St. James and St. Luke's jointly hosted a Surprise Major workshop over the weekend of Feb. 27 to March 1. Out-of-town folks gathered at St. James on Friday for an open practice with locals; many went to the Marietta Diner afterwards for a bite to eat - as always, those who have never been there before were astonished by the size of the menu and the size of the cakes!Early on Saturday morning the attendees gathered at St. James for the serious work of learning Surprise Major methods; one group focused on Lincolnshire, Cambridge and Yorkshire, the other on Bristol and London. Paul Graupner (he of the 'bunny ears' in the photo above) led the first group and Alan Regin (the tall man in the back right of the picture) led the second group. Much ringing was done, though a mid-afternoon funeral necessitated a break in the course. A very nice quarter peal of Cambridge Major was scored after the 5:30 service and a Chinese dinner was enjoyed by all at the end of the day.
On Sunday, a surprise snowstorm hit Atlanta, and the ringing at St. Luke's, as well as a peal attempt at St. James, were canceled. Both groups stayed at St. James, though three helpers hightailed it early out of town by car - many flights were canceled that stormy day!
We may try again next year, and will endeavor to make the weather behave - naughty, naughty weather!
