Betty was a loyal ringer at Upwey for 30 years, in fact I can’t remember a time ringing at Upwey when she wasn’t there. She was there every practice and every Sunday (well, apart from the Sunday after the clocks went backwards when she twice arrived an hour early for Sunday service much to her annoyance and our amusement!). She could be relied on to help out for every wedding or special service we were asked to ring for. Betty rang with the Surprise Minor group of ringers, at 8 bell practices at Charminster and at Branch events. She was always one for a quarterly meeting as she did enjoy a good ringers’ tea and was never shy of being critical of the fayre provided by other towers (ringers’ teas are a competitive business). I could list the methods Betty could ring including Cambridge, Norwich and Carlisle surprise minor but she never quite got the better of singles in Stedman. However these are just facts – places and methods – they do not really give an insight into the real Betty the Bellringer.
When speaking to ringers who knew her, the words “glamorous”, “youthful” and “fun” were foremost in our recollections. Betty was by far and away the most glamorous of ringers. Bell ringing does not lend itself to sartorial dressing, belfries are either cold and damp or so hot and humid that the walls sweat. There are ropes and limbs moving at speed, most ringers pitch up in trousers and a T shirt but not Betty. She could always be relied upon to have immaculate hair, I’ve lost count of the many colours I’ve seen her hair, lippy and nail varnish, all of which co-ordinated with her top and her bracelets, necklaces and earrings. In fact Betty sometimes jangled when she rang. Some in Upwey may say that John gave her a run for her money with his “interesting” dressing but hands down Betty was the best.
She was ever youthful, despite her age she never let this get in the way of ringing, an outing or climbing towers, she was never at the foot of a tower when she could be up in the belfry having a ring. She was never put off by the weight of a bell or the length of the draught, she was, as we used to say, “a very game old bird!” She even came on three holidays, two to France and in 2022 a trip to Ypres. She didn’t let the 231 steps to the top of the Cloth Hall Tower stand in her way and I remember her enjoying the views from the Tower as I closed my eyes in terror at the drop below.
And fun, well Betty was such fun. As someone said to me recently, she never let anything get in the way of a good knees-up. We are a sociable lot at Upwey and Betty was always there at every curry or Chinese meal, barbecue or pantomime. The last time most of us saw her was at our Christmas meal in November of last year and we treasure this memory. I think when most of us remember her it won’t necessarily be in a tower but at the pub after a practice, large glass of white wine in hand, Betty didn’t believe in small glasses of wine, relaxing back on the bench seat, telling stories and laughing that particular laugh of hers.
So a touch of Reverse Canterbury, those who can grab hold, Betty can you ring the third please? Look too, treble’s going, she’s gone. Goodbye Betty, our friend and fellow ringer. May your touches be true and your striking sound. You were one of us and you will be missed more than you know.
Andrea Jacob
