North Georgia Ringing

2011-09-14T15:41:00.005-04:00

A memorial quarter peal was rung at St James on each of Sunday 9/11 and Monday 9/12, as follows:

Marietta, GA
St James' Church (5 cwt)
Sunday September 11, 2011
1260 Plain Bob Minor, in 38 mins.
1 Mary PLatt
2 Kathryn E Tucker
3 Charley Heilker
4 Jay Williams
5 Catherine P Brown
6 Derek J Wilsden (C)
Rung in memory of all who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01.

(That qp was rung following the morning service. Prior to the service the bells were rung, (half-muffled rounds on 8), by all of the regular Sunday ringers taking turns, including young ringers Will Eubanks and Kevin Kamperman, at the four airplane impact times and in the manner as described under 'Upcoming Events of Interest' in the right hand box.)

Marietta, Ga
St James' Church (5cwt)
Monday September 12, 2011
1260 Plain Bob Triples, in 42 mins.
1 Jay Williams
2 Kathryn E Tucker
3 Charley Heilker
4 Alice Gough Heilker
5 Derek J Wilsden
6 Lyn Barnett
7 Catherine P Brown (C)
8 Diana Witt
Rung in Memory of Sidney Lamar Camp, father of Tina Powell; died Friday, September 9, 2011, aged 92 years.
First inside triples, 4; first on eight bells, 8.

(Tina's husband, Alan, was a ringer at St James during the first several years of the bells existence. Tina's father was a supporter of the band, dropping by from time to time to watch.)

July Fourth QP at St James, Marietta

2011-07-13T16:54:00.004-04:00

St James', Marietta GA on 4 July 2011 (in 39 minutes)
1260 PLAIN BOB DOUBLES
1. Diane K Campion
2. Mary Platt
3. Jay Williams
4. Derek J Wilsden (C)
5. Charley Heilker
6. Alice Heilker
In celebration of July 4th!
First inside: 3.

Two Quarter Peals at St James

2011-07-12T21:14:00.002-04:00

St James', Marietta GA on 9 July 2011, in 42 minutes
1260 PLAIN BOB TRIPLES
1. Alice Heilker
2. Kathryn E Tucker (C)
3. Charley Heilker
4. Mary Platt
5. Catherine P Brown
6. Quilla Roth
7. Matthew C Brown
8. Jay Williams
Rung in celebration of the birthdays of Rahne Tannent, Bill Rush, and the conductor.

St James', Marietta GA, on 10 July 2011, in 47 minutes
1344 PLAIN BOB MAJOR
1. Alice Heilker
2. Mary Platt
3. Kathryn E Tucker
4. Charley Heilker
5. Derek J Wilsden
6. Jay Williams
7. Sawyer Gosnell
8. Quilla Roth (C)
In memoriam Paul Ervin Engsberg, whose visionary efforts brought change ringing bells to the Breslin Tower of the U. of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee in 2003; died 6 July 2011.
First quarter of Major: 1,6.

Hugely successful Young Ringers Workshop at St James

2011-07-12T20:14:00.005-04:00

Quilla Roth (Washington DC) led a four-day workshop July 6-9 for six of the seven young ringers of the St James (Marietta) Guild, and the four adult teachers of the weekly Wednesday evening class benefitted as much as the youngsters in my estimation. Quilla is due the most heartfelt thanks for her enthusiasm, skill, patience, hand-outs galore, and more, from
the Young Ringers- Cayla, Cicelia, and Emma, and Chris, Kevin, and Will; and
their Adult Teachers- Alice, Cathy (principal), Charley, and Derek.
The workshop addressed rope/bell handling issues, rounds and call changes, hunting 4 through 6, and the methods Plain Bob doubles and minor (including bobs) and Bastow Little Bob minimus and minor, according to each young ringer's ability to date. They were joined by other adult members of the Guild on Saturday morning.

Quilla's presence additionally helped the adult ringers to have a London Surprise Minor practice during the evening of the 7th, and the attempting of three quarter peals at the weekend. The first two were successful as shown adjacent to this post; an attempt at London resulted in non-rounds at the end of the first extent, but we continued on well into the third of the three parts of the second extent before a fire-up brought us to a "Stand!" - all amounting to another valuable practice of the method.

Digital Imaging Tune-up Clinic With Jim DiVitale: The New Book Has Arrived!

2011-06-09T08:17:00.000-04:00

Digital Imaging Tune-up Clinic With Jim DiVitale: The New Book Has Arrived!

St. James AGM

2011-03-17T16:06:00.006-04:00

On March 13th, members of the Guild of Change Ringers met at Mary Platt's new home for their AGM; afterwards, they enjoyed a delicious potluck dinner. The results of the election are as follows:

Derek Wilsden - Tower Captain

Cathy Brown - Ringing Master

Jay Williams - Secretary

Diane Campion - Treasurer

This is a complete turnover of executive officers, and we all look forward to the coming year of ringing.

We are grateful also for the following who will serve in the coming year in non-elected capacities:

Charley Heilker - continues as Steeple Keeper, and assumes the task as Assistant Ringing Master
Mary Platt - continues as Archivist
Sally Karkula - continues as Librarian
Kathryn Tucker - assumes the task as Social Director
Cathy Brown - continues as Young Ringers Ringing Master

2011-02-14T08:16:00.004-05:00

Quarter peal band (L to R): Derek Wilsden, Cathy Brown,

Kathryn Tucker, Jay Williams, Alice Heilker and Charley Heilker.

On a cold Saturday, February 5th, St. James ringers met for their usual morning practice, but we cut it slightly short to begin a quarter peal. The band has been trying to stretch its wings a bit by attempting quarter peals on the Saturday practice days, when folks are available.

This Saturday, it was Alice Gough Helker's turn to attempt St. Simons Doubles - a method that had been tried before but not completed. Alice rang her first quarter peal inside (PB Doubles) last February at Stella Maris (Charleston), but had not scored one at her home tower. Cathy Brown was the conductor, and for the most part, everything went smoothly with good striking and few mistakes. We were very happy for Alice, and hope this bodes well for subsequent Saturday quarters!

By the way, directly after the quarter, everyone seemed to disperse like seeds in the wind and a photo wasn't taken. However, we remedied that by snapping the picture the next morning at Sunday service ringing.

Running Ringers

2011-01-12T12:05:00.029-05:00

Once a year St. James Episcopal Church has a huge fundraiser called the Wonderful Days of Winter 5K Race. Founded in 1974, Wonderful Days Preschool is St. James’ primary outreach to the Marietta community. Forty to fifty children from low-income families attend the preschool and their transportation, tuition, and two meals a day are paid for by St. James’ and other charitable organizations. Since most of their students are Hispanic and English is not their first language, Wonderful Days helps them become fluent in English and prepares them for elementary school. This year two of our ringers, Kathryn Tucker and Chris Brown, ran in the race while some of the less energetic ringers helped with the lunch that followed. It was a really nice morning, cold and clear, with no sign of our impending doom, that is the snow.

Southern Ringers Form a Confederacy

2010-11-09T07:21:00.003-05:00

On October 23rd, St. James hosted a practice swap with ringers from Birmingham and a grand time was had by all. A whole range of methods was attempted and, for the most part, rung successfully - from rounds and call changes to Cambridge, with Kent and Grandsire and Plain Bob scattered in between. Two of Birmingham's newest ringers, Emily and Irene, did very well handling our much smaller bells, and made some good progress.

Lunch was served half-way through the day and thanks go to Cathy Brown and Alice Heilker, who organized a barbecue feast, with contributions of food and drink from other St. James ringers.

Thanks to everyone who participated, and especially to Ted Clark - the Birmingham ringer 'wrangler' who managed to get a nice group of Brummies from Alabama to Georgia and back again!

Field Trip for Marietta's Young Ringers

2010-08-26T11:19:00.022-04:00

On Saturday, July 31, our Young Ringers went to St. Luke's on their first field trip for ringing. Everyone had such a great time, I am sure that it won't be their last. The size of the bells didn't faze them or if it did, the fun of ringing larger bells won out over any reservations they might of had. At first Emma didn't want to ring the tenor, but after watching the guys all have a turn, she reconsidered. She needed some help pulling off, but once she started ringing, it was just another adventure. By the end of practice, our group was ringing together on the back four. With everyone's crazy schedules, it is challenging to find time for one weekly practice and two would be impossible, but I noted a hint of appreciation when Emma said, "So you GET to practice here each week - cool!" Emma, a gymnast, is clear on the value of practice.

