Ridgman Report 2013

Ridgman Trophy Ten Bell Striking Competition 2013

So the EDA were up among the big boys again. There’s a photo of the band members with this report. (N.B. I’m not one of them!) They rang very nicely, although their supporters, pacing around the churchyard, had some anxious moments. Those bells just don’t want you to ring well – one uncorrected error propagates rapidly - but the EDA kept them well under control. Oh, by the way, the tower tilts appreciably westwards, as you can see from the photo of the ringing room, although I didn’t think it adversely affected the handling.

Here’s what the judges said: “The band cut the timing fine for the start of the test piece and this did them harm. They needed more rounds to settle before going into changes. The start was hesitant and the first two leads had the majority of the faults. However, the back bells co-operated well, the roll-ups were good, the leading was good – slightly quick but consistent.”

The EDA are known for their “just in time” approach to starting, which ought to make them instantly recognisable by the judges. As a matter of fact, it apparently caused concern that both judges were resident members of the EDA, and such a situation will be avoided in future. Speaking of the judges, you might have thought from the appearance of Richard’s face that he and Mike had had a punch-up over which was the best band. The idea has dramatic potential, but apparently we were seeing the result of an earlier fall from his bicycle.

We all had a nice day out; thank you to the Lincoln Diocesan Guild for their great organisation. Some people went to ring at the other local towers that were open; some just drank real ale and ate cake. While sheltering from the thundery showers in the beer garden (see photos), we were treated to a flypast by what we think were the Red Arrows, who made considerably more noise than the bells and even more than the thunder. At the end, everyone got a chance to ring on twelve, ending with lowering all twelve in peal, which really was great fun.

A longer report, with photographs of all the bands, and of the event in general, can be seen on the website for the Ridgman Striking Competition here.

Next year’s Ridgman Trophy, hosted by the Essex Association, will be on Saturday 7 June 2014, with a touch of Stedman Caters as the test piece.

Barbara Le Gallez