Mini rings

[John Harrison]

> Dove-online listing includes weights of 1/2cwt and upwards while the
> Mini Ring Directory includes weights up to about 2cwt. There seems to be
> an overlap.

There is an overlap, because the distinctions that people wish to make when
using the term are fuzzy, and different people want to make different
distinctions.

Logically, 'mini ring' ought to refer simply to weight.  On that basis,
there seems to be a clear natural divide, with no rings between 22lb and
63lb, but plenty lighter and heavier.  On that basis, maybe 40lb would be a
safe dividing line. 

But many people seem less interested in size per se than in the status of
the ring, making an instinctive distinction between 'towers' and 'non
towers', which probably equates to 'public' and 'private', since the
defining feature of a public ring is that some sort of structure containing
louvres protrudes upwards from the building, whereas private rings have no
such requirement (and probably a desire not to radiate much sound) and so
tend to be built within the confines of natural roof lines.    

This latter distinction clearly doesn't permit a weight cut-off, since
Warden Hill is barely 1/2 cwt, while several private rings are well over
1cwt.  

So you pay your money and take your choice.  Either use 'mini' for size, in
which case there is a clear dividing line around 40lb, or go with the
majority tendency to use mini-ring as a code for 'not a proper tower', in
which case you have to forget about weight as a delineator.  You can't have
both.

Regards

-- 
John Harrison
http://www.jaharrison.me.uk
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