After practice we all went to lunch at the Varsity, an Atlanta tradition , for burgers, slaw dogs, fries and the best onion rings in the world.
So a big thank you to the St. Luke's Band and special thanks to Sawyer Gosnell for helping us set it up. Now we have to start thinking about the next field trip. If only school and sports didn't get in the way.

2010-07-15T19:20:00.004-04:00

I made a video (my first!) of my recent visit to Taylor's Bellfoundry in Loughborough, England; it was part of the many activities planned during the Central Council's annual meeting, which was in Derby this year. If you're interested in seeing a bell being cast, watch the following (copy and paste URL):

http://tinyurl.com/2ao42l3

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, USA

2010-07-04T20:32:00.006-04:00

Left to right: Kathryn Tucker, Mary Platt, Emily Heilker, Alice Heilker, Derek Wilsden, Jay Williams, Cathy Brown (c), Charley Heilker

On July 4th, we gathered for a quarter peal in honor of America's 234th birthday. The tenor was solemnly tolled 13 times, the group gathered after last-minute water breaks and then set off to ring Grandsire Triples. After three false starts, the decision was made to snuggle under the comfortable blanket of Plain Bob Triples, hoping to score a quarter celebrating the many, many July birthdays that we have here in Marietta. Below is the note that goes along with the successful quarter peal:

Birthday Compliments to the United States Of America (July 4),Charley Heilker (July 4), Rett Walker (July 5), Alyssa Motylinski (July 6), Kathryn Tucker, Bill Rush, & Rahne Tallent (July 13), Shelley Tallent (July 14), Alice Heilker (July 20), Mary Platt (July 27).

We were all feeling well-nourished on this day - the night before, Chris and Cathy Brown had hosted the traditional Fourth of July barbecue and the food was both copious and delicious. Many of the guests meandered over to the "Root House" for first-row seats to the City of Marietta fireworks display, thanks to the Browns, who paid for two large tables; the money went to help fund the Root House projects.

It was a wonderful holiday, and we are very thankful for the freedom to ring as a united group, in various states of joy here in America.

St Luke's AGM

2010-05-20T23:21:00.003-04:00

The St Luke's AGM meeting was held this evening. If you wish, please contact Sawyer for a copy of the minutes.

St. James End of Season Social

2010-05-18T17:06:00.008-04:00

The ringing season seems to parallel the school season - ringers are abundant in the fall, disperse a bit during the Christmas season, re-assemble in the spring and then a major diaspora occurs at the beginning of summer. So a social event was planned for May, before people took off for the four corners of the earth, enjoying summer breaks.
On May 1st, St. James ringers gathered at the log cabin clubhouse of my neighborhood - it is roomy, comfortable and has a handy kitchen for last-minute food preparation. We enjoyed mac-n-cheese, meatball sandwiches, green salad, fruit salad, chips and all sorts of other yummy dishes. Music played in the background as we talked, laughed and enjoyed our two resident babies: Rahne and Ridley Tallent, Mary Platt's beautiful grandchildren, ages "almost two" and 5 months, respectively.
Thank you to everyone who made this party possible, and happy travels to all, wherever you may go this summer.

Thundering Bells in Birmingham

2010-04-25T16:24:00.003-04:00

Amidst lightning, thunder, rain and wind, intrepid ringers from St. Luke's, St. James' and St. Paul's in Birmingham gathered for a day of ringing on Saturday, April 24th. Six North Georgia ringers (along with Louise Booth, our volcano refugee from England) drove to Birmingham to support a day-long practice and quarter peal attempts: Lyn Barnett, Bill Buckner, Charley Heilker, Mary Platt, Kathryn Tucker and Derek Wilsden. All of us ringers from the Atlanta area were impressed with the wonderful progress that so many of the ringers in Birmingham have made - may it continue to be so!

We were treated to a lovely lunch, which included barbecue chicken, salads, fruit, delicious side dishes and desserts - we ate while watching the lightning flash, trees sway and rain pour down. Some folks even felt a bit of rain sneaking in to the ringing room through the rope holes!

Below is a photo of the quarter peal band for Plain Bob Doubles - a first for Jeanne Averhart, after a few practice attempts in the past!Derek Wilsden (c), Bill Buckner, Jeanne Averhart, Ted Clark, Kathryn Tucker and Mary Platt

Special Practice this Tuesday.

2010-04-05T19:43:00.002-04:00

At St Luke's, with the visiting peal band, starting at 7(ish). Please let me know if you have special requests, or things you wish to continue to work on that you may have started with this Monday's practice. If nothing else, I hope to focus on ten bell methods while we've got the opportunity, but I also think that we're going to dedicate some time to Cambridge Major and London Major, or even Royal if we're feeling adventurous. Just let me know.

-Sawyer

Ringers Pull Weeds, Not Ropes

2010-03-30T14:30:00.004-04:00

Left to right: Jan Wilsden, Alice Heilker, Kathryn Tucker,
Diana Witt and Derek Wilsden

"Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere
Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share"

All moms and dads of a certain age know that song - it's the Barney "clean-up" song and we gritted our teeth every time our tots listened to it on the TV. However, it is appropriate to quote it in this case - on Saturday, March 27th, five St. James ringers took to the soil instead of the bells, complying with a request made by the parish secretary, Paige Bushart, for all hands to help clean up around the church in anticipation of Easter crowds.
It was a cool, breezy Saturday; however, we stayed warm by digging up weeds, pruning trees, laying pine bark and generally making ourselves useful. We missed our ringing, but knew we were doing something very worthwhile - contributing to the welfare of St. James, the church that makes our ringing possible.

Youngest St. James Quarter Peal Ringer

2010-03-15T08:19:00.007-04:00

Quarter peal band (l to r): Charley Heilker, Kathryn Tucker, Alice Heilker, Mary Platt, Cathy Brown (conductor), Derek Wilsden, Will Eubanks and Matt Brown.

Will Eubanks stands at the tenor bell, 5 cwt.

On March 6, the day of the St. James' Guild of Change Ringers AGM, one of our young ringers participated in a quarter peal of Plain Bob Triples. Will Eubanks became the youngest guild member to ring a quarter peal on the bells, at the ripe old age of 13! He rang tenor behind, and did it very capably and rhythmically - a "must" when ringing a method on 7 bells.
Will has been participating in the Wednesday night youth ringing class for a number of years, and has been progressing steadily under the tutelage of Derek Wilsden, assisted by Charley and Alice Heilker, Cathy Brown and Mary Platt. He has become a reliable member of our Sunday service band, as well as participating in various special ringing events. He is involved in quite a few other activities, so we are grateful that his enthusiasm for ringing brings him to us as often as it does.
Congratulations to Will, and may this be the beginning of a long and enjoyable ringing career.

St. James Annual General Meeting

2010-03-14T13:22:00.002-04:00

The St James Guild of Change Ringers met last Saturday, March 6, at the home of Derek and Jan Wilsden for the Guild's Annual General Meeting. At the proceedings, guild officers Mary Platt (Tower Captain), Kathryn Tucker (Ringing Master), Alice Gough Heilker (Secretary), and Chris Brown (Treasurer) were reelected for their respective positions. Charley Heilker will continue as Steeple Keeper, Diane Campion as Shirt Maven, and Jan Wilsden will oversee our social calendar, with help we hope. And Sally Karkula will take over responsibilities of Librarian. Thank you ALL for your willingness to serve. After the intensity of another election season, we dismissed the lobbyists and got to the real business of the evening -- a wonderful meal, catching up on friendships and news, and celebrating Cathy Brown's birthday (28th, I think). Thank you to the Wilsden's for sharing their home with us for the evening.

