These are used when ringing church bells “half muffled”. The bells ring in a sequence which then gives an effect like an echo. This is because one half of the clapper is covered with a leather muffle, so on the front stroke the bell rings a full sound while on the back stroke the sound is muffled. It has the effect of slowing down the sound, and therefore gives a melancholier effect.
The red arrow shows the positioning of the muffle on the clapper.
The youtube below video shows bells ringing half muffled.
5 new bell muffles
St Michael’s church has recently acquired 5 new bell muffles in an embroidered bag which are hand made by a craftsman called “Big Wilf”. Listen out on Remembrance Sunday for the bells being rung half muffled.
There was a good congregation for this service on Saturday afternoon. The service was conducted by Revd Canon Fiona Brampton (our new Associate Priest), and the music was led by the St Peter’s Singers of Peterborough, under the direction of Jeremy Jepson.
The theme of the service was centred around the Feast of St Michael and All Angels. This gave the singers the opportunity to sing the carol “The angel Gabriel from heaven came” and the congregation to sing “It came upon the midnight clear”.
It was a great pleasure to welcome back the Revd Mary Jepp (and her husband Michael), who gave the address.
After the service, wine and nibbles were served, and this gave everyone a chance to chat to Mary and Michael.
(agg) = aggregate species – not identified down to precise species
cf = compare with – identity not absolutely confirmed
sp = species – not identified down to species
The days are rapidly getting shorter and the sun is moving lower in the sky as September comes to an end. As I write this on the twenty-third of September, I’m reminded that it is the Autumn equinox when day and night are of equal length. To make up for the gloom that some people can feel at this time of year, it is also thankfully a time of spectacular display in terms of nuts and berries, seeds and fungi, and the sight of flocks of migratory birds coming and going.
The hedgerows in the wood are full of blackberries and sloes, elderberries and haws, all ready for thrushes and blackberries to pick off their branches and for voles, hedgehogs and squirrels to harvest off the ground. The unusual episodes of hot weather we’ve had this summer seem to be abating and the sun is finally tolerable with a little more promise of rain in the air. The water level in the pond had become very low but, as always, regular observers will know that it will rise with the winter rain and will soon be back up to bank level.
Nature’s larder
As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, the wood is gradually transforming as green leaves become yellow with bursts of red or purple. Berries and hips of all colours are providing a shiny display and the hazel nuts in the far corner of the wood are no doubt tempting squirrels and all sorts of mice and voles. They are high protein energy sources and are just as attractive to humans once they are brown and ripened. As one of the first foods picked by humans, they still haven’t lost that appeal as sales of a certain nut spread and individually wrapped chocolates confirm. Thanks to thoughtful planting by organisers and volunteers, Jubilee Wood is a larder of free food for all of us as well as a feast for the eyes. Soon the autumn colours will be dispersed by the October gales that seem to be becoming a regular occurrence so why not take a wander round before the next stage of the seasonal circle is centre stage?
September sees us welcoming our new Associate Priest, the Revd Canon Fiona Brampton
The North Leightonstone Benefice (the group of parishes which includes the Giddings) has been enlarged. Revd Mandy Flaherty has been appointed Benefice Rector (i.e. senior priest), and has been joined by the Revd Canon Fiona Brampton as Associate Priest. Fiona has also been appointed Chaplain to Little Gidding. Fiona will have the care of the parishes of Hamerton, the Giddings and Winwick.
Sunday 15th September at 11am
We celebrate our Harvest Festival, and this will be the first service taken by Fiona. The service will be at 11am, and will be a service of readings and all the favourite hymns. After the service, there will be a buffet lunch at Churchside House, which will give everyone the chance of meeting Fiona and vice versa !
Everyone is very welcome to come to that lunch. However to help with the numbers for catering, it would be helpful if you could let Jane Edwards know if you are coming [tel: 293555]. There will be no charge for the lunch.
Sunday, 22nd September at 4pm
There will be a service of Evensong at St Michael’s. At this service, there will be the formal licensing of Fiona as Associate Priest and Chaplain to Little Gidding by the Archdeacon of Huntingdon & Wisbech. The service takes place at 4pm, and will be followed by tea at Ferrar House, Little Gidding.
