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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Note a definitive answer, but an early reference I
happened to remember - from Bill Cook's history of the College
Youths:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">The
College Youths concluded their outing with a trip across to <?xml:namespace
prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Calais</st1:place></st1:City> on the Friday. They
took their handbells with them, and rang" one Course of Cinques on the Hand
Bells on Friday ye 2d of June 1732 at <st1:City w:st="on">Calais</st1:City> in
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">France</st1:place></st1:country-region> & another when they were
half Seas over". This would not, of course, have been the double-handed ringing
practised on hand bells today; it was either single-handed ringing or 'lapping'.
It is the earliest known mention of change ringing on handbells. </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
face=Arial size=2>Half seas over doesn't mean over-indulgence in alcoholic
refreshment in this instance!</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
face=Arial size=2>CP</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV><!--End group email --></BODY></HTML>