Socials News
Summer Tour 2013
After the success of the 2012 SUGCR tour to Cambridge, another year had passed and another tour was due... After another successful year, SUGCR decided that they wanted to head to deepest darkest Somerset, to experience some of Somerset’s finest and heaviest bells.
The tour began early Friday morning, thunder and lightning looming overhead, a worrying prospect for the 12 SUGCR members crammed into a minibus heading for 3 nights of camping. After a wet journey to Westbury, in a minibus with a window reassuringly held together with only gaffa tape, we headed straight to the pub for a heavily burger based lunch. After lunch and with the rain easing we headed to our first tower of the tour, Westbury. This splendid ring of bells, which set the bar for the rest of the tour, provided great amusement when one of our smallest members couldn’t quite pull his weight and struggled to pull the tenor off in rounds. Next up was Marston Bigot, where we were joined by one of the guilds founding members Margaret Chapman, who after a quick hello swiftly disappeared to put the kettle on, ready for when we would arrive at our final tower of the day, and one of the smallest rings of the tour, Pig-Le-Tower. Being only a little heavier than the guilds own mini-ring (The Hartley 12), Pig-le-Tower proved a gentle end to ringing on the first day of the tour before we headed to Glastonbury to set up camp. The campsite, positioned under what appeared to be the only bit of clear sky in the whole of the UK, meant we needed to put the tents up fast.
Being a responsible and mature group, we would obviously attack this in the most efficient and sensible way.... Or not... What ensued was a frantic race between the boys and the girls, with the boys winning hands down. There was the slight issue of the wonky tent, guide ropes tied wrong and a few sides not pegged down, but the boys took the victory and headed to a nearby pub. Ale and local cider as expected was well received, although some could argue one member appreciated the beer a little too much, leading to a nasty surprise discovered in the tent the next morning. Slightly worse for wear and with sore heads, we got going for the second day of the tour.
Saturdays towers combined had an average weight of 22cwt, setting us up for a challenging day. Starting at Ditcheat, this fine ring of bells was enjoyed by all, with the highlight being a fantastic course of Cambridge Major to get the day off to a good start. Bruton and Evercreech followed, both pleasant rings of bells, before a filling pub lunch refuelled us for the afternoon. Arriving at the first tower of the afternoon, Queen Camel, our heaviest ring of the tour, with plenty of time to spare, provided the perfect opportunity for some of the group to have a well-earned nap, before the obligatory tour group photo. Keeping things simple provided the best ringing with one of the highlights of the whole tour being the slow controlled well struck lower. Next up was Marston Magna, which posed a slightly unusual problem. When we arrived, we found the house next to the church was having a garden party selling amongst other things Ice cream. Being a nice sunny day, most members snuck off to sample this ice cream, leaving only a few people in the tower. Ice creams eaten, and trees climbed, some nice ringing was achieved before moving on. Wincanton was the final tower of the day, where an excellent course of Pudsey Surprise Major rounded off another successful day. After Dinner we headed back to the campsite where maximum amusement was sought from the combination of a tennis ball and the luggage cage on top of the minibus. Following a more subdued trip to the pub it was time for the annual summer tour tradition...Midnight Biscuit club. Located in the minibus we were able to enjoy this tradition whilst keeping warm and not disturbing the whole campsite. It also proved the perfect venue for a re-naming ceremony for one of our fresher’s, who after the biscuit was eaten was re-named forever more.
Sunday morning started early, with many having been woken early by a neighbouring cockerel, which seemed oblivious to the actual time. The first tower of the day was Chilcompton, where we were able to ring all 12 bells for the morning service. Next up was the light 6 of Ston Easton, a ring of bells much more akin to what SUGCR are used too. Our third ring of the day was a much lighter 12, Andy Mead’s mini ring at Knapps farm. After bumping the minibus into an old milk can, most members were more interested in the local ducks then the bells, but we did manage some pleasant ringing on these small bells.
After a roast dinner at the local pub with vast quantities of veg we moved back to some heavier bells visiting Shepton Mallet and Doulting. The final tower of the day or rather garage was the Great Orchard Campanile. This interesting ring of bells put an end to another day of good ringing. Back at the campsite, the trusty tennis ball provided another evenings entertainment, with the minibus being given a night off. A makeshift game of Rounders, using tree branches for bats and with the pitch being littered with various obstacles (the tents and minibus) we played long past sunset until we could no longer see the ball.