Saturday 28th September at 4pm
There will be a Choral Evensong on the eve of St Michael’s Day; the day when we celebrate the dedication of our church.
The service starts at 4pm. As last year, the music will be led by the St Peter’s Singers, directed by Jeremy Jepson. We are delighted to be welcoming back the Revd Mary Jepp as our preacher for this service. After the service here will be refreshments.
August had been disappointingly cold and quite wet until the scorching bank holiday weekend, when butterflies fluttered around the edges of the wood and swallows flew high to find food… when swallows fly high, the weather will be dry.
Of course there is a practical reason for that rather than our avian friends having oracular powers, as on fine days insects are swept up high on warm thermal currents rising from the ground and that’s what the swallows feed on. No doubt we’ll all remember August as being hot and balmy which made it difficult to sleep at night but it was actually only a few days, followed by that spectacular thunder and rain which caught a few of us out as we forgot to close all the windows or was it only me?
Art from Nature event
One Sunday early on in the month, several of us ventured down to the wood to try our hand at being artistic. Thanks go to Julie Trolove for providing us with greenery and grasses to get us started and for making a large weaving frame out of hazel and string. All started well with the sun shining and enthusiastic helpers having a go but as the building clouds darkened and the first spots of rain fell, we gatherers ended up searching for cover under the trees rather than material for weaving! Unfortunately it wasn’t going to be a short shower that day, but more of a prolonged and heavy downpour, so drenched but still smiling, we decided that this was an activity for another, drier day!
Bird talk
Many of us are still lucky enough to hear some birdsong in our gardens at this time of year but might be disappointed not to see and hear them in the wood. The reason for their lack of appearance is very likely due to their seasonal moult. They are keeping out of sight in dense vegetation because they are moulting their feathers and are more susceptible to predators. Moulting is costly in terms of energy for birds so usually takes place when conditions are favourable for them, such as after breeding when there is an abundance of food and cover. A little research revealed some interesting facts about the time different species take to moult: a Blue Tit takes about 6 weeks, a Herring Gull can take 6 months and a Buzzard may take several years for a complete change of flight feathers. Keratin needed to make feathers is less abundant in vegetation than in insects, so seed eating birds like Chaffinches usually take a couple of weeks longer to moult than insect eating birds like Robins and Dunnocks. It would be good to know how long it takes the Red Kites who constantly soar over the wood to moult, but even they seem to have been less noisy this month. The dawn chorus is also much quieter, if heard at all, as summer draws on and most birds have attracted their mates and raised their chicks so have less need to sing and protect their territory. Some families of birds such as blue or long tailed tits can occasionally be sighted as they forage for food in and out of the trees and long grasses but others such as the swifts and swallows are already gathering together to fly back to Africa.
Swifts are one of the first species to migrate and will moult back in Africa but the swallows can be seen lining up on the telephone lines chittering away to each other in preparation for their long flight back. You can see them dip down for water as they glide over the Jubilee Wood pond (which is now at quite a low level) if you are lucky enough. W.H.Davies’ poem, Leisure, often comes to mind when watching them, ‘…A poor life this, if full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.’ We don’t even have to stand thanks to the lovely arbour we have by the pond!
Jubilee Wood species catalogue – send us your sightings!
The start of colder temperatures and the passing of the months is a reminder that there will soon be different migrants arriving at our shores as others leave us. This ever changing landscape has encouraged some of us to think about keeping a record of what species of flora, fauna and fungi can be found in the Jubilee Wood throughout the year.
No experience is necessary to send in sightings, via specieslist@thegiddings.org.uk, of things you’ve found in the wood. There will be fliers coming around for those who don’t have access to or like using a computer to explain the details but all that’s needed is your name, the name of the species seen, the date and time, and what part of the wood it was seen in. Contact details would be helpful and if two of you can verify the sighting that’s even better. Please send a message if you want further information about this but it’s very much an amateur attempt at record keeping which will hopefully involve as many of the community as possible and provide an interesting snapshot of the wood for the future. We’ll attempt to respond to any messages as soon as possible, but please be patient if you have to wait a Wandererday or two.
Hoping the weather stays favourable for many a wander in the Jubilee Wood as we head into Autumn…