The AGM was preceded by a very special accomplishment. Will Eubanks, age 13, completed his first quarter peal. He is the first St. James' young ringers to reach this level. He rang the 595-lb #8 bell as tenor to 1260 changes of Plain Bob Triples. Congratulations to Will and to the St James instructors who have been working so faithfully with our young ringers. We look forward to many more quarter peals with Will.

NoGa Ringers Invade Charleston

2010-02-26T15:25:00.006-05:00

On the weekend of February 19 through 21, most of the North Georgia ringers were happily ringing away in Charleston, South Carolina - I'm sure their home towers of St. James and St. Luke's felt bereft! Attending the biennial "Ring Around Charleston" were Lyn Barnett and Bill Buckner from Atlanta, as well as Cathy & Chris Brown, Derek & Jan Wilsden, Charley & Alice Heilker, Mary Platt, Jay Williams and Kathryn Tucker of Marietta. In the first photo, you can see Ray Gotko (an honorary member of the St. James' Guild) and Charley Heilker at the Friday night reception at the Cathedral. At the same venue were Jay Williams and Bill Buckner, also pictured below.

There was an enormous amount of ringing scheduled - at my last count, I had heard of 23 quarter peals slated, along with lots of general ringing. Rosalie Crouch, the organizer extraordinaire of the event, will soon have a final tally of quarters achieved. One of the quarters that I am certain was scored happened to be a significant one in which I participated. It was the first inside quarter for Alice Heilker - Plain Bob Doubles, conducted by the eminent Alan Regin. It was rung on a beautiful afternoon on Sullivan's Island, and very well-struck it was, too! Alice should be extremely proud of her performance.

From left to right: Paul Stannard, David Cornwall, Joyce Cornwall, Alice Heilker, Alan Regin and Kathryn Tucker.

On Saturday night, the Charleston ringers hosted a "Low Country" meal at Grace's parish hall. Before everyone dove into their food, the rector, Michael Wright, gave the blessing. And because it was one of the sweetest blessings I've ever heard, I will repeat it here for you:

Bless, O Lord, the food upon our dishes
As Thou, Lord, didst bless the loaves and fishes.
And like the sugar in our tea
May we all be stirred by Thee.

Sunday brought service ringing at all the towers except Stella Maris - there is no ringing on Lenten Sundays at the Roman Catholic church. After ringing at Grace Episcopal, there was a bell-themed service, as it was near the 10th anniversary of the installation of their bells. There was a handbell introit of Grandsire Triples and a beautiful "Canticle of Praise", written by The Reverend Canon Michael Wright of Grace, and whose subject was bell-ringing. The homily was also concerned with bells, nicely given by The Reverend Donald McPhail.
The last photograph was a charming one I managed to capture after the service ended. A quarter peal of Cambridge Royal had just begun, and these children were enthralled with the ringing. How well we all know that feeling of fascination, do we not?

2010-01-30T20:52:00.009-05:00

Left to right: Lyn Barnett, Mary Platt, Phil Teague, Alice Heilker, Charley Heilker, Derek Wilsden, Jay Williams, Bill Buckner, Jeremy Johnson, Ted Clark, Jenne Johnson, Sawyer Gosnell, Judith Smith, Amy Bischoff, Jeanne Averhart and Joe Roberts. (Missing: Kathryn Tucker, photographer)

On Saturday, January 30th, 7 ringers from Birmingham drove eastward in search of other friendly ringers with whom to share a morning and afternoon. Thankfully, the doors of St. Luke's, Atlanta were opened and ringing began on time and in earnest.

One of the newest ringers from B'ham, Amy Bischoff, was able to participate in call changes, as well as some excellent tenor behind practice. And she's only been ringing since August 2009! Jeanne Averhart is conquering Plain Hunt on 5, as well as covering. Jenne and Jeremy Johnson rang Plain Bob Triples, and Jeremy worked on Grandsire Doubles, as well as call changes and excellent tenor behind. Phil Teague will be traveling to Charleston for the "Ring Around Ch'ston" weekend and wanted to hone his PB Doubles skills - he's hoping to ring a quarter inside while in South Carolina. Joe Roberts was a very easy-going man - filling in at tenor behind, trebling and working on PB Doubles. And their inimitable leader, Ted Clark, rang a sweet plain course of Cambridge Minor, as well as leading much of the ringing. And now it's time for lunch! Below you will see Derek and Charley enjoying the gifts of nosh provided by our B'ham friends.

While a variety of folks wandered in and out of the bell chamber, helping themselves to sandwiches, chips, fruit, cake and streusel bars, ringing continued in earnest. Jay Williams got a couple of chances to ring one of the St. Luke's bells; the long draft, however, proved to be a bit of a challenge for someone who is fairly new to ringing and blind, to boot. He took it all in stride and looks forward to his next visit to St. Luke's.

A quarter peal was attempted toward the end of the ringing session; Jeanne Averhart has not yet rung a quarter peal and was hoping that this might be the day. Sadly, it was not. Maybe it was the dreary, drippy weather; maybe it was the fatigue; or maybe it just wasn't the day. However, we will all do our best to see that Jeanne scores a quarter in the not too distant future.

Many thanks to the St. Luke's folks (Lyn, Bill, Judith and Sawyer) and especially to Sawyer who very capably led much of the ringing. Thanks to the Marietta people (Mary, Derek, Charley, Alice, Kathryn and Jay) who drove down to support the ringing. And kudos to the Steel City travelers for getting up at "chicken-thirty" (thanks for that wonderful phrase, Ted!) to drive to the ATL, providing food and giving us an excuse to ring for four and a half hours on a Saturday!

On the right, you will find Sawyer Gosnell, Ted Clark, Jeremy Johnson and Amy Bischoff practicing the Exercise.

2009-10-31T19:01:00.003-04:00

L to R: Jay Williams, Diana Witt, Kathryn Tucker, Alice Heilker, Sally Karkula, Charley Heilker and Derek Wilsden

On a rainy, misty, spooky Halloween day, seven ringers gathered at St. James Marietta to attempt two different quarter peals: Grandsire Doubles and Grandsire/Plain Mixed Doubles. The first of Grandsire Doubles was being conducted for the first time by Kathryn Tucker, and it was Sally Karkula's first attempt inside. It was a valiant effort, and the striking was particularly good, but the conductor had a tough time keeping track of her 120's! "Stand" was called and a short candy break was enjoyed by all.
The second quarter had Jay Williams on the treble, a first for him - he has previously rung a successful quarter as tenor behind. Once again, the striking was good, but the ghost and goblins of this day seemed to be especially mischievous - the ringing never solidified, despite a couple of fresh starts. When Jay's wife Kathy showed up with pie and cake for Jay's birthday, we were all more than happy to trot down to the parish hall, sing "Happy Birthday" and dive into the goodies.
Thanks go to all the ringers who showed up on this haunted day and battled the ghoulies in the belfry - it was good practice for everyone!

Young Ringers' Wednesday Practice

2009-09-24T10:28:00.013-04:00

It's not just school that has recommenced. We welcomed Chris, Will, Emma, and Kevin back to Wednesday's Young Ringers' practice. Although regular practices had halted for summer vacation, Will and Kevin kept their skills up by helping out with Sunday service ringing and ringing for weddings and funerals. With so many ringers traveling this summer, their help was essential in making all our ringing commitments. Emma and Chris, who spent much of their summer traveling and not ringing, had no problems getting right back into the swing of things. The group is keeping us busy as they tackle Plain Hunt and Plain Bob Doubles and continue ringing the Treble and Tenor during methods .

We just found out that the video about St. James and Change Ringing that Will wrote and produced for the contest Reflections placed first at the state wide level. To learn about the history of St. James Tower Bells and to watch and listen while they are rung, you can view Will's award winning video below. Will is also helping with the Children's Sunday School tours of the bell tower.

