practice is from 7.30pm-9.00pm and all are very welcome.

10/04/2018 - Reverend Percy Griffiths, Cardigan

It is with sadness that we notify you of the passing of the Reverend Percy Griffiths at the age of 93. He gave many years of service to the Guild before his Ordination. The Guild officers remember and thank Reverend Percy for his many years service to both ringing and his church. We send our condolences to his family and friends, and may he now Rest In Peace and rise in Glory

"Percy learned to ring in Cardigan St. Mary‘s on the restoration of the bells in 1960. He became a Guild member and took on the role or Guild Auditor in 1965 on the retirement of BH Rees of Burry Port. He later became Hon Treasurer in 1969 and served until 1975 when he entered the ordained ministry. His first appointment as Vicar was of Llanarth where he restored the four bells to become ringable again. It was a peculiar formation being, because of the shape of the ringing chamber, a straight line of the four!

He continued to ring for a number of years whenever he could but finally left the ringing scene on becoming the vicar of a much larger parish of Newcastle Emlyn with Llandefriog"

08/04/2018 - Guild 10-Bell Practice

A Guild 10-Bell practice afternoon has been organised at St Davids on Saturday 19th May from 2.30-5.00pm, to include Plain Bob Royal, Grandsire Caters & Plain Hunt on 10. All are welcome to what promises to be an educational and interesting afternoon arranged by Barbara, our Training Officer

07/04/2018 - Malcolm Lewis, St Florence

A quarter peal was rung this day at St Florence in thanksgiving for the life of Malcolm

"The Late Malcolm Lewis, Headteacher of St Florence Primary School

Malcolm was, with the enthusiastic vicar Rev Russen Thomas, the driving force behind the restoration of the St Florence bells in 1964. Both set out to establish a ringing band with learners from the young people in and around the village. He took over the post of Guild Auditor in1970, which he held until 1975 taking over as Guild Treasurer from the Rev Percy Griffiths.

He held this post for many years becoming the longest-serving Guild Officer since it’s inception in 1945. He will be sadly missed for his friendly and helpful manner to the towers in the diocese. No application for grants from the Restoration Fund was, to my knowledge, ever turned down even if it had to be reduced sometimes.

The Guild has lost another valuable servant.

May he Rest in Peace

Arthur (Walters)"

02/04/2018 - Dates for Your Diaries

Guild Secretary has been asked if she can provide meeting/practice/events dates up to one year in advance so members can plan holidays etc. This takes some planning but is underway - it might also be helpful to note that most meetings and monthly practices are held on the 2nd Saturday of each month with a 2pm start. In the meanwhile, we have two dates for your diaries in September and further details will be listed shortly;

8th September - Joint Practice with St Davids Guild, Brecon & Swansea, Llandaff & Monmouth to be held at Carmarthen and commencing at 2pm

29th September - All Wales Striking Competition to be held at Brecon Cathedral and commencing at 2pm

02/04/2018 - Malcolm Lewis, St Florence

It is with sadness that we notify you of the passing of Malcolm Lewis, previously Tower Captain of St Florence and for some time our Guild Treasurer. The Guild officers remember and thank Malcolm for his many years service to both ringing and his church. We send our condolences to Malcolm's family and friends, and may he now Rest In Peace and rise in glory

28/03/2018 - Upcoming Guild Monthly Practice

St Davids Diocesan Guild Monthly Practice

Saturday 14th April 2018 @ St Padarn’s, Llanbadarn Fawr (10)

Ringing from 2.00 – 4.30 pm

A very warm welcome to all Guild & visiting ringers

there will be rounds & call changes for our learners + this month's methods for the more experienced are

Grandsire Caters & Vincular Surprise Royal (check out this months newsletter for details)

26/03/2018 - Quarterly News Letter Published

This quarter's newsletter is an extensive issue, emailed today to all Guild members. Put together by Dawn Howells, our Guild Secretary I think you'll agree its an interesting and worthwhile read. If you haven't received your copy or you have changed your email address, please let the Guild Secretary know.

23/03/2018 - Data protection: What every Guild Member needs to know

Important and far-reaching changes to the law covering data protection come into force on May 25th.

And like any other charity or organisation, the Guild must comply with them or potentially face stiff penalties.

The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) give individuals more rights and protection over what information can be stored and how it can be used. There are seven basic principles, data can only be held:

- fairly and lawfully and for a specific purpose with a valid legal basis
- if it's relevant and adequate – the minimum that is needed
- if it’s accurate and up to date
- for as long as necessary
- if it is secure
- if its retention is accountable

Our latest quarterly newsletter emailed to members on 26th March 2018 explains in greater detail, Guild members having further queries should please contact the Guild Secretary in the first instance.

13/03/2018 – Guild Practice & Quarterly Meeting at Llanstephen

Another successful Guild Practice was held on 10th March at beautiful Llanstephen. Our monthly Guild Practices have been really well attended this year - with many members making the sometimes long trek from far-flung areas of our Guild! Over 25 ringers attended the 2 hour practice session and rang rounds & call changes for our learners, through Stedman to a touch of Yorkshire for the more advanced amongst us! A short service followed with a thoughtful address by our Guild Chaplain – we were honoured to have our service officiated by two clergy members, to have members of Llanstephen parish join us and a rousing organ accompaniment for our two hymns.

A lovely tea was taken, provided by Llanstephen members before our quarterly meeting chaired by the Guild Master. Minutes to be forwarded to all members by email on 26th March 2018.

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