CAMRA

Appeal for ringers.

This is an article written by Janet Rowan of the local band for the Hull CAMRA newsletter, appearing along with an advert to recruit new members to the band.

Real ale and ....

Hopefully this new column, where people write about the symbiotic relationship of real ale and another of their hobbies, will make regular appearances over the next few issues. Here Janet Rowan, Hull Branch membership secretary extols the appeal of real ale and

... Bell-ringing.

Regular readers of Pub Mirror have one obvious thing in common, a liking for and interest in real ales. But most of us have other interests too and I would hazard a guess that for many enjoying a pint of good ale is incorporated into whatever other leisure pursuits they choose, that is certainly true of me, I am a bellringer. At this point someone will usually say in knowledgeable tones “ahh, a campanologist…”, well, yes but to be frank I have never heard any ringer call themselves that, no we are ringers, plain and simple. And for most of us enjoying a pint of decent beer is an important part of our hobby. There has always been a strong link between beer and bells. Think of how many pubs have Bell or Bells in their name. 'The Bell' is one of the most popular pub names in the country not forgetting Blue Bell, Old Bell, Ring O'Bells, Eight Bells, Golden Bell and lots more. Ringing bells is thirsty work. In the past, many belfries had their own supply of beer in the tower. However, ringers were not known for their moderation so in some places the clergy took the floors out of church towers and made the ropes longer making the bellringers ring from inside the church, where they could be observed!

Before I began ringing I had a picture of the average bellringer, he (it was always a he) was elderly, probably in his eighties, a regular churchgoer and wore his church going suit with braces and a waistcoat. Well I was well off beam there. First there is probably no such thing as an 'average bellringer' they come in all ages shapes and sizes and both sexes. And (although I still believe they must exist) I have not yet met one eighty-year-old bloke in braces!! Also in my experience most bellringers are not churchgoers. One thing they do tend to have in common is they tend to be sociable creatures and generally practice nights finish in good time to enjoy a couple of pints or so. As I said ringing can be thirsty work and it is no accident that most old churches have a pub next door. I ring at St Mary's, Lowgate immediately opposite the Three John Scotts, where you will find the St Mary's ringers from 9.30 every Tuesday. Across the country most towers have their own local and it is usually a real ale establishment!

Apart from regular practice nights, followed by a pint, we ring for services, including weddings, usually followed by toasting the happy couple by means of the small 'fee' they provide. We often have the opportunity to go to out of the way villages from where we can see the locality from the top of the tower before meeting the community in the local hostelry! Bellringing is good exercise, although not nearly as strenuous as most people imagine, but much cheaper than joining a gym. In fact it's free apart from beer money. It's not as easy as it looks and provides constant challenges in learning techniques and methods, provides a way to make new friends and to get to know your locality and see the countryside or just have fun. If you fancy giving it a try and live in Hull see the ad opposite . If you live outside Hull and have a tower nearby (I'm sure you will know if you do!) enquire at the church or go along on practice night, you are sure to be made very welcome.

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