A quick visit to Yorkshire

My sister-in-law and her family live in Yorkshire.  We sometimes go and visit over Christmas or New Year and they sometimes come to us, bringing adult children and their partners, grandchildren etc. Not in recent years, for obvious reasons, but today I decided to pay the county a visit anyway, despite the fact that the extended family has rented a cottage in the Lake District for the holiday period and were not going to be in. Therefore, I paid a virtual visit and started to learn Yorkshire on handbells.

Our Double Norwich is coming along but as the keeper of the tenors, it is not too complicated for me. I did offer to take the trebles (“a doddle” as they were described by one experienced ringer – perhaps they are if you know how to ring Double Norwich already)), but that would push someone else on to 3-4 or 5-6, which is a different order of complexity. I had a look at 5-6 and found them “possible” (and already bagged by the conductor) but 3-4 proved just too random, dancing around in every pattern imaginable. They interfered with my solidly respectable tenors, so I decided to give them a wide berth because better to be solidly respectable and unambitious than a liability. I know my window of comfort and it does not yet stretch as far as a quarter of DNCB on inside bells.

What other challenge could I set myself for these odd days between one holiday and the next when, unless you enjoy shopping, not much entertainment is available? I settled on Yorkshire because it has been described as “easy”. Once again, no doubt it is “easy” if you know how to ring Yorkshire, but if you have no clue as to structure or similarities with other methods, it should keep me quietly contented for some time.

It starts well – the first lead from the trebles holds no surprises if you can cope with the unfamiliar but pleasing half lead and remember the extra dodge at the back as you approach the end of the lead. The second lead is only a little more complicated. If you then reckon that if you learn them thoroughly and apply that to 5 and 8 place bells which are “just” the reverse pattern, half the method is done. Time to learn them thoroughly.  A cup of coffee and some Christmas cake might help.

Come the New Year I may be able to offer something more in my fairly limited repertoire should anyone else want to play. Although, my visit might not be that quick because I find that once you start with this sort of challenge, it is hard to let go until it is achieved.