End of Summer Signals Return of MMI Practices

2009-09-06T22:15:00.014-04:00

Summer vacations sent our band all over the world. You can read about Cathy and Derek's ringing vacation in England and Mary Platt's ringing trip to South Africa in earlier blogs entries. Between family vacations, visiting family and attending CCCBR meetings in England it has been hard to know exactly where Kathryn was at any given moment. She is our Carmen Sandiego. Sally 's family visited relatives in Sienna Italy where they had a glorious time and glorious weather. Sally got a family photo in front of the Colosseum in Rome. Dianna does so much exotic traveling during the year that she vacationed in New Hampshire for a change of pace.
So vacations are over and everyone has returned from the various ringing workshops/weekends in Pittsburgh and Hendersonville and the AGM in New York. Now that we are all back, we will be resuming our usual ringing schedule and that includes regular MMI practices. So advanced ringers, please CHECK OUT THE MMI PRACTICE SCHEDULE!!

BELLS!! in SOUTH AFRICA?

2009-08-31T18:07:00.008-04:00

Yes indeed, and this year's Butler Tour undertook the challenge to ring all 8 of the change ringing towers in this vast and distant land. The tour, organized every year by Bruce and Eileen Butler of Philadelphia to visit and ring in as many of the thousands of bell towers around the world, included 7 other ringers from the US and Ireland for a 2 week adventure.

We gathered August 1 in Cape Town to officially begin our travels in and around the Western Cape. Our first towers were St. Marys (8 bells), Woodstock, and St. Georges Cathedral (10 bells), Cape Town for Sunday Services August 2. After several days of long drives through the wine country and lots of wine tasting, "hand-to-trunk holding" with elephants, petting big cats, and wonderful food at the area's many fine restaurants, we headed east toward Grahamstown. Our journey took us along scenic seacoast roads with a bit of whale watching, and more fine food in the delightful sea side town of Wilderness. In Grahamstown we shared a wonderful practice with the young ringers in their local band and enjoyed the bells of the Cathedral (10 bells) and then the monastery of the Order of the Holy Cross in Hillendale (6 bells). For all of us, these towers provided our first opportunity to ring quarter peals on the African continent.

A highlight of our trip came next, as we turned our attention to the long awaited safari experience. We spent 2 days in the "wilds" of Kariega Game Reserve rumbling over the landscape in a huge open land cruiser in search of giraffe, cape buffalo, rinos, hippos, lions, warthogs, every sort of antelope and bird imaginable, and much more. We learned so much about the wildlife and the environment of South Africa from ranger Shaun's vast knowledge and experience, and even better, no one was eaten alive.

After a day and night in Port Elizabeth and more scenic seascapes, we flew up the coast to Durban. There the ringers of St. Mary's Grayville (10 bells) welcomed us warmly at their evening practice. Sadly the bells of St. Pauls were not available. But we found much to see and enjoy in the city in a whirlwind tour of the Indian Market and the Botanical Gardens and more with our enthusiastic guide Just-Us.

From Durban, we headed north and inland for the last stop on our travels. We drove the long 8 hours through the Drakensburg Mountains and beyond to Johannesburg. After ringing in Fourways Gardens at All Saints (6 bells) and St. Georges (8 bells), Parktown, and facing yet another rental car breakdown, our 3rd car swap and traffic that makes Atlanta seem lightweight, we spent our last day together learning as much as we could about this "city of gold." Yet another outstanding guide, Kaeren, made the most of a morning drive through the downtown areas of the city, into Soweto and the Hector Pieterson museum, the Mandela home and much more.

Finally, it was time to end this "trip of a life-time," get in line for my 16 hour non-stop flight home, and hope for a return visit to grab that Durban tower we missed and once more enjoy the fine food, wine, land and sea scapes, and gracious hospitality of the South African people.

Mary Platt
August 29, 2009

Hendersonville Ringing Weekend

2009-08-30T22:47:00.013-04:00

St. James church in Hendersonville celebrated their tower's 31st anniversary with a ringing weekend that started Friday, August 14 and ended Sunday when the last of us finally called it quits and adjourned for one final meal at Hannah Flanagan's. Bob Aldinger , who organized the ringing, made sure we all had plenty of rope time by keeping the bells ringing nonstop. He moved us in and out of the ringing room so deftly that it was like passing people while plain hunting. Sally Cook hosted us for a Saturday evening bash and the band provided a most elegant potluck.

It was Jay's first Ringing Road trip and I don't think he was disappointed. The bells in Hendersonville have a longer draft than our home bells and ringing them was something of a challenge for Jay. By Sunday I think he was hoping he could blend into the walls and wouldn't be asked to ring again. No such luck. Ever the perfect host Bob made sure that everyone got to ring on Sunday. Jay was surprised to see that the instruction Derek and Bob had given him on long drafts had paid off and his Sunday ringing was much smoother and controlled. He ended his Hendersonville ringing on an up note.

Jay loved his accommodations at the Waverly, a Bed and Breakfast, across the street from the church. Each morning he would describe his breakfast in loving detail. I was always amazed he could eat lunch. I think everyone who stayed there gave it a thumbs up and would recommend it if you are passing through Hendersonville. And you just cross the street to get to the bell tower - how easy is that.

Like Jay, I am relatively new to ringing road trips but I can sure see why ringers love them. I went for the ringing but I loved seeing everyone in the Hendersonville band again and seeing ringers I had met in Charleston. Everyone in the band worked together to make it a perfect weekend and Jay and I were impressed by how warm and welcoming everyone was.We had a great time and hope that they will do it again next year.

A Perfect Holiday

2009-08-13T22:45:00.009-04:00

Marietta ringers and members of the Society of Royal Cumberland Youths, Derek Wilsden and Cathy Brown, along with spouses Jan and Chris (also Marietta ringers, though of a less avid variety than Derek and Cathy), set off on July 7 for a trip to England which included some interesting ringing and a big first for Cathy. The destination was Lincolnshire, where the SRCY held one of its two annual Country Meetings. The foursome arrived in Stamford, Lincolnshire, at lunchtime on Thursday July 9th. Instead of resting, Chris and Jan dropped Cathy and Derek off at Market Deeping and then took off for the Fen Country to do some exploring. Cathy and Derek met up with Derek and Jane Sibson, plus Alan Regin, Jo Dorling, Janet Menhinick, and Michael O'Callaghan (the band is pictured above) for an attempt at Cambridge Surprise Major. The bells at Market Deeping were nice, but a bit heavy-going, and the temperature in the ringing room was a bit on the warm side. Despite these (minor) discomforts and their jet-lagged state, the peal was a success and a pleasure to ring.

The next morning, more refreshed, but still very nervous (at least, Cathy was), the same band gathered at Harmston Church to attempt the much-anticipated peal of Bristol Surprise Major. Harmston, a tiny village just south of Lincoln, is a charming place with a charming church and very sweet bells; however, it lacks the convenient pub (with toilet) of Market Deeping, a fact which led to a fresh new way of looking at the church yard--but that is another story. Anyway, thanks to the competence and patience of all the other ringers, Cathy got her much-anticipated peal of Bristol and was very happy. The following day, Derek and Cathy participated in a "tower grab" of several local towers, all of which were 6-bell towers. They rang quite a bit of Cambridge and London Minor. They also met up with Katy Idle, who had rung with the North Georgia ringers in Marietta/Atlanta during the 2007 school year, and her parents, who are also ringers. That Saturday evening, the Wilsdens and the Browns attended the SRCY's "Quiz and Curry" evening at Edensham village hall. The curry was delicious; unfortunately, the quiz was a challenge for the Marietta visitors, who were all on the same team, and who knew very little about local towers and pubs and celebrities and sports teams. Nevertheless, a good time was had by all.

On Sunday morning, the 4 adventurers left Stamford to begin the next phase of their trip, a visit to the Lake District. On the way out, they stopped at the delightful little parish church of Great Casterton, where Derek and Cathy were privileged to ring for services on the very easy-going 6. They then attended the morning worship service, which was followed by a coffee hour right there in the nave, and were treated to the very best of British hospitality. This wonderful, friendly reception was certainly the defining characteristic of the entire trip, and we shall be eternally grateful to all the bell ringers and other friends who made this adventure so enjoyable.

After visiting the Lake District Chris and Cathy traveled to France, while Derek spent the some of the remaining two weeks of his and Jan’s three weeks ringing at 7 more towers. Cathy and Chris ended their second week of the trip in London, where Cathy got the opportunity to ring a bit for Sunday service at the SRCY home tower St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church at Trafalgar Square—a fitting end to her Cumberland ringing odyssey, which had begun with the Country Meeting.

