I have been experiencing what could be described as a “dry” ringing period – sticking close to home and the familiar for the past few months whilst I regain my confidence. It started with a broken finger in October which mucked up my handling, which is suspect at best. It was followed by a near accident on an outing and a demoralising further outing that made me decide to draw in my horns and stay safe, if nothing else. A prolonged bout of sciatica from January through to Easter, topped off with a smattering of shingles, only made it more difficult. But last week I felt ready to brave the outside world again and decided to attend a Ladies Guild meeting.
My choice was carefully thought out. I have been to the particular tower twice before with no mishap and I appreciate the fact that the ladies are not too numerous. If there is an unusually large turnout, a few will always be in the kitchen gossiping and making tea rather than critiquing from the side lines. They are unfailingly supportive with no obvious eye rolling in evidence and actually seem to appreciate my presence, even if my striking is not of the finest. The Ladies Guild exists to encourage women and girls to feel confident and to improve their standard of ringing and I find that they fulfil this brief admirably. Meetings are an opportunity to experiment and try things out rather than to show off accomplishments. At LG meetings, we do it for ourselves and if it goes wrong then tant pis, the cake and company are always good whatever the standard of the ringing. If a man comes along to support, he is welcomed, but only in a supporting role.
As I entered the ringing room I felt my apprehension roll off, and as soon as I took a rope I began to relax. I had warned the ringing master that I might be a bit wobbly and she chose me a suitable bell and stood close by to make sure that I was OK, not interrupting or telling me what I was doing wrong, but just a reassuring presence. Of course it was fine, so much fine that after some call changes, plain bob minor etc, it came round to my choice again and I made an unusual (particularly for me) request. “What would I like to do?” I surprised myself by replying “I would like to ring that tenor, please”. That Tenor is quite a heavy dude and requires a box. On the wall it admits to 16cwt, although in Doves it is listed as lighter. Ladies pant a bit when required to turn it in. It is not the easiest bell and I am not a box sort of person, but it seemed to me that this was the most suitable environment to take a risk. My wish was granted and although I only rang it on my own and I did not ring it particularly well, I did ring it, and for me that felt like a victory.
Some of us have to be satisfied with small shuffles forward. We cannot all catch hold of 30cwt bells with insouciance, even if we would like to.
The Accidental Ringer 