Recording Jack Woolley's birthday scenes

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:10:07 +0000

One of the lovely things about being part of The Archers team is that we work with talented actors of all ages. Some of them would have been long retired if they had been in other occupations, but it's great that they are still working, and able to deliver excellent performances.

As an actor gets older, they may find it difficult to get to our studios in Birmingham, and so sometimes we make arrangements to record at their home. We did this on several occasions with Bob Arnold, who played the part of gamekeeper Tom Forrest until his death at the age of 87.

Today (19 July 2011) marks Jack Woolley's 92nd birthday, and as it's been some time since we heard Jack speak we were keen to hear his voice again in the programme. Caroline Harrington wrote a couple of lovely scenes set at The Laurels and to make it as easy as possible for Arnold Peters - who has played Jack for over 30 years and who is now 87 - we recorded them at his home.

Naturally the scenes also featured Jack's wife Peggy, played by June Spencer - who recently celebrated her 91st birthday!

June, studio manager Michael Harrison and I made the trip in May. We had a very happy and relaxed morning, and it didn't take long for Arnold to fall back into the role of Jack, giving a very moving performance with June about his birthday celebrations.

Rosemary Watts is a producer on The Archers.

Listen to the episode containing the recorded scenes (while available)
Read the potted history of Jack's rise and fall
Listen to June Spencer's Desert Island Discs
Picture shows June Spencer (Peggy Woolley), Arnold Peters (Jack Woolley) and studio manager Michael Harrison

What is a quarter peal?

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:00:27 +0000

This Sunday (23 Jan), the bells of St Stephen's Ambridge will ring a 'quarter peal' in memory of departed bell ringer Nigel Pargetter.

Quarter peals are rung for many reasons: special events, birthdays, weddings or in remembrance of someone, as today. Some churches who are able to muster the requisite number of ringers may ring quarters for the normal Sunday services. But whether for normal services, or for something special, a quarter peal gives each ringer the chance to confirm their knowledge of a particular method, thereby extending their ability and enjoying a sense of achievement.

The method

To explain what a quarter peal is, one needs to know a bit about 'method ringing'. Method ringing is a form of 'change ringing' - which is the practice of ringing a series of mathematical permutations on tuned bells, rather than a melody.

In method ringing the ringers are guided through each set of changes by following a specific pattern (or order), called a method. The practice originated in England and is still popular for both church bell ringing and handbells.

Let's take the eight bells hanging in the church at St Stephen's in Ambridge. The highest in pitch is known as the treble and the lowest the tenor. The bells are referred to by number, with the treble being number 1 and the tenor being number 8.

The most simple way of using the bells is to ring in 'rounds,' which means ringing the bells in sequence from treble to tenor - ie 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. This sounds like a descending scale. The order of the eight can 'change' to a different permutation, depending on the method being rung.

Eg:

12345678
21436578
24163758
42617358
46271538 - five permutations (changes)

This is probably the origin for the phrase 'ringing the changes'.

There are hundreds of different methods. Each one has a different mathematical pattern and a different name, some of them being linked to the person who devised the method eg Stedman Triples, or named after places eg Yorkshire or Rutland.

Whether ringing a peal or quarter peal, the ringers must start the method in rounds. The conductor will then call out the method to be rung. A full peal on eight bells must last at least 5000 different changes. A performance of 1250 changes on 8 bells makes a quarter peal. A peal might take about three hours to ring, and a quarter peal 45 minutes.

Ringing is great fun. If you are interested in learning how to do it, do contact your local church. They probably have a keen band of ringers who would welcome you with open arms.

Rosemary Watts is a producer on The Archers - and a keen bell ringer.

The picture shows church bells being rung and is supplied by the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers
For further information on bellringing, contact the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers
Bell ringing technique and history

BBC | Autumn Watch

Recording Jack Woolley's birthday scenes

What is a quarter peal?