Bellringing

Ringing

I learnt to ring in 1959 at St Wilfrid's, Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire (see pictures).

I rang with the Southwell Diocesan Guild and the East Derbyshire and West Notts Association .

When Kirkby was augmented to eight bells in 2001, I was in the band that rang the first peal on the eight.

I am a member of the Cambridge University Guild of Change Ringers. I rang at Guildford Cathedral before I married. I have rung at All Saints Wokingham  since the late 1970s.

I celebrated 50 years of ringing with a peal of Kirkby-in-Ashfield Surprise Major rung at Wokingham, with a band  including people who rang with me in Kirkby and Cambridge as well as Wokingham. ( details & picture )

  Teaching

A lot of my time is involved with training. I served 26 years on Oxford Diocesan Guild Education Committee (5 as chair) and in Sonning Deanery Branch (as Training Officer, or acting as for over 20 years).

I am a member of the Central Council of Church Bellringers . I served many years on (and chaired) Education Committee, PR Committee and Biographies Committee.

I have run courses in many parts of the country, including over 30 listening courses .

My most unusual training assignment was to teach the actors who played bellringers in the Midsomer Murders episode ' Ring Out Your Dead'. See the article about making the programme.

Writing

I have written several books on ringing (mostly for CC Publications) including The Learning Curve, 102 articles about learning and teaching that were published between 1999-2007 in The Ringing World, The Tower Handbook (now on-line ) and The New Ringer's Book

I wrote a series of articles about music in ringing  after being invited to give a talk to a group of musicians.

My book 'Living Heritage ', a social history of bellringing in Wokingham over the last 300 years, is written mainly for non-ringers. Shire Books publishes my book 'Bells & Bellringing '

I have rung in hundreds of different towers in UK and abroad, enjoying the universal welcome of ringers. For details of over 6000 ringing towers, see Dove's Guide.

Technology

I use modern teaching aids including simulators. and a strikeometer (Cirel) I have produced training aids, including CDs and !Strike .

I made a counter-rotating dumbbell (which works with a simulator). I didn't realise it at the time, but it is based on a similar principle to that used by my namesake, the 18th century John Harrison in his early clocks.

Years ago, I built some interesting models  to represent how change ringing works. I do talks on ringing, including the music of ringing , technology of bellringing and the maths of ringing (for adults school puplis: maths of ringing)