[r-t] Compositions of the Decade: Part 6 - Caters

[Mark Davies]

Philip is right to say that, in the peal of Flada, the method, which was
purely Tom Hinton's invention, was the star; the composition was indeed
mundane by comparison (although there was some good music in it). As far as
I remember, there was a bit of falseness to avoid, but the main aim was to
give something relatively simple with some fixed bells, so we had a chance
of scoring. I think most of the band found this to be one of the hardest
things we'd ever rung. Especially for people accustomed to using
handstrokes and backstrokes as anchors, the constantly-changing leads were a
nightmare.

Having said that, it was a very enjoyable peal. It certainly felt like we
were doing something new and wonderful. I'd highly recommend the method to
any band looking for a challenge - it would be even more so with a more
adventurous composition. How about something with an odd number of courses,
to come round at handstroke - go on, you know you want to!

MBD