We had two handbell peal attempts this week, one successful and one to keep on the list of projects. We tried Grandsire Caters on Monday, but failed about two thirds of the way through when I missed a bob. Grandsire Caters has a lot of bobs! Something like 150 calls...

This peal, currently near the top on BellBoard, has the footnote that Emma Southerington has achieved the milestone of three thousands: 1000 tower bell peals, 1000 handbell peals, and 1000 peals as conductor. The peal was her 1000th tower bell peal, and she conducted it but was already well over...

Here's an updated table of quarter peal statistics.

Quite a drop in the number of quarters compared to 2022; slightly fewer ringers...

Yesterday we rang a good peal of Bristol with Estella Haynes and Jack Page. I had been planning to get Estella to come over from Edinburgh for a peal, and then it turned out that yesterday she was working in Glasgow for the day and also Jack is visiting for...

While I was updating my records after our peal on Friday, I noticed that 2022 had equalled the highest number of SACR handbell peals in any year, with a total of 11. The previous high points were 2015 and 2017, also with 11 each. Moreover, the number of peal ringers...

This landmark has been on the horizon for a while, but it was difficult to make a specific plan to mark it because of a couple of high-volume ringing days (the recent surprise royal weekend and the forthcoming handbell day) and a habit of opportunistic quarters with our Sunday afternoon...

As well as losing a peal in Glasgow yesterday, Nick and James scored one in Edinburgh today.

Scottish Association
Edinburgh, Midlothian
27 House o' Hill Crescent
Sunday, 1 December 2019 in 2h 29 (11)
5056 Yorkshire Surprise Major
Composed by J W Holdsworth (no. 7)
1-2 Barbara J Bell
3-4 James...

Last week, Emma Southerington reached the milestone of 1000 peals as conductor, with a peal of Lincolnshire Royal on handbells. This is a landmark that not many people have achieved - moreover, she has conducted more than 600 handbell peals, which is also an impressive total.

Turning to PealBase...

Back in 2013, I used data from BellBoard to estimate the number of handbell ringers - or at least, the number of people who had rung a published handbell peal or quarter during a certain period of time. I found 1059 people during the 5-year period up to the end...

Two peals of Bristol Maximus on handbells, a fortnight apart and both rung in the Reading area, have attracted attention as landmarks at opposite ends of two handbell ringing careers.

The first, on Wednesday 21st June, is remarkable for being Pip Dillistone's first handbell peal. This must surely be...