Yesterday we rang a peal of Bristol Royal, which was a good achievement by all the band. I thought the method-ringing was noticeably better than in our two previous peals of Bristol Royal, with fewer trips overall, fewer big mistakes, and much less need for conducting.

However, there was a lot of variation in the speed, and we didn't manage to stick to a consistent rhythm throughout. The peal took 2h55, which is an improvement on the previous peals (3h00 and 3h03). There's nothing wrong with ringing more slowly, but if we could stick to the speed of the best ringing during the peal, I think we should be aiming for about 2h40.

We seem to go through the following cycle repeatedly:

• Smooth ringing at a good speed with few trips or hesitations.
• The ringing gradually speeds up because everyone is begin carried along by the rhythm.
• The ringing becomes slightly too fast and the rate of making mistakes increases.
• I suggest that we shouldn't go too fast.
• Everyone slows down by different amounts and the ringing becomes a bit choppy.
• Eventually we settle on a speed, and return to the beginning of the cycle. 

Overlaid on this cycle are occasional more serious mistakes. These can lead to the ringing getting faster and faster as the people who think they know where they are try to get their bells into the right places before they are taken by people who are lost. I say something like "Keep it steady", and everyone slows down inconsistently as above.

We don't usually have the same problem when ringing major, although in recent peals of Bristol there was some tendency for the ringing to run away. I expect more practice will help, as with everything else; also, as we become more confident with the method, maybe we will all have more mental capacity to monitor the rhythm and pay attention to striking.