An American visitor at Berry Pomeroy

Many thanks to Mike Tompsett for this article

At a recent practice night at Berry Pomeroy, Anne England brought along a visiting American friend, Tom Dunlop. He had no knowledge of ringing and was fascinated to see the bells and how they are rung. During the busy practice he was able to ring a few backstrokes to get an idea what a bell feels like, and he joined us for our regular post-practice session at the Church House in Marldon.

It was only later that we learned that Tom is both a writer and an actor, whose credits include a role in the film Jaws 2. It's probably a good thing that we didn't know this at the time, or we might have been too star-struck! One of the great things about ringing, though, is that status, occupation, gender, race, religion and other such attributes are of little importance, because it is the simple fact that we are ringers that binds us together, and we tend to treat visitors in the same way. Of course, we're interested in where they are from and why they are here, but for a while at least, they have entered the world of ringing.

When I later asked Anne if she thought Tom would mind if I wrote a note on his visit for Tower Talk, she put me in touch with him and I thought it would be a great opportunity to get his impression of ringing. After outlining what an outstanding visit he had to the UK, this is what he wrote about his evening at Berry Pomeroy:-

"Had you told me before I flew over that I would have the chance to be part of your rehearsal, I could not have accurately imagined any part of it. I think that if you ever actually see Jaws 2, you'll note that my role was pretty modest. But at the pub I would have done all I could to steer the conversation back to this wondrous craft you practise. That evening of rehearsal amazed me! In New England, my home, we don't have churches dating back six hundred years, and just climbing that tightly turning stone staircase up to the steeple, as the faithful have been doing since the 1400s, thrilled the historian in me. To see the great bells themselves, poised upside down for your practice, was a revelation — I had no idea that that's how they were set for ringing. The precision, strength, and patience required of the ringers to make each ancient pattern 'play' as it should, and hearing the bells sing out just over our heads in response, was mesmerizing. I am most grateful to the bell ringers of St. Mary's Church, Berry Pomeroy, for giving me this unique chance to get to know them and their wondrous skills. That's one night I will absolutely never forget.

With best wishes to each and every one of you,
Tom"

We often are so used to what we do that it can be quite a surprise to hear the views of an outsider- particularly when expressed with the eloquence that we hear from Tom. Thanks again for this