digital recordings and other things

[jameshedgcock at h...]

I was pleased to read somewhere that digital recordings of Star 
Street and St. Dunstan in the East, London, amongst others, are to be 
released for sale.
I also remember reading that certain bells' reputations get better 
the further into history passes the last event of their ringing.
I was not aware that Star Street had been rung. I had always 
understood that the ringing of selected bells/ combination of bells 
caused excessive tower movement and that even those intrepid 
individuals decided against ringing them. Christopher?
In 1969, as a new student in Canterbury, I took the opportunity to go 
up to London, to collect a few towers on the University of London 
Dinner Day. London held a fascination for me, and I was excessively 
keen to ring at the London towers. Until that time I had only rung 
at St. Martin in the Fields (badly), although Dennis Beresford was 
very kind to me; and at Stepney. I had listened to Bow and St. 
Clement Danes on a Lord Mayor's Show day and had been impressed with 
the standard of ringing and quality of the bells.
To everyone's surprise, and delight St. Dunstan in the East were 
opened for ringing. This was the occasion when I was introduced to 
one of the niceties of London ringing. You don't catch hold of a 
bell in some places until you are asked to do so. No such niceties 
where I came from, where you could catch hold for anything you could 
ring - and things you couldn't. I remember well David Cawley turfing 
me off the tenor for Stedman Triples and Ranald being asked to ring 
it. My indignity was restored somewhat when David kindly asked me to 
ring in the next touch.
This is where, wearing my full body armour, flack jacket, and tin 
hat, I poke my head above the parapet to state that the bells that 
most impressed me that day were Cripplegate.
John Pladdys has a rather poor recording of St. Dunstan's, so I will 
be pleased to have my memory refreshed. I just hope that technology 
is not used to enhance what the sound actually was.
My other lasting memory of the day was scrounging a lift to St. 
Dunstan's with George Bonham and his friend in a bubble car!


On another matter, I am pleased that Nigel Taylor was so kind as to 
make comment about Liverpool Cathedral tenor. Thank you. I eagerly 
await further comment about the initial question.