The second quarter of the year has been very busy as it has included Easter and  the Minchinhampton 750 celebrations. On Good Friday I tolled the tenor bell at the end of the Vigil Service. Catharina Rickett and David Goldsmith were also in attendence so they are now trained for future years. We rang for the opening 750 Service & also for the opening of the Pageant. We also rang for the concluding service with the Bishop in attendance as well as the quadruple rectorial service in the morning.

The first 3 months of 2010 seem to have flashed by & we have rung on every Sunday mornings & most practice nights. The standard has I believed continued to improve but our ringers must really go to more branch practices to make progress.We lack experienced method ringers to be able to really go it alone.
We have welcomed Andrew Reader, our youngest new recruit who I believe starts his wedding runner apprenticeship on Easter Monday. Congratulations are due to Colin & Helen Shellard on their Golden Wedding Anniversary and to William Page on his 70th birthday.The Ladies Guild (Western District) eventually rang here on 6th February. They were due on 16th January but the snow & ice meant a postponement.
We have had to have one of our clappers rebushed and a lubricator fitted. Many thanks are due to ex-ringer Laura Phillips for taking it to the Foundry at Loughborough. I collected it when it had been done. Subject to ratification the Stroud Branch of the local Ringing Association have agreed a grant of £50 towards the cost.

The last quarter of the year is always a busy one & this year has been no exception.
We have rung for a wedding and a blessing and also this year fitted in the Crib Service and the Christingle Service as well as, of course, ringing on Christmas morning. In November we rang the bells half-muffled on Remembrance Sunday.

Since the end of June we have rung for 3 weddings & also,sadly,for the funeral of Ann Nevill. Ringing also heralded the start of the Minchinhampton Country Fayre.
The standard of ringing on a practice night has been very patchy but this is because we are trying to advance our method ringing which is difficult with only myself having much experience. Catharina Rickett has been going to Horsley practice also to get more knowledge in this respect & also went on the Branch Outing to Wiltshire.

The last quarter began with Easter and I tolled the tenor bell at 3pm after the devotional service and joyous ringing took place on Easter morning after the abstinence of bells during holy week.In April I represented the tower at the thanksgiving service for Hubert Matthews at Haresfield. Hubert had been a longstanding branch secretary in days gone by. Soon after I gave a talk on bellringing to  the BT staff retirement club and donated my fee to the guild of St. Agatha bell restoration fund.

Since the new year we have been quite active and have already rung for three weddings. For some reason the wedding season seems to have started earlier this year.
We had a very pleasant annual dinner in March at His and Hers. We kept this function in the town this year in accordance with local policy and were not disappointed, being looked after very well.