Of Derek’s second seven towers, four were in the Reading area of Berkshire for the “43’ers” annual reunion where he was without doubt the youngest among the 25 or so ringers there who had started ringing in 1943 All four were on the Thames river, in the picturesque (aren’t they all?) villages of Shiplake, Streatley, Pangbourne, and Purley-on-Thames - an 8 and three 6’s. The remaining three were nostalgia towers: St Etheldreda, Hatfield - 10, 23cwt (for practice and service times)and a nearby 4cwt six at Lemsford - both on Hertfordshire, and the 21cwt ten at Ash-next-Sandwich in Kent which had to serve as second choice to Derek’s Alma Mater St Dunstan, Canterbury. The band there decided to have their annual picnic instead of practice that Friday. Making up for the disappointment, Jan and Derek did however meet, dine, and ring with Derek Chatfield, a co-starting ringer in ’43 with Derek. In spite of the availability of 10 bells in two towers, (and Derek really enjoyed doubling on the Sally for raising that 23cwt tenor and then ringing it cover to 10-bell call changes for Sunday service ringing), most of the ringing in these three towers was on six, with lots of very welcome touches of spliced minor of up to 7 methods.

Through being fortunate enough (retired!) to be able to spend a third week, Derek was able to fit in significantly more ringing; and the extra in-between times were filled with visiting relatives and friends and plenty of plain relaxing at the home of the Withers - who, incidentally, are oft times visitors to Marietta - though non-ringers, can you believe!

Written by Cathy Brown and Derek Wilsden

Retirement Quarter Peal for Ray Gotko

2009-07-28T16:24:00.017-04:00

On July 26th the Reverend Doctor Raymond M. Gotko retired after seven years of service as the Associate Rector of St. James Episcopal Church in Marietta. The Parish had a farewell party for him on Sunday and on Monday he celebrated with the St. James' band by tenoring in his first Quarter Peal. We dedicated the QP of Plain Bob Doubles to Ray and his new venture - retirement. He and his wife Linda have moved to Sewanee, TN, where he will finally have plenty of time for golf and RINGING!!

Jay Williams , who recently scored his first QP and is in the picture on the right, took the photo of the QP group.

July 27, 2009. 1260 Plain Bob Doubles
1. Alice Gough Heilker 2. Sally Karkula 3. Charley Heilker 4. Kathryn E. Tucker 5. Mary Platt (C) 6. Raymond M. Gotko.
First Quarter: 6

July 4 Ringing and Partying St James Style

2009-07-05T16:20:00.004-04:00

For all who attended and enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs and pot
luck at Cathy and Chris Brown's home yesterday evening, I want to say
what a great occasion it was. Thank you so much to the Browns for
hosting and grilling and so much more. We all had a wonderful time
creating a grand family gathering out of the many generations
represented for what has become an Independence Day tradition.

The BBQ followed an afternoon of ringing at St James, which was full
of firsts and lots of "well done's." After birthday boy Charley
Heilker sounded the tenor 13 times at 2pm, and some lovely call
changes, Derek Wilsden conducted a QP Plain Bob Major, noteworthy in
that the band included our guests from the UK, Michael and Sheila
Cotgrove, and also our newly-returned-from-a-year-on-

the-continent Emily Heilker. Welcome Home.

Then, following a brief recess, Cathy Brown conducted a QP Plain Bob
Triples, featuring Jay Williams on the tenor (a first QP for him) and
Alice Heilker on the treble (first on 8 for her). Well done Jay and
Alice. Not even 1 do-over was required.

I'll leave the QP official details to the conductors to report. But
leave it to say, that St James Marietta marked the nation's 233rd
birthday with a joyful noise.

If at First you do Not Succeed, then Try, TRy, and yes, TRY again!

2009-06-05T14:07:00.011-04:00

Gathering together on a specific date to ring a Quarter Peal commemorating a specific and important event on that day is a good recipe for anxiety. I as conductor certainly felt that way. It was a warm occasion; certainly in the day's temperature (a bit over 90F) but certainly also in fellowship, with a nice balance of Birmingham, Atlanta, and Marietta ringers as can be seen in the QP report below. Our first foray into the method came unstuck after one of the six parts (the old faithful 'bobs in, home, and two at fourths: Diary p. 53). We put it down to "practice", and started again. A nicely struck and confident 5 parts later it/we failed again - and I should have been able to quickly put it back onto the tracks - but failed. A 10-minute rest left us just enough time for one final try - and bingo! Craig's tenor-covering drove us expertly and remorselessly to completion, and the rest of us complimented that, to a man/woman, with a solid rhythmic piece of ringing. At the call of 'that's all', only three minutes remained before the start of the six o'clock Vespers in the very-nearby Cathedral! The early anxiety was well repaid.

DJW

Birmingham, Alabama
Cathedral of St Paul
Sunday, 31 May 2009
1260 Plain Bob Triples
1 Lyn Barnett
2 Catherine P Brown
3 Jennifer Johnson
4 Ted Clark
5 Bill Buckner
6 Jeremy Johnson
7 Derek J Wilsden (C)
8 Craig Lagrone

Rung on the Solemnity of Pentecost for The Celebration of The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Ordination to the Priesthood of The Very Reverend Richard E. Donohoe, S.T.L, Rector. Rung in
gratitude for his inspired leadership which was the impetus for this beautiful ring of tower bells being in Birmingham.

Wandering in Worcester

2009-05-31T18:30:00.004-04:00

Worcester was the venue for the 2009 annual meeting of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers and as I am one of the NAG representatives to the CCCBR, I had the privilege of attending the meeting.

The title of this post is apt, since I did a fair amount of wandering - Worcester is a small city and easy to explore on foot. During the times I wasn't attending official functions, I let my feet wander where they liked; I walked along the Severn River while listening to a peal being rung in the Cathedral (photo above), I shopped along the High Street and even took a quick train ride to nearby Pershore. It was in Pershore that I visited the most unusual ringing room I'd ever seen - suspended high above the floor of Pershore Abbey, it is not for the faint of heart. I took some video with my camera of the ringing "cage", and posted it on YouTube - the link to see that is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EwPJJ14-oY. Or just go to youtube.com and in the search box, type "Ringing at Pershore Abbey" - my video will be first in line.

The meeting itself took place on Monday, May 25th and it lasted (with a couple of breaks) from 10 am to 6 pm - another activity that is not for the faint of heart! But learning more about how the Council works, and witnessing the enthusiasm that the members have for ringing, makes me even more dedicated to being the best advocate for the Exercise that I can be.

I'll be writing a more detailed article about the weekend's activities later - watch for it in your next issue of "The Clapper".

Rounds on Six

2009-04-28T07:38:00.003-04:00

Last night at the St. James' regular Monday evening practice, a group of ringers rang rounds on the back six of the eight bells. "So what?", you say. Well, these rounds were a bit different - ringing the fourth of six was Jay Williams, one of our learners. He's been working with Derek Wilsden for a couple of months, along with assistance from Cathy Brown and Kathryn Tucker. He's learned handling, ringing one bell while listening to rounds on Abel, and has even done a bit of plain hunt on six with Abel. He's intelligent, funny, creative and is wildly enthusiastic about learning to ring.
And he's blind. Since birth.
He got his first pull on a bell at Grace Church, Charleston, courtesy of David Porter. When Jay and his wife moved to Marietta, he found out that a local church had change ringing bells and inquired about learning to ring. Derek was consulted, and after some discussion, it was decided that we would give it a try. And last night was the happy beginning of what we all hope will be a long and fruitful ringing career for Jay.

St. James AGM

2009-03-10T18:26:00.003-04:00

Despite a small group, the St. James AGM was very productive, though there was so much food on the tables that we were tempted to set up an ad-hoc restaurant outside the church! Lots of business was discussed and most importantly, elections were held. The officers elected for the year 2009/2010 are as follows:

Tower Captain: Mary Platt
Ringing Master: Kathryn Tucker
Secretary: Alice Heilker
Treasurer: Chris Brown

Thank you to the past officers, Derek Wilsden and Diana Witt (Ringing Master and Secretary, respectively) who stepped down after much hard work. And thank you to Chris Brown who, despite his protestations that he'd be ever so willing for someone ELSE to be treasurer, just keeps getting elected year after year!

