If you get lost…
by Helen Beaufoy
Even the most experienced ringers get lost from time to time. However, a good ringer will not allow himself to be lost for long. If you get lost, whatever you do, don’t give up! There is nothing more likely to annoy the rest of the band, than someone who refuses to be put right.
Here are some hints:
- This is not the time to start ringing with one hand, and flopping your rope about. Ring your bell absolutely correctly, up to the balance so that when someone tells you where you should be, you can get there on the very next blow.
- Don’t stop. You must keep somewhere between the bell that is leading and the bell that is at the back. If you get into ninth’s place in a touch of Doubles, it isn’t going to help.
- Look for a gap. If there’s a great big silence because nobody is leading, get on and lead. If everyone seems to be heading for the front, go up to the back.
- Look around to see who is nodding and winking at you. If you’re lucky, nobody else will even know you were lost.
- Appeal for help! “I’m lost, somebody put me right please”, often works.
- Remember your Course Bell. If you notice who is leading before you each time, then when you get lost you can find him, follow him down to lead, then lead yourself.
- Remember that what really matters (unless you’re in the middle of a peal) is what it sounds like outside. It doesn’t particularly matter if two bells have crossed during a muddle.
Now, none of this is any good if more than one person is lost. If there is a major pile up, the Conductor should call “Rounds” straight away. Remember, it may be your Learners’ Practice, but the general public don’t know that. This was brought home to us by a French couple who thanked us for “ze concert of ze bells.”