A Visit to Whitechapel Bellfoundry

I visited the Whitechapel Bellfoundry while I was in London. Sophie and I had a lovely leisurely lunch at Caravan near Kings Cross. We had to be at the Tower of London for 3.15, so we did not have time to go to the British Museum as planned. I suggested that we stop into the bell foundry on our way to the tower...

The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is the oldest manufacturing company still trading in the UK - founded in the 1500's...and still in Whitechapel. I had often driven by the Georgian fronted building on the way into London but this is the first time that I have been inside...it may look quiet in this photo, but I waited for a gap in the traffic. It's actually on a very busy road!

Tours are available only on Saturdays when the foundry is not working - and as the tours are very popular,they quickly get booked up. This year's tours are booked for the rest of the year!

On the day that we visited, some of the new bells for Yoevil were being cast....and a delegation had arrived to see the hot bell metal being poured in the moulds. Of course, it takes many hours for the metal to cool sufficiently for the mould to be removed and the bell to be revealed.

We were allowed to peep into the workshop. You  may remember that I visited Taylors in Loughborough a few years ago, and posted photos on this blog. Taylors is a very large establishement - but Whitechapel is a much smaller site, given that it is in London. Hence looks more efficient and less Dickensian......

To the front are the new bells for Saxlingham Nethergate, which is to the south of Norwich....Of course I bought some souvenirs, like mugs and carrying bags, etc....then on the the Tower, not far to walk.....

A Day Out in London

My daughter Sophie was in the UK from Singapore, visiting and going to the wedding of her best friend in Leeds. As well as having a meal together the previous week, we met up in London before she had to fly back. We met up at the train station at Liverpool Street, then parked Sophie's bags at Kings Cross for the day...

We then went off to a restaurant near Kings Cross called Caravan. The area is much improved in recent years, with much building still going on. The sun was out and people were soaking up the rays and watching Wimbeldon tennis on large screens..

The food was a mixture, mostly tapas type dishes; we finished off with a shared waffle...

As our lunch took so long, we had no time to go to the British Museum (it takes a lot of time to get around London) so we went to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry on our way to the Tower of London. I'll post photos of the bellfoundry in another post.

I had booked us in to a walking tour of the city, visiting the Whitechapel murder sites, otherwise known as "Jack the Ripper ". Of course the area is much changed with much urban renewal and bomb damage, so very little is as it was in Victorian times. Still, the guide was a pleasant young man and it was fun to walk around the City, Whitechapel and Spitalfields.

The site of the first murder, under a bridge....

We could see the Gherkin and also the Cheese Grater as we walked around...all the skyscrapers in London have humorous names....the Shard is across the river.....

This is the Ten Bells, the pub where the victims (all working girls) did their drinking...The sign says You Ring my Bell....Ding Dong...of course we bellringers are well used to such jokes....

There are one or two lanes which still retain the flavour of the narrow Victorian tenements, which have now been swept away...

The tour ended at Liverpool St station, and Sophie and I walked back to Spitalfields to look at the silkweavers houses and then have a drink at the Spitalfields Market.

Later Sophie went off to meet her friends for dinner and I met up with Tom and Lily in Chinatown. We had a nice meal and then went off to sample Bubble Tea - it is a milky drink with flavoured tapioca, sipped through large straws.....very popular in places like Taiwan....I am hoping that these two will be able to come up to Suffolk to visit later this summer.

"New" Books on Quilting

I'm always looking for good books on quilt history to add to my library - but there are so many books out there now, that it is difficult to keep up. So these are not newly published , but they are new to me...

The AQS book on Quilt Care - I was interested to see this. BQSG has long hoped to republish its booklet on quilt care, as its the one subject that always comes up at Exhibitions and quilt shows. I'm hoping that ours will be ready soon. But this little book has a distinct American flavour. There seem to be so many older US quilts, that the emphasis is often on repair and renovation....I have never repaired my older quilts, although I do wash them, if I think that they're up to it....the emphasis in the UK is on conservation and preservation.

Two other books - one on paisley fabrics, and the other on Feed sacks....both ones to be browsed through...

This is the one that  I found of most interest, and concerns the patriotic quilts made during WWII in the US. Canada and the Red Cross quilts are briefly mentioned. Of course I was mainly interested in that angle....nice illustrations...

I am still working away on my navy and white Hawaiian quilt, and have come to the conclusion that it will not be ready in time for the Festival of Quilts in August. There's just too much left to do, although it is about 75% complete. It will probably go off to FOQ next year, or perhaps Malvern. I will just have to write off the entry fee. Oh well, at least I will not have to hang around to pick up the quilt on Sunday afternoon!

Ringing in Norfolk

We had an interesting day in Norfolk, ringing with Paul Norris and his band at Brook on their outing.

The first port of call was Berg Ampton, the tower next door to Brooke. This tower has six bells, some of which are very old. Its good for learners to ring other bells, as it teaches a lot about bell control. There are some good foot paths in the vicinity, a pity that it is such a long drive from our home in Suffolk!

The second port of call was Sirlingham, where there are some very ancient bells that have recently been rehung. They now go pretty well...a new ceiling and rope guide helps these small bells to go well.

Then back to Brooke, to ring a quarter peal of Doubles (several methods). These bells need working - and they are anticlockwise. Once you start ringing, however, you don't really notice that the bells are "back to front"...

Did you notice the difference in the last two towers? They are both round towers, a Norfolk speciality. We have a few in Suffolk, but most are found in the county of Norfolk.

A Sunday at Pulham Market, Norfolk

At  last!! Some proper summer weather....Mike and I went to Pulham Market in Norfolk on Sunday. First, we rang a quarter peal of Grandsire Triples at the church to kick off the local Music Day...four Norfolk ringers and four Suffolk ringers....Mike conducted and it sounded good, with no mistakes! The ringers even got a thank you over the tannoy, which was being set up.

Then, we went on a walk towards Tivitshall, going across the Norwich - Ipswich Road in doing so. A small but busy road, which was originally a Roman road. We ate our picnic in a grassy area under a large tree..

Sandra and Paul, our bellringing friends, are into geo-caching, so we were able to see how this was done. It basically is finding hidden things in the course of a walk, although it can be done by car. The GPS device gave us the general location and a clue to the hidden cache. This one was under a tree and was in a plastic tub...sign the register and return to its hiding place...

A mini cache in the hole in the tree...

Where is it? This one had disappeared, perhaps when repairs were done...we found where it once had been, under a rock...

 Another cache was in the churchyard of Tivitshall church (no bells here - they were sold to pay for the repair of the roof).

Heading back to Pulham Market, with a field of green grain and the church peeping over the barns..

...and back to Pulham Market for a beer at the Kings Head. The Pulham Music Day (the local village fete, I think) was in full swing, with some good local musicians providing the music. A largely local audience was enjoying the sunshine....the village green is surrounded by pretty thatched cottages and two pubs, unusual these days...we had a very good local sausage - the English equivalent of the hot dog....

Back home with a touch of the sun.....