Staplehurst Bellringers Report March 2023
News from the Tower
By the time you read this we will be well into Lent and spring will (hopefully) be just around the corner. As nature begins to awake from its winter sleep, so do things begin to be a little more active amongst our ringers.
Firstly, on Saturday 11th March we hope to be entering a band in the Maidstone District Contest at Nettlestead. We have a good record in this competition, having collected the winner’s shield in seven of the last ten years in which it has been held. You will be able to read how we fared in the April Magazine. Then a week later, on Mothering Sunday, we will be ringing during the “clipping” of the Church. This is a tradition, thought to be unique to Staplehurst, where the congregation encircle the Church building as if to embrace mother Church. If anyone would like to know more about the history of this event I am sure the Rector would be happy to enlighten you.
Easter falls in early April this year and until then we will only be ringing for the regular Sunday Services and our normal Tuesday practice.
Roy Barclay
Tower Secretary
