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.

  Teaching

A lot of my time is involved with training. I am chairman of the Oxford Diocesan Guild Education Committee and of the Sonning Deanery Branch.

I am a member of the Central Council of Church Bellringers. I chaired the Education Committee for 8 years and led the working group that set up the Ringing Foundation. I am chairman of the Biographies Committee. and former chairman of the Public Relations 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 and The Tower Handbook (now on-line )

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.

Like most ringers, I have rung in hundreds of different towers in UK and abroad, enjoying the universal welcome that is characteristic among ringers. You can find details of over 6000 ringing towers in Dove's Guide. or find out more at Discover Bellringing 

Technology

I use modern teaching aids including simulators. 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.

Many years ago, I built some interesting models  that represent the way change ringing works, and I do talks on the technology of bellringing, and the maths of ringing (for adults) and a talk to school maths pupils .