Abingdonian 2020

47 www.abingdon.org.uk Summer Term Bellringing Club The tower we ring at in Abingdon, St Helen’s, is around 800-900 years old. In the late 1800s Abingdon-on-Thames became an affiliate member of the Old North Berks branch of the Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers. I became a member of the ODG this year after ringing for around two years with the school at St Helen’s church and for about a third of that time at my home church of St Andrew’s in South Stoke. Although that seems like a long time, every moment has been a learning experience and I have learnt that if you really put the effort in to something, you can really end up enjoying it! Bellringing is a fun activity because not only are you training your mind, with the sometimes complex sequences of which bells follow which, but also your muscles as the bells take more effort than you might think to sound off. Passing through the different stages on the Learning The Ropes booklet makes you try harder to progress further and it is very satisfying to pass through the stages and strive to learn more techniques and improve your skill. The Club has been going on ringing trips around the region for the past few years and this year I was involved in organising one by getting permission for us to ring at my home tower. It was the first time a group of young people or school ringers has come to St Andrew’s. We also visited the churches in Cholsey, Goring and Streatley. We had a lot of fun trying out the different bells and adapting to the different weights and sounds. Bellringing with Abingdon School has been a great way to meet new people from different year groups, work together as a team, and socialise. Jack Higgs, 3JGHP