Christmas Bells

This contains the oldest (and wrongest) ringing joke in the book, but it was still entertaining.

Oldest ring of bells is rung again

This caught my eye on the BBC website.

The world's oldest ring of bells, in Ipswich, has finally been restored and is being rung again. Follow the link for the full story and a listen to them.

The Archers

If you have been following The Archers you'll have heard about the recent fortunes of Ambridge's ringing team. They recently won third place in a striking competition, so congratulations are due!

You may remember that a team from Alvechurch won a striking competition not too long ago. You may also be aware that the creator of The Archers was born in Alvechurch, and that Alvechurch is amongst the villages that fans speculate Ambridge is based on.

The combination of these facts makes me suspicious that someone from the writing team has been spying on our tower...

Read this.

This article is well worth a read.

Running Total

We've had a wonderful response to the sponsorship scheme, both in terms of interest, and in donations large and small. You can now see a running total on the bell fund website, which as of 17th July says that we're at £23,795. Not bad at all.

There is still a long way to go though, so if you've been considering a donation or sponsorship, please get in touch.

Sponsorship, table-top sale, and performing on a Sunday morning

There has been a lot of interest in our sponsorship scheme already, so let us know soon if you're interested. Copies of our leaflet with details went out with this month's Grapevine magazine, but there are also copies in the village library, Parish Office, the church and the Ark. There's no excuse not to pick one up and have a look ;-)

The table-top sale in the Ark last month was a huge success, raising over £400. So thank you to everyone who helped out or came along and spent their money.

In other news, I hear that the team rang Grandsire Doubles for the morning service last Sunday, which is quite an achievement. That must be the first time it's been rung for a service at Alvechurch, rather than on a practice night when we're allowed to make mistakes! Well done all.

(Your Bell Fund Blogger has been a little slack lately due to other commitments. Apologies.)

Part the Second; Bell Sponsorship

The details of our scheme to sponsor a bell, or another refurbished component, have been finalised at last. This is a unique and exciting opportunity to contribute to the refurbishment of the bells of St Laurence, Alvechurch. It's an opportunity to leave your mark on the village in a truly unique and long lasting way; whether you wish to donate in memory of a loved one or to mark the birth of your first grandchild.

You can download a copy of our brochure, including an application form here. Alternatively you will be able to view the brochure as a web page at the Bell Fund website shortly.

Part the First; Next Saturday

Next Saturday (7th June) we'll be holding a table-top sale in The Ark. There will be tables with hand-made cards, plants, books, puzzles, bric-a-brac and of course refreshments and cake.

'Part the Second; Bell Sponsorship' will follow before the weekend is over.

Eggses

We have had 129 tubes returned from our mini egg appeal, out of 168 which were given out. So far we have raised £503.68 which is not at all bad. As they say, the simple ideas are the best ones! Thank you to everyone who kindly ate their mini eggs and returned their tube full of change.

When I next update I'll be able to tell you about our sponsorship scheme, where you'll be able to sponsor one of our refurbished bells or one of the other components which we'll be restoring or replacing.

(Apologies for the prolonged absence, the Bell Fund Blog has been relocating. It's happily settled in its new home now, so with a bit of luck we'll be back to fortnightly updates.)

On Easter Saturday our local MP, Julie Kirkbride, visited the tower to return her mini egg tube and to find out how the appeal is going. Colin, our tower captain, took Julie and her son Angus up into the bell chamber to show them some of the problems we need to repair.




Hopefully by the next time I post I'll be able to tell you how much the mini egg appeal raised.