We very much missed the presence of Derek Wilsden, Jan Wilsden and Alice Heilker. Alice continues to recover from lung surgery, and Jan Wilsden was taken ill on the day of the AGM and was in the hospital with her husband at the time of the meeting. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Heilker and Wilsden families. We treasure them dearly.

Surprise Major Weekend Workshop

2009-03-03T17:42:00.004-05:00

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!

WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO!

2009-02-09T19:58:00.010-05:00

Sawyer Gosnell, Alma Johnson, and St. Luke's bells

[February 8, 2009 excerpt from "Bob!", Alma's ringing blog. Click on title above to see the entire piece, "Hunting Season."]

Today I received permission to set my bell.

In my tower, this is a right of passage. Permission is granted when the ringing master determines a learner's skill has reached the point where they can be trusted to handle bells without further close supervision, and are ready to handle the responsibilities of being a learner on their own. So today after the first round of service ringing when the conductor called us to stand - I did!

WOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!

Yesterday morning I went to practice at my tower, and did a respectable job of tenoring for a method, I think it was St. Simons or maybe St. Martin's. I don't remember, I was just keeping time while everyone else rang the method. And it was fun. Really fun.

Then I had a chance to lead rounds and some call changes. Well, I thought I was being asked to lead because I knew I had made errors in tenoring and maybe the ringing master was trying to find something else I might do better, but I should know better than to listen to my inner monologue. It's a paranoid and neurotic product of Catholic Schools, whose first response to almost anything is Mea Culpa. Anyway, I said the magic words: Look to which means ok, everyone, pay attention, we're about to ring, Treble's going which means get your bell to the balance and get ready to pull off, then, Treble's gone as the bell comes over and the rest of the band cascades into place after you, into rounds.

Now, there is this thing you do in ringing called the "handstroke gap". Everyone does it all the time anyway, it's just how you ring. You pull the sally, the rope goes up, then you pull the tail, it comes down and you catch the sally. There is a little pause right there, before you pull the sally down again, and that is the handstroke gap. When you don't have that little gap in timing after that second stroke you end up with this continuous ringing, called cartwheeling by some, which can be a real problem sometimes but is always technically incorrect. If you ring by ear at all, it makes it really tough to know where you are, and it plays merry hell with timing. And if you're ringing call changes, it can make lots of different bell combinations sound indistinguishable from each other. But when you ring it is the most natural thing in the world to have that little gap, and it is what you want to achieve especially when you are ringing lead.

I have been told that some people find it difficult to establish and maintain the handstroke gap and don't lead well, or just don't like leading. But nobody told me it was difficult before I was asked to do it, so not knowing any better I just did it. Oh, it was off at first, but then I realized that no matter where in the order I rang it was how I had always rung, so then it fell into place. If you don't tell me something is difficult and it truly is, I will find out for myself shortly. But if something is difficult and you tell me, chances are it will be, whether it truly is or you just think it is.

It is pretty cool to find out whether you can do something or not without having pre-conceived notions affecting you. I will have to remember when the time comes for me to pass my knowledge on to another learner not to burden them with my prejudices or limit them before they show me what they can do. I'll be a better teacher one day for it.

Update on Katy Idle

2009-01-09T15:56:00.002-05:00

Alice Heilker recently got this update from our old friend Katy Idle. The following is from Katy:

“ I've graduated last week from Sheffield and am going to grad school at Loughborough in September. If you're interested, pics are on the link below.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2226321&l=1083a&id=61106717 “

I already got my Masters in ME - am doing another one in Renewable Energy!

We wish Katy the best in her graduate studies, and hope she can visit us again soon.

New Year's Day Date Touch

2009-01-03T21:16:00.002-05:00

What kind of photo is that?? Well, it's the kind of photo you take when there isn't an extra person to take the picture, and you can't figure out how to use your camera's auto-timer! This crazy picture was taken just after completing a date touch on New Year's Day. Here are the details:

MARIETTA, St James
1 Jan 2009, 2009 Doubles
(4m: 2 ext Stedman, 4 ext Plain, 4 ext St Simon's, 6 ext plus 89 changes Grandsire)

1. Derek J Wilsden (C)
2. Mary Platt
3. Charley Heilker
4. Kathryn E Tucker
5. Cathy Brown
6. Judith Smith

To welcome the New Year.
Most changes of doubles all ringers.

Cambridge Minor Quarter Successful!

2008-11-11T13:17:00.003-05:00

A successful QP of Cambridge surprise minor was rung at St. James on Tuesday, October 28, with British visitor Jeremy Warren conducting. Cathy was spot on at treble; Lyn rang the #5 and Jeremy the #6. Kathryn, Charley and Derek also rang in on the 2, 3, and 4 -- not sure of the order. See the StJ QP book for details!

St. Luke's Celebrates 8th Anniversary of Tower Bells

2008-10-20T20:11:00.006-04:00

North American Guild
Atlanta, Georgia
St. Luke
Sunday, 19 October 2008 (13 cwt)
1260 Plain Bob Triples
1 Tommy Lazenby
2 Kathryn E. Tucker
3 Lyn A. Barnett
4 Charley Heilker
5 Sawyer Gosnell
6 Bill Buckner
7 Derek J. Wilsden (C)
8 Judith Smith
In celebration of St. Luke's Day and to mark the 8th anniversary of the dedication of the tower and bells.

Top 10 Reasons I Loved the AGM in Miami

2008-10-07T07:56:00.006-04:00

The ubiquitous "pink flamingo sunglasses" worn by (l to r) Sudie Lea O'Connor, Beverly Faber, Peter Trotman and Mary Platt.

10) Tropical weather (i.e. rain!)
9) Eating paella at the Botanical Gardens and getting acquainted with folks I'd seen but never really talked to.
8) Bell-themed Evensong service.
7) Seeing a well-behaved Shih-Tzu sitting in the pew behind me at the Friday Evensong service; he brought along his two human companions, also!
6) Standing on the 40th floor balcony of the Treleaven home, eating Cuban food and listening to a beautiful touch of Bob Major on handbells.
5) Getting a tour of South Beach, courtesy of Bill Buckner, and marveling at the "Hollywood film set" ambiance of it all.
4) Sitting outdoors, enjoying warm evening breezes, at Nemo restaurant in South Beach, eating great food with great friends.
3) Appreciating the incredibly hospitable Miami ringers, who always had a smile, no matter what was thrown at them.
2) Attending a reasonably short, well-run AGM meeting (thank you, Lyn Barnett), followed by an excellent AGM banquet with (guess what!) delicious food.

.....and the #1 reason I loved the Miami AGM

1) TONS of ringing time!!!

As an aside, there is one final reason I loved the AGM in Miami: hearing about next year's AGM in New York City. Look for the promotional buttons on the cork board in the St. James ringing room.

Mountain Ringing Weekend - Hendersonville!!

2008-08-17T22:43:00.004-04:00

Kathryn Tucker, Joy Franklin, Derek Wilsden, Don Johnes,

Sally Cook and Bill Buckner celebrate Joy's first quarter peal rung inside.

Congratulations, Joy!

The Atlanta and Marietta ringers joined forces with the Hendersonville, NC ringers for a weekend (15-17 August 2008) of ringing and social fun, including training and quarter peal attempts.

Hendersonville, NC

St. James

Sunday, 17 August 2008

1260 Plain Bob Doubles

1. Sally Cook

2. Joy Franklin

3. Derek Wilsden (c)

4. Kathryn Tucker

5. Bill Buckner

6. Don Johnes

First quarter peal inside: 2

Rung in honor of the 30th anniversary of the installation of the bells.

