[Bell Historians] Contents and layout of Doves Guide

[David Bryant]

Alan wrote:

> Does anyone know why the basic layout and contents of Doves Guide
> were butchered?
> Previous editions were compact(compared to the latest edition) and
> quite well presented, and in MY OPINION of more general interest to
> ringers as a whole.
> I have to admit that one of my first thoughts about the latest copy
> was why had it changed so much?
> Poor old Ron Dove had gone to a tremendous amount of effort to
> collect the origonal database of information on CHIMES and RINGS and
> yes there were mistakes in every edition,but with such a large
> collection of information it must be hard to get everything right,and
> we are all human.
> I was dissapointed to see the chopping of the chimes section-what
> prompted its axing?

Perhaps chimes were axed because the current compilers weren't interested in
them and couldn't be bothered to update them? Many other ringers, however,
are interested - as is shown by Mike Chester's list, and I'm sure someone
would have been prepared to update the chimes information, given the chance.
The removal of the interesting appendices is also definitely (In my opinion,
of course) a change for the worse, as is changing the size of the book. The
only change for the better has been the inclusion of rings of 4 in the main
section - I see that as a definite improvement. What I can't understand is
why the current compilers saw fit to remove parts of the content which Ron
Dove had decided to include, and to replace his logical description of
semitones with something illogical. The book was handed to the central
council so that it could be continued and kept up to date, not so that it
could be radically altered, and I cannot understand why the current
compilers have taken it on themselves to do this.

David