Monday, the final day of the tour featured our only tower with no bells. We couldn’t come all the way to Glastonbury without climbing the tor. After packing up camp we headed up the tor, having a picnic lunch before the tennis ball came out once more for a slightly more risky game of catch. Descending back to the minibus, we had one more stop before we headed home, one final visit to Pig-le-Tower. After more tea and biscuits an impromptu quarter peal of Grandsire Triples was scored to mark the end of what had been a fantastic tour.
We’d like to thank all the towers for their hospitality, as without these this tour wouldn’t have been such a success.
Kristian Scudamore, Master 2013-2014
Summer Tour 2012
Following a fantastic time at the 2011 SUA held in Cambridge, it became the Southampton University Guild of Change Ringers' destination of choice for the Summer Tour 2012.
After leaving Southampton early in the evening on Thursday 14th June, we arrived at our campsite with just enough light left to be able to put up the huge tent all eleven of us would be sharing for the weekend. This required much team work, but the need to get to a pub before last orders was enough motivation for most people to lend a hand! We eventually made it to a pub, with enough time for a pint, or two for the more focused drinkers among us
We woke up on Friday morning pleased to find that our tent had survived the stormy weather overnight, and, with 5 towers scheduled for the day, headed straight to a local Tesco café for breakfast, because every little helps! Following a morning of successful ringing at both St Vigor, Fulbourn, and St Edward King and Martyr, we headed to The Red Lion in Histon for some well-earned lunch. Now feeling fully awake, a fantastic course of Cambridge Surprise Major was rung at the first tower of the afternoon (St Andrews, Histon).
We then headed to All Saints, Longstanton, where we experienced our first lock-out of the weekend, but a quick phone call to a helpful Churchwarden swiftly led us to the key. The final tower of the day was a lovely ring of four, (All Saints, Landbeach). We were pleasantly surprised to be greeted with tea, coffee, juice and a large selection of biscuits! Feeling suitably refreshed, we attempted some unusual minimus methods, including Cheeky Little Place, and spliced Rhubarb and Custard. However, some well-struck Bristol would have to be the highlight of our minimus adventure.
Relaxing after a full day of ringing would be far too sensible for SUGCR! Instead we hired two punts overnight and attempted to punt all the way to Grantchester and back, before the punts had to be returned at 7am. So, we set-off with each punt plentifully-filled with as many snacks and supplies as possible, and off we went. Along the way, we discovered that our Vice-Master proves irresistible to Cambridge's swan population, and ducks just cannot keep their eyes off certain members of the band. We punted merrily up the river until the early hours when we decided it might be a good idea to get some rest before having to punt all the way back again. Cheese on charred bread was a midnight snack enjoyed by some around a small riverside fire, before retiring to bed, which came in the form of a large tarpaulin spread across all eleven hardy souls sheltering on the river bank.
Saturday dawned damp and cold. With a long journey down the river ahead of us, we wasted no time in getting back on the water. A phrase that almost rang true for one member of the band who was momentarily left clinging onto a tree branch following a minor steering misjudgement! Followed closely by an attentive family of ducks we made it back in time for breakfast and a large amount of coffee before the first tower of the day (St Peter, Barton), where we weren't quite sure whether it was the tower swaying or us
Caffeine kicking-in, ringing went well on the lovely bells of St Mary and St Michael, Trumpington, the second tower of the morning. Lunch wasn't without its surprises as we turned up at "The Coach and Horses" expecting a traditional British pub, only to find it was an Asian fusion restaurant!
The first tower of the afternoon, a 5cwt six, (St Andrew, Oakington), warmed us up nicely in preparation for the second tower of the afternoon, (St Andrew, Chesterton), a 16cwt six, where it only seemed fitting to focus on ringing some well-struck Stedman Doubles, as the first peal in the method was rung at this very tower. It was clear the lack of sleep from the night before had got to some, with our Master exclaiming, "That bell looks like its got towers in it!", whilst driving along a country lane. An early night was evidently needed in preparation for joining the Sunday service band at Great St Mary' the following morning. Once we had all enjoyed a ring ourselves, we went up onto the roof of the tower to see Cambridge from a different angle, and appreciate the local band's excellent ringing. After a Wetherspoon's breakfast and somehow managing to get the huge tent back in the bag, SUGCR were homeward-bound, bringing another excellent tour to a close.
We would like to thank all the tower secretaries and tower contacts who made such a fantastic tour possible. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Charlotte Stansbury, Social Secretary 2011-2012