Quarter peal in memoriam

2008-08-12T08:19:00.006-04:00

Before regular Monday night practice on August 11, six ringers gathered to ring a quarter peal in memory of Mark Phillips' father, who died recently. Thanks go to Sally Karkula for organizing the quarter and making sure that everyone showed up on time! Also, thanks to Diane Campion not only for stepping in as a replacement for Mary Platt, who was injured in a running accident, but for providing the photo above.
As ringers, we do what we do for the pure love of the ringing, for the intellectual challenge and to provide a service to our church. But the other aspect of ringing is the sense of community and closeness we have as a group, and the knowledge that, in the end, we always "have each other's backs", as those goofy kids say today!

Marietta, GA
St. James' Church
Monday, Aug. 11, 2008
1260 PB Doubles in 39 minutes

1. Sally Karkula
2. Kathryn E Tucker (c)
3. Diane K Campion
4. Derek J Wilsden
5. Charley Heilker
6. Alice Gough Heilker

Rung in memory of Major William Marcus Phillips Jr. , USAF (Ret.), father of Mark Phillips, a fellow ringer.

First As Conductor -- Cathy Brown

2008-07-23T12:28:00.005-04:00

Celebrating the birth of granddaughter for Mary Platt

Marietta, GA
St James
Monday 21July 2008

1260 Plain Bob Triples

1 Judith Smith
2 Matthew Brown
3 Mary Platt
4 Kathryn E Tucker
5 Charley Heilker
6 Derek Wilsden
7 Catherine P Brown ( C )
8 Alice Gough Heilker

In honor of the birth of Sydney Rahne Tallent, granddaughter of 3 on July 13, 2008; 9lbs, 6oz, 21in!

First quarter as conductor.

Congratulations to Cathy Brown, adding another to North Georgia’s growing pool of conductors.

Lots to Celebrate on the Fourth of July!

2008-07-23T12:20:00.007-04:00

Congratulations Susan and Charley

Friday, 4July, 2008, St James
1260 Doubles (2m.)
(780 Grandsire, 480 Plain Bob)

1 Susan A. Lagrone
2 Mary Platt
3 Derek Wilsden ( C )
4 Lyn Barnett
5 Charley Heilker
6 Alice Heilker

For America’s 232^nd Independence Day Anniversary.
Also in celebration of the 56th birthday of 5.
First quarter not as cover, 1.

FOLLOWED UP by a delightful and delicious pot luck at Cathy and Chris Brown's home, with Chris at the grill. Then on to the Famous Marietta Fireworks on the Square (for those who did not get up at 4:30 am to run the Peachtree Road Race).

Marietta Change Ringing Bells Featured on WABE

2008-06-29T17:58:00.002-04:00

Local NPR affiliate, WABE in Atlanta (90.1), is again featuring the St. James change ringing bells and the interview with Kathryn Tucker on "Atlanta Sounds". This feature has been broadcast off and on for several months and is providing great publicity for and public awareness of change ringing in our area. Kudos to all who made the interview happen!

If you have missed it on the radio, listen to it here:

http://www.pba.org/programming/programs/atlantasounds/1719/

The Heilker Family Trio

2008-05-25T16:32:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to Alice upon ringing her first Quarter away from cover, the first for the Heilker family as a threesome in the same Quarter, and Best Wishes to Emily as she embarks upon studies in Europe next month. It served also as between-morning Eucharists service-ringing.

MARIETTA

St James’ Church

Sunday, 24 May, 2008

1260 Plain Bob Doubles, in 38 minutes

1. Alice Gough Heilker
2. Derek Wilsden (C)
3. Charley Heilker
4. Emily Heilker
5. Valdeane Brown
6. Mary Platt

First away from cover: 1. First as cover (!) 6.

Best Wishes to 4 on her 21^st Birthday and as she leaves for a year of studies in Europe.

St. Luke's Ringers Host Tomorrow's Learners

2008-04-27T23:35:00.003-04:00

St. Luke's Guild of Change Ringers is always on the lookout for ways to introduce ourselves to the parish. One way to do this is to invite the Sunday School classes -- from kindergarten to 4th grade -- to visit the tower. Through April and into May, each class will get its turn to climb up to the bells and have a go at chiming or ringing a bell during the Sunday School hour.

This last Sunday, April 5th, was the first of the Sunday School classes, the 2nd and 3rd graders. Unlike many adults, most of the kids know no fear, so for an hour the tower is filled with eagerness and enthusiasm to see and try everything. Our spiral staircase leading up to the dead room and belfry is an adventure in itself for most kids this age. Sawyer Gosnell, our steeplekeeper, has become quite expert at managing 6 or 7 kids at once standing next to the bell frame to see all the bells hanging in the frame, watching one of the larger bells turn over several times, and fielding hundreds of questions.

Paper and crayons are available for drawing pictures of the experience. The pictures, many of them very interesting and quite dramatic, are displayed in the tower stairwell. Bell shaped cookies, of course, top off the visit.

In addition to entertaining and educating our St. Luke's kids about our bells, their visits are also providing us with chances to audition kids for the “children’s chiming band” we are developing to involve younger parishioners in service ringing as well as to introduce them to change ringing. It is our hope that this generation will grow up thinking of tower bells as a regular part of church -- a place they can look forward to being a part of!

Judith Smith

St. James Guild of Change Ringers AGM

2008-03-17T18:37:00.006-04:00

Diana Witt, Jan Wilsden, Alice Heilker and Sally Karkula smile for the camera!

On Sunday, March 16th, members of the St. James Guild of Change Ringers met at Mary Platt's home for dinner and the annual Guild meeting. The meeting began at about 6:30 pm, was interrupted by the serving of the feast, then re-commenced after all had eaten their fill. Mary made a wonderful corned beef and cabbage main dish (an early St. Paddy's day offering), which was complemented by delicious side dishes brought by other Guild members.

The following slate of officers were elected for the year 2008-2009:

Ringing Master - Derek Wilsden
Tower Captain - Kathryn Tucker
Secretary - Diana Witt
Treasurer - Chris Brown

Thanks go to Mary Platt for opening up her lovely condo to us, and to all who contributed food, ideas and excellent companionship.

Cumberland Peal at St. James'

2008-03-04T18:43:00.003-05:00

Thanks to the help of Roger and Kath Baldwin, four North Georgia members of the Society of Royal Cumberland Youths were able to score a peal of 5 minor methods. We very much appreciate our friends from overseas and look forward to their next visit, whenever it may be!

Society of Royal Cumberland Youths
MARIETTA, GA
St JAMES CHURCH
Monday, March 3, 2008 2h28 (5)
5040 Minor (5m: 1 extent each of
Norwich S, Cambridge S, Kent TB,
St Clements CB; 3 extents Plain B)
1 S Kathleen M Baldwin
2 Catherine P Brown
3 Kathryn E Tucker
4 Lyn Barnett
5 Derek J Wilsden
6 Roger Baldwin (C)
Most Minor methods 2,3,4,5.

More Firsts from Charleston

2008-03-04T11:46:00.004-05:00

Congratulations to Derek Wilsden on conducting his first QP of Major during Ring Around Charleston!

Charleston, South Carolina
Cathedral of St Luke and St Paul
Saturday, 23 February 2008
1280 Plain Bob Major
1 Derek Wilsden (C)
2 Kris Fowler
3 Scott Stricker
4 Eric Jacobson
5 Tom Miller
6 Roger Baldwin
7 Bill Buckner
8 David Porter

Details of the 3 QPs conducted by Bill Buckner, Lyn Barnett and Kathryn Tucker:
(Photos to follow, hopefully!)

Charleston, South Carolina
St Michael
Sunday, 24 February 2008
1260 Plain Bob Doubles
1 Nick Winters
2 Scott Stricker
3 Tom Miller
4 Roger Baldwin
5 Bill Buckner (C)
6 Noah Smith

Charleston, South Carolina
Grace Church
Friday, 22 February 2008
1320 Plain Bob Doubles
1 Rosalie Crouch
2 Alan Regin
3 Lyn Barnett (C)
4 Roger Baldwin
5 Bill Buckner
6 Roy Smith
First as conductor, 3; first quarter, 6.

Charleston, South Carolina
Grace Church
Friday, 22 February 2008
1260 Plain Bob Doubles
1 Yvonne Cairns
2 Kathryn Tucker (C)
3 Eileen Joy Butler
4 Bruce Butler
5 Ron Warford
6 Doug McCoy
First as conductor: 2.

