About SHERBOURNE TEACHING-AIDS

 

This is the story of how the Teaching-aids series began.

One day in 1978, while the clock was being wound, one of the clock weights fell and smashed the fourth bell wheel. In order to raise some money to have this repaired, I designed and marketed a cardboard model bell kit for use in bell towers to demonstrate the mechanics of how a bell rings.

In 1982, with the help of some of the young ringers at Sherbourne, I wrote by hand, and photocopied a small booklet for teaching learners to ring. By 1985 the demand was so great that it was rewritten onto A4 paper and when *Sotherans of Redcar (the friendly bellringer printer), printed the first 2500 copies of the ONE-PER-LEARNER BOOK we sold out in three weeks! Sherbourne Teaching-aids was launched.

In 1987 the FOLLOW-ON BOOK was published and in 1988 the RINGERS' EXERCISE BOOK was added to the range. The MODEL BELL was resurrected as a made-up wooden model, and METHOD-MAKER, BELL CLUB and the 20 QUESTIONS recruiting leaflet followed.

The Model Bell and the Method Maker have gone permanently to their manufacturer, Alan Hartley, a Worcestershire ringer, his details on the How to Order page.

This has always been only a hobby for me and I must not and cannot make a profit, so any income surplus over expenses goes to Bell Repair or Restoration Funds in the proportion specified by the purchasers. A 2004 payout of another £2000 is currently in hand. This brings us up to over 140,000 books sold and I have given a total of £32,000 back to the cause of bell restoration.

My intention is eventually to find some way to use the internet to provide your teaching-aids as I cannot go on for ever packing up little parcels. Incidentally on that subject, may I give Royal Mail a big pat on the back. Over 20 years the number of orders and parcels which have gone astray is absolutely minute. Less than you could count on the fingers of one hand. The chief cause of problems has been me. When an order got itself onto the 'done' heap and got filed away until the customer politely enquired where his/her books were. And, although I use 2nd class stamps the Royal Mail cannot be bothered to sort out such awkward shaped packages (so beautifully addressed) and so they usually seem to get delivered First Class. This is a well kept secret!

*Peter Sotheran has retired (July 2003) but the printing business lives on, now called Redpress (info-at-redpress.co.uk replace -at- with @) and run by two long-term employees. They are still a very good firm indeed for all your printing requirements, and we still use them, of course.

Pam Copson.

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