Its become an annual occasion here - to try and get all the bells in Ipswich ringing near noon on the last Saturday before Christmas. Ipswich is an essentially Mediaeval town, and has many old churches, some of them redundant and some put to other uses nowadays. Its a popular event and always has a good turnout. Our district meetings don't always attract good numbers, but this Christmas ringing always attracts ringers that we don't see at other times of the year.
Pettistree ringers usually take charge of one tower each year - this year it was St Lawrence, "Wolsey's Bells" - I ring here most Wednesday lunchtimes. They're a heavy five - not easy to ring for the uninitiated!
But, we made a good job of it - here's Mike, and Kate concentrating on the striking...
There were also some ringers from Tattingstone, outside Ipswich...
Also ringing were St Mary-le-Tower (12 bells) St Margaret (8 bells) and St Mary at Quay, St Clements, St Nicholas and St Matthews (all sixes). Plus St Stephen, which is only a 3 bell tower.
Afterwards, we went back to St Margaret's for mince pies and tea. The churchyard has many "no camping" signs. Earlier in the year, there was an encampment of homeless men living there. The church and the authorities got them rehomed and under cover but it was a problem that needed sorting. The problem of homelessness is a growing one and the Ipswich churches have a special program for Christmas and New Year to accommodate an extra 12 people in addition to the usual shelters.
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