[r-t] Covering bells as degenerate hunt bells

[Don Morrison]

Regarding your proposal to view covered lower stages as really
being rung at the higher stage, and notated and recorded as such:

In the Wiki in response to something I wrote you replied 'Eh? This
seems wrong on two counts. Firstly the concept of "variable cover"
disappears under my Decisions. The variable cover bit would just be
achieved with calls.' My apologies for not being clear. I was not
trying to imply it should be called variable cover in the future, I
was just trying to describe what I was postulating might be rung,
using the currently blessed terminology. I understand, and I think
agree, that variable cover is more a matter of the calls than of the
method.

More generally, though, I think one of us is not understanding the
other correctly. Odds are it's me not understanding you correctly.
Anyway, in an attempt to get me onto the same page as you, here are
some concrete examples that may help clarify things.

Imagine I am a part of a band that rings four peals.

a) One is of what today we think of as Plain Bob Major, rung on eight
bells.

b) The second is of what today we think of as Plain Bob Triples, rung on
eight bells with the tenor covering throughout.

b*) The third is of what today would be called Plain Bob Variable Cover
Triples, rung on eight bells with a variety of different bells
covering at different points during the peal.

c) The fourth is of what today would be called Plain Bob Triples, rung
uncovered on seven bells.

As I understand what you have suggested both (b) and (b*) are really
eight bell methods, with one bell making really long eighths. I
further believe you are asserting that they are the same method, which
seems reasonable. The case in (a) is also an eight bell method, but
clearly a different one than (b) and (b*). The case in (c) is a seven
bell method, and is thus distinct from (a) and from (b)+(b*).

That's three methods, (a), (b)+(b*), and (c). Which is Plain Bob
Major? Which is Plain Bob Triples? And what's the third one called?

In particular, what do I write down when I send each of the four peals
(a), (b), (b*) and (c) to the Ringing World for publication?




-- 
Don Morrison <dfm at ringing.org>
"Curae leves loquuntur ingentes stupent" -- Seneca the Younger,
_Phaedra_  (Slight griefs talk, great ones are speechless)