Firsts in Charleston

2008-02-26T10:25:00.005-05:00

Ringers from both Marietta and Atlanta recently participated in "Ring Around Charleston", an event held every other year in the beautiful South Carolina city. Lots of quarters were scheduled, and many were scored, including a first for Kathryn Tucker as conductor on Friday, Feb. 22 (Plain Bob Doubles). It was a nerve-wracking experience, but it was made much easier by the incredible support of Ron Warford on the fifth and Yvonne Cairns on the Treble - both are from Newcastle, UK. Doug McCoy from Charleston was the steady tenor, and Philadelphians Bruce and Eileen Butler (2 and 4) rounded out the fantastic group. It was quite a range of geographic talent!
Derek Wilsden also conducted his first quarter of Major, and Lyn Barnett of Atlanta successfully conducted her first quarter. More details on those accomplishments will be published as they become available.

Bob Doubles Quarter Peal Band
Back row (l to r): Ron Warford, Bruce Butler, Doug McCoy.
Front row: Yvonne Cairns, Kathryn Tucker, Eileen Butler.
Photo was taken at the evening banquet on Saturday, Feb. 23 - the clothing in the photo was not what we were wearing for the quarter peal!

New Minor Methods Initiative

2008-01-19T07:17:00.000-05:00

The NoGa Ringing Masters are launching an initiative to accelerate improvement in the quality of ringing by NoGa ringers, both in method reliability and striking.
This is being approached by redirecting one hour of each tower's Saturday morning practice (9:30-10:30) for a program of achieving ringing excellence, initially in Plain and Treble Bob Minor methods, then leading on toward several Surprise Minor methods. The Program kicks off on February 2nd for the eight most advanced ringers active in the NoGa towers.
A quickly-felt trickle-down to all ringing by NoGa ringers will be better supported bands within which they can better progress. As ringers achieve a sufficient standard in methods and striking they will be inducted into the (open-ended) Program. Ringers not (yet) within the Program will be welcome at the 9:30 Saturday hour but generally as sit-in observers only.
Derek Wilsden

First Quarter Congrats

2007-12-30T17:14:00.000-05:00

From l to r: Derek Wilsden, Kathryn Tucker, Cathy Brown, Charley Heilker, Alice Heilker and Mark Phillips.

Congratulations to Alice Heilker on her first quarter peal ever! She admitted she felt very jittery at the beginning, though none of us detected any hint of nervousness. Alice has worked very hard on her striking and it showed during this quarter. May it be the first of many! Details of the quarter peal are listed below:

MARIETTA, Georgia
29 December 2007
St. James Church
1260 Mixed Doubles (Stedman, Grandsire and Plain Bob)
1 Catherine P. Brown
2. Kathryn E. Tucker
3. Charley Heilker
4. Mark Phillips
5. Derek J. Wilsden
6. Alice Heilker
First quarter - 6. First multiple methods quarter - 4. Rung for the wedding of parishioners Heidi Cash and John Setchel.

"Happy Clapper"

2007-12-28T20:04:00.000-05:00

St. James is now once again an 8-bell tower. Our own intrepid Derek Wilsden finally received the part needed to fix the #3 bell, and did all the necessary work to bring St. James back to normal, even-numbered bell glory!
Many thanks to Derek, Mary Platt and Cathy Brown for calling changes and conducting methods under "odd" circumstances. And thank you to all the ringers who steadfastly endeavored to ignore bell #3 while ringing!

St. James Bells on the Radio

2007-12-20T08:55:00.000-05:00

The bells of St. James are featured in a 30-second spot on Atlanta's public radio station, WABE. When the producer of the show, David Barasoain, asked Kathryn Tucker why the bells were rung at Christmastime (and this was back in October!), she did her best to give a concise explanation. Another spot featuring St. James will air in February.
Copy and paste the following link into your browser and listen to the spot: http://www.pba.org/programming/programs/atlantasounds/1606/
Then find the "listen here" link on the "St. James in Marietta" paragraph on the page.

Practice continues at St. James

2007-12-05T12:21:00.000-05:00

Though it will probably be weeks until the #3 bell will be back in service, practices and service ringing will continue at St. James. As we found out at our most recent practice, it is a challenge to ring methods without this bell, but not impossible. We hope that all North Georgia ringers (and any visitors who might come along!) will continue to support the ringing at St. James.

Derek Wilsden's expalanation for the incident: "The clapper was ejected downward on to wood and suffered no damage (the only bell that does not have concrete under it!). The problem was not the usual loss of the crown staple pin in this type event, but a surprising failure of the welding of one of the side lugs of the staple and then a fatigue failure of the ‘pin’ - which is a 5/8-nch bolt. We are in contact with Taylor, Eayre and Smith for repair options."

Cumberland Peal Band

2007-11-28T19:52:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, 27 November, three members of the Society of Royal Cumberland Youths from St. James' successfully rang a peal of Lincolnshire Surprise Major, along with five SRCY members from the UK. This was especially exciting for Cathy Brown, who had never rung Lincolnshire and also for Kathryn Tucker, who had rung one plain course over a year ago! But with six other very steady ringers (Derek Wilsden rang the treble), we managed to pull it off. We missed Mary Platt, another Cumberland - alas, she was a good girl and did not call in sick to work. Lyn Barnett, the eighth Cumberland in the North Georgia area (Matt Brown, Emily Heilker and the always-missed Bill Bresler are also a members of SRCY), rang a peal of Bob Royal down at St. Luke's later that afternoon. Congratulations to all!

Peal band (l to r): Kath Baldwin, Ian Campbell, Simon Davies, Alan Regin, Kathryn Tucker, Derek Wilsden and Roger Baldwin (conductor). Missing is Cathy Brown, who had to scoot right after the peal.

The Heifer Bowl Returns to North Georgia

2007-11-06T22:14:00.000-05:00

NAGCR Striking Competition 2007,
Church of the Good Shepherd, Augusta, GA

First Place for the Six Bell competition went to a combined team of St. Lukes and St. James ringers, conducted by Lyn Barnett. Cathy Brown, Mary Platt, Kathryn Tucker, Lyn Barnett, Derek Wilsden, Judith Smith.

First Place in the Eight Bell competition went to a combined team of ringers from Philadelphia, Brewster, St. Lukes and St. James.
Beverly Faber, Eileen Butler, Charley Heilker, Ron Edge, Bruce Butler, Chris Haller, Sally Karkula, Lyn Barnett.

The winning Call Change band included Bruce and Eileen Butler (Philadelphia), Chris Haller (Rochester), Sudie Lea O'Connor (Augusta), Helen Haller (Rochester), and North Georgia ringer Alice Heilker.

Thank you Sudie Lea and all the Augusta ringers for your hospitality and wonderful bells!

Happy 7th Anniversary to St. Luke's Bells!

2007-10-23T14:47:00.000-04:00

North American Guild
Atlanta, Georgia
St. Luke
Sunday, 21 October 2007 in 0h42m (13-1-14)
1320 Plain Bob Doubles
1 Tommy Lazenby
2 Kathryn Tucker
3 Lyn Barnett
4 Sawyer Gosnell
5 Bill Buckner (C)
6 Judith Smith

For Evensong for the Feast of St. Luke and in celebration of the 7th anniversary of the dedication of the bells.

Atlanta Sounds records St. James Bells

2007-10-22T22:35:00.000-04:00

Atlanta Sounds from Public Broadcasting visited St. James practice Monday evening, Oct. 22, to take an audio snapshot of change ringing.
Check their website at Atlanta Sounds for details and schedule of when it will be broadcast on WABE.

Change Ringing at St. Lukes, Atlanta, and St. James, Marietta, Georgia

2007-10-19T19:14:00.000-04:00

St. James, Marietta, and St. Lukes, Atlanta, 18.5 miles apart and linked by Interstate 75, share the unique privilege to each house an installation of change ringing bells.

St. James, Marietta, GA 8, 5-1-2

St. Lukes, Atlanta, GA 10, 13-1-14

The ringers at each tower, collectively known as the North Georgia Ringers, are dedicated to the "Exercise" ......