[Bell Historians] Light rings, Avebury continued.

[David Bryant]

"O.K. So several of you have taught youngsters to ring on heavy bells.
But that was only half of my comment, I also mentioned the Avebury ringers
at the other end of the scale.
I wonder how many local persons, that have passed the age of collecting the
National Old Age Pension, have been taught to ring at Chewton Mendip, for
instance, in the past fifteen years ?"

I think the point about teaching is the strength of the local band and the
ability of the teacher, not the weight of the bells. I don't know what the
local situation at Chewton is, so cannot comment on this specifically.

Older people generally take longer to learn to ring (as I know from
experience, having taught people from teenagers to retired). To take a ring
such as Chewton, the treble will be about 4-5 cwt. If it goes well (and in
this case it does), then such a bell won't be difficult to learn on. I used
to teach on a 14 cwt six, which had a 5 cwt and easy going treble, and I
found this easier than teaching on some of the lighter rings which I have
used since - everything happened more slowly. And let's be honest, whatever
the weight of the bells the level of ability in ringing which an elderly
learner is likely to achieve will in most cases be considerable lower than
that of a younger person.

David