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As part of the morning service on 11th August, Father Andrew Day blessed the rehung 'bracket bell', now the 'demonstration bell'. During the blessing, Fr Andrew flicked water onto the bell with a palm leaf, then wafted incense as pictured. The bell was then rung by 6 year old Ellen 'Ned' Richards, watched by the congregation via a video link. Ned had also made a greetings card addressed to the bell.
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We are delighted to have a demonstration bell now in the ringing chamber, where the action of the bell can be seen and fully understood. The bell is one of the two original bells from the tower, and is dated 1780. It is small enough for young children to try out safely and have fun with, such as this four year old.
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On 2nd July, a group of young ringers (some of the Fen Tigers!) rang a quarter peal at St Clement's. All were below the age of 18, and in fact the average age was 14 1/2. The performance lasted 44 minutes, and consisted of 1320 rows of ringing. To keep this right over that period of time is no mean achievement! Well done to all, and especially Thomas who organised and conducted it.
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On 6th June, a special performance for the anniversary of D-Day was rung as part of our weekly 'Ringing Together' session. The bells were rung in rounds (descending scale), and one by one they dropped out until just the tenor, the heaviest bell, was tolling for those lost in the D-Day landings. This produces a mournful and rather moving effect. What made this more special, was that all the ringers were inexperienced, and ringing together without any of the helpers for this performance. Well done to them all.
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Bell Sunday is for congregations to learn more about their bells and ringers, and this year we took part. On 12th May, a display was set up in the South Aisle for browsing over coffee after the service, and a demonstration/ have-a-go was put on in the ringing chamber. Six people took advantage of this, hearing about our Ringing Centre and how it's used every day of the week; dipping into the fascinating world of change ringing, and having a go at 'chiming' all the bells (including the old service bell). Some even climbed up to the bells themselves (under careful supervision). All seemed to enjoy themselves and learn a lot.
