Bell ringers will hope to a-peal to top judges
IT won’t be quiet in Macclesfield town centre this weekend - and those responsible for the noise hope people find it ap-pealing.
The fourth annual North West 12 Bell Striking Competition takes place at St Michael’s Church, on the Market Place, on Saturday from 12.30pm.
Six teams will do battle by playing the same test piece - called Original Maximus - on the church’s bells, each expected to ring for around 30 minutes including a warm up.
Two of the teams - Macc Blues and Macc Silks - represent the town hoping for a repeat of two years ago when a Macclesfield group won the competition, in Bolton.
Bell players must pull a rope to turn it 360 degrees and make it sound.
Mel Curwen, 53, who is the joint tower captain at St Michael’s and will take part, said: “Judges comment on overall impact and the accuracy of timing.
“It is not like the piano, for example, where the musical output is immediate when you hit the key, with bells you get the note seconds later. And there is not one size fits all delay, it depends how big the bell is. It is a very English thing and bells are the loudest musical instrument.”
Teams will be competing to win the Duke of Westminster Shield and the ringing starts after the Chinese New Year procession has left the Market Place.
Each team has 12 members - one per bell - and the Macclesfield squad has 18 people from which to create their two teams.
It is the first time the event has been held in Macclesfield, although the town does have quite a bell ringing heritage. Aside from the collection of 12 bells at St Michael’s there are 10 at Christ Church and eight at St Peter’s.
Mel said: “It is a myth that you have to be big and strong – the best thing to have is enthusiasm, coordination is a really big bonus.
“I’ve been a bell ringer since I was eight-years-old. The bells at St Michael’s are very loud but they have a beautiful sound and we are very lucky to have them in Macclesfield. Bell ringing is a great thing to be involved with, it keeps your brain and body active and there is a really good social side to it.”