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Woke up this morning and went back into work today for the first time after the Decemberween festivities[*]. The work day concluded, as they do every Thursday, with our weekly group meeting.
After the meeting, I high tailed it to St. Giles Church... arriving just in the nick of time[**] for the evening's bell ringing practice. This is my first time ringing bells this year. The last time I held a bell rope was December 14th -- twenty-five days ago! Indeed, it has been so long that my bell ringing callouses[***] almost completely went away!
I rang several courses of Plain Bob Minor -- some plain courses and a couple of touches. I wouldn't say that I was brilliant... but I held my own. I also rang a covering tenor for Plain Bob Doubles, and got to practice the treble on a ten minute touch of Grandsire Triples. I can use all the practice there that I can get; one of my 2009 goals is to successfully ring the treble on a quarter peal of Grandsire Triples!
Despite the fun that I had ringing, I must say that the best moment of the practice was when I realised that, as of one week ago, I am now a member of the Oxford City Branch of the Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers! Excellent! I knew that I had been nominated and accepted for membership -- effective January 1st 2009 -- at the November 2008 business meeting... but, amidst all of the December activities and excitement, I had forgotten about it all! Now I am both a member of the Oxford University Society of Change Bell Ringers and the ODG!
When practice ended at 8:45pm, I hopped on my cycle and rode back to the new [as yet unnamed] flat. I arrived around 9:15 and quickly gobbled down leftovers from last night for dinner whilst petting The Boy. Then darted off a couple of quick e-mails and wrote this post. Now, with 10pm approaching, it is time to huddle over my laptop and join the bi-weekly international T2K SK video-conference. I won't pretend to be thrilled with the 10pm to midnight time slot. However, with collaborators spanning latitudes from Vancouver and California in the West to Japan in the East (and many time zones in-between), this is one of only a few reasonable timeslots. I suppose that I should be grateful; when we go to British Summer Time in late March, the meeting[****] will run from 11pm until one o'clock in the morning!
And, on that note, it is heigh ho, heigh ho -- off to work I go!
[*] Yesterday, everyone was up in Liverpool for a meeting. Due to my holiday travel plans, I did not have the chance to drive there... and I certainly could not see a point in going into the office alone. Instead, I stayed at home and joined in via video-conferencing software.
[**] Technically speaking, I was about ten minutes late. But, by a strange coincidence, tonight's practice also began late by the same margin. I entered the ringing chamber just as the band was getting ready to ring up the bells into position for the practice.
[***] One on my left palm and one on my right ring finger.
[****] Which is rooted in Japan-time.
After the meeting, I high tailed it to St. Giles Church... arriving just in the nick of time[**] for the evening's bell ringing practice. This is my first time ringing bells this year. The last time I held a bell rope was December 14th -- twenty-five days ago! Indeed, it has been so long that my bell ringing callouses[***] almost completely went away!
I rang several courses of Plain Bob Minor -- some plain courses and a couple of touches. I wouldn't say that I was brilliant... but I held my own. I also rang a covering tenor for Plain Bob Doubles, and got to practice the treble on a ten minute touch of Grandsire Triples. I can use all the practice there that I can get; one of my 2009 goals is to successfully ring the treble on a quarter peal of Grandsire Triples!
Despite the fun that I had ringing, I must say that the best moment of the practice was when I realised that, as of one week ago, I am now a member of the Oxford City Branch of the Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers! Excellent! I knew that I had been nominated and accepted for membership -- effective January 1st 2009 -- at the November 2008 business meeting... but, amidst all of the December activities and excitement, I had forgotten about it all! Now I am both a member of the Oxford University Society of Change Bell Ringers and the ODG!
When practice ended at 8:45pm, I hopped on my cycle and rode back to the new [as yet unnamed] flat. I arrived around 9:15 and quickly gobbled down leftovers from last night for dinner whilst petting The Boy. Then darted off a couple of quick e-mails and wrote this post. Now, with 10pm approaching, it is time to huddle over my laptop and join the bi-weekly international T2K SK video-conference. I won't pretend to be thrilled with the 10pm to midnight time slot. However, with collaborators spanning latitudes from Vancouver and California in the West to Japan in the East (and many time zones in-between), this is one of only a few reasonable timeslots. I suppose that I should be grateful; when we go to British Summer Time in late March, the meeting[****] will run from 11pm until one o'clock in the morning!
And, on that note, it is heigh ho, heigh ho -- off to work I go!
[*] Yesterday, everyone was up in Liverpool for a meeting. Due to my holiday travel plans, I did not have the chance to drive there... and I certainly could not see a point in going into the office alone. Instead, I stayed at home and joined in via video-conferencing software.
[**] Technically speaking, I was about ten minutes late. But, by a strange coincidence, tonight's practice also began late by the same margin. I entered the ringing chamber just as the band was getting ready to ring up the bells into position for the practice.
[***] One on my left palm and one on my right ring finger.
[****] Which is rooted in Japan-time.
