YCG - Events - NUA Striking Competition

NUA (Northern Universities Association) Striking Competition 18th-20th November 2005 - Manchester

NUA

The YCG striking competition team
(l-r) Kevin Atkinson, Caroline Cheesman, Arthur Reeves, Matthew Greenaway, James Knowles, David Denbigh

Seven of us ventured down to Manchester to partake in the annual weekend of ringing, drinking and dancing offered by the Northern Universities Association. Kevin, Matthew, James and David had all been practising for the all-important boat race; Caroline and Arthur joined the four for the striking competition. Char finished the team with her usual charm, irreplaceable navigation skills and tasty flapjacks!

We all ate our tea on the train journey down complimented by David's vodka and James's homemade cake. Due to late lectures we were too late for the evenings ringing but did reach Manchester in time for a few drinks - an essential step to getting any sleep!

After the pub we retreated to our residence at the church hall where we set up camp - some of us had come prepared with thick sleeping bags, additional blankets and pillows. The unprepared made do with very little, a lesson for next year perhaps! After introducing ourselves to some others and a few games of cards we retreated to bed, for what proved to be a difficult night's sleep!

After a restless night we woke early for toast and tea and then walked to the tram station - again being one of the only teams to race across Manchester on public transport (as we did in Sheffield last year), leaving others to relax in the comfort of their minibuses. We were the first to reach Bury, finding the church standing proudly behind the magnificent statue of Sir Robert Peel - former prime minister, reformer of the Conservative party and pioneer of the metropolitan police force! From there we travelled on to Prestwich, causing utter confusion as we attempted to ring at the wrong church; although the people in the church were very welcoming, we realised something was amiss when we found that the church only had one bell. Following Prestwich we raced back to central Manchester for the striking competition.

Getting to Salford with minutes to spare, James called a touch of Bob Doubles as our competition piece. Unknown to us the judges were hiding behind a paper screen and so could hear all of our comments, which could have been potentially dangerous! The judges commented that we were a nervous band but did well on relatively tough bells. We came 7th, although if you discount the scratch bands we came 4th - and not 4th out of 4! The judges' comments on one band were particularly funny, this band: "gave an impression of not ringing together very often - a good effort on unfamiliar bells". This comment was given to Manchester - ringing at their home tower!

The afternoon saw us racing towards West Didsbury, forty minutes out of Manchester. It was an ambitious plan, considering we only had thirty minutes until the end of the ringing. Furthermore, every possible obstacle presented itself in the course of the bus journey - a change of drivers, a full police check, and none of us fully knowing where we were getting off thus resulting in us getting off a stop too early and literally sprinting the last 20 minutes - only to hear the bells being rung down: top marks to Charlotte for her remarkable sprint however!

The evening saw the usual arrangement of entertainment, with the annual boat race and barn dance - photos can be found at the bottom of this page. I suggest you take a look if you are in need of a cheap laugh; Kevin seems to have enjoyed the dancing most of all. Disappointingly York not only failed to win the boat race, but were disqualified due to a particular somebody deciding to water the ground instead of downing their pint. An admirable effort by the team however and hopes, as always, are high for next year!

Again we rose early for toast and tea before making our way to Manchester Cathedral to join the service ringing. A particularly embarrassing event for one girl - who in my opinion deserved all she got since she hid my book - as she mistakenly grabbed a rope for Grandsire Caters thinking it was rounds and call changes. After a quick coffee we met up with David Bryant for lunch before making our way to the Town Hall - a rare opportunity so enticing David could not resist! The heavy bells caused problems for those who decided to tackle bells they could not handle, with a few sallies missed and tail ends flapping about, but overall an enjoyable ring and a great pleasure to hear the bells.

By the end of the Town Hall ringing we all, exhausted and unwashed, made our way to the train station. Those who have been on an NUA before all agreed that Manchester exceeded expectations, and the first-timers were introduced to what can only be described as an intriguing weekend of bizarre rituals. However, an enjoyable time was had by all (I think!). Next year's NUA will be held at Warwick ('Northern?' I hear you say - the geographical lines have traditionally always been blurred!) and anybody who can go should do so - if only because the resultant photos provide laughter and humiliation for years to come.

Arthur Reeves