Devon Bells Open Day.
Monday 26 August 2002.

I tumbled out of bed extremely bright and early for a Bank Holiday Monday and by 8.30am was hunting for a parking space in the narrow lanes of Ide. Armed with a sheaf of day tickets to sell and a pocket full of loose change, I walked up the path to the church. Rounding the corner, I saw a sight that made my jaw drop. A neat queue had formed from the belfry door at the back of the church, out through the porch and into the churchyard and at least twenty people were patiently waiting until the kick-off time of 9 o’clock! The tower stewards turned up very shortly afterwards, having also experienced great difficulty with parking, and after a quick consultation with the key holder, the belfry door was unlocked and the bells were being raised by 8.50.

Claire and Wendy take their stewarding duties very seriously!

The money-spinning venture had started the previous day when a useful £50 was raised by having the Cathedral bells open to ring for Evensong and making a modest charge to visitors for the pleasure. We were pleasantly surprised at the number of people willing to pay, considering that the third Saturday of every month is an open practice when anyone may freely attend. Many of those coming to ring were unfamiliar to the locals, and despite the best efforts of the sentinel on the door to screen the people ascending the tower as bona fide ringers, two non-ringers cheerfully paid £1 each and followed the crowd. The gentleman was even bold enough to take hold of a bell to raise, but it was quickly spotted that he hadn’t a clue what he was doing and he was relieved of his rope immediately. ‘Oh, I thought anyone could have a go!’ was his astonished response. Nevertheless, he was thrilled by being able to see part of the building not normally open to the public and was still chattering excitedly to his partner by the time he had descended the tower.

Impressions of the Monday open day as it moves on apace: twenty-five towers around Dartmoor are open, a new tower opening for business every thirty minutes and staying open for an hour. It is bright and sunny and becoming quite warm. The initial crowd is starting to string out, which will ease the pressure a lot. Some people are trying to ‘grab’ every tower, while others are being more selective. We estimate that there are almost one hundred paying customers moving steadily around the circuit, plus twenty stewards. Some towers are decidedly more on people’s ‘wanted’ list than others: there are long queues at Mary Tavy, whilst only thirty-odd brave souls manage to climb up Brentor. A call-change band joins the fray and visitors stop in their tracks to listen to the distinctive, harmonious rhythm of sixty on thirds. ‘Is this proper Devon call-change ringing?’ we are asked. ‘Wow, terrific, we’re so glad we got to hear the real thing.’ One lady from Oxfordshire tells me she is having a simply wonderful time and asks if we will be having another open day next year! ‘Oh, just give me strength to get through today in one piece,’ I think to myself, but I manage to smile and say that we’ll be hoping to organise something for 2004.

Suddenly it’s 8pm and we’re lowering the bells at South Brent. People are saying their goodbyes and thanking us for a great day. There’s just another thirty minutes to dash and catch ringing at Ashburton before the day is finally over. It’s been a resounding success: no lock-outs, one broken rope (at Sheepstor), three items of lost property to be dealt with. Our visitors have enjoyed themselves and, hopefully, gone away with good memories of the beautiful Devon scenery and the warmth of the welcome.

Now to see how much money we’re made! The stewards have all made contact and reported on their financial status at the end of the day. Every single one of them has said what an enjoyable day they had and that they would be very pleased to help again in the future. That’s great news and reassures me I got the balance just right. I count the cash and put the figures into a spreadsheet. There are various expenses to be met, such as postage, phone calls and stationery. The biggest and most necessary of these is the advert in The Ringing World, but it does pay dividends in the long run. I look at the figures on the screen: we have just broken the £1000 barrier by a whisker, after the deductions have been made. The figures and the cash will have to be checked again by the Guild Treasurer, but what a great feeling to be able to send this sort of sum to the DCBRF. It was a great day, a worthwhile venture, and one that we can repeat in the future. Anyone like to volunteer to organise it?

Wendy Campbell

My heartfelt thanks go to the following who acted as stewards throughout a long and tiring day: Derek and Mo Hawkins, Clive Temperton, Valerie Oates, Rosemary Morgan, Tony Woodville, Fiona Rock Evans, Andrew Digby, Aston Piper, Neil Williams, George Mudge, Claire Beck, Tim King, Martin and Helen Mansley, Paul Latham, Ian Campbell. Also to those who came and assisted at the Cathedral on Sunday afternoon to ensure that the ringing was of a good standard: Paul Pascoe, Tim King, Matt Hilling, John Hill, Rob Franklin, Ian Avery. Also to Jonathan Bint for doing sterling service with the teapot at Drewsteignton. Also to Don Roberts for devising the route for the open day (together with the late Tony Pearson).

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