Not The Dinner Day 2026

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It seemed to take an abnormal amount of time to reach the annual ‘Society Dinner which isn’t actually the Society Dinner’ Day this year. That is because February started on a Sunday, so the first Saturday of the month was as late as it could have been. For twelve members, the NTDD Celebrations started on the Friday Evening with a peal attempt at St Giles-without-Cripplegate which was sadly unsuccessful. A jolly drinking session took place in Ye Old Doctor Butler’s Head, with three members of the band trekking to The Crosse Keys where we drank ‘another one’, plus Miles destroyed an enormous burger! Lots of energy for the following day…

Less than twelve hours later, I ventured back to the City of London for the first of two peal attempts. Ten members gathered at The Guild Church of St Dunstan-in-the-West and promptly ‘made themselves comfortable’ for a 10:00 start. Unfortunately, there seemed to be an issue with the electrics as the Sound Control lights were not changing to the bright position (indicating closed). Upon turning the power off and on again, the fuse trip went which led us to believe that water from the constant rain we have had had perhaps infiltrated the electrics. We did attempt to get hold of Dickon for advice however this was unsuccessful, likely due to a Saturday Morning Parkrun taking place! Rather than taking the risk of leaving the Sound Control open and complaints being received, we decided to abandon the church for the ‘Shakespeare’s Head’ Wetherspoons. Here, I enjoyed my go-to Breakfast of a Sausage and Egg Muffin with 2 Hash Browns. Following lots of natter and identifying the London Freemason’s enter the pub for about 2.5 hours, Pip Dillistone made his way to Hackney for his afternoon peal. Shortly after, Jimmy Yeoman and I utilised the Central Line to reach St Lawrence Jewry for our attempt.

It was pleasing to see on BellBoard that the other morning peal attempt not only started, but finished successfully! Jovium Surprise Major was rung at St Saviour, Walthamstow in 2h53.

Meanwhile, Jimmy and I arrived at Jewry, discovering a manmade pond just West of it. It did not take long for the rest of the band to arrive: we gradually ‘made ourselves comfortable’ and, in my case, changed into shorts, as I envisaged that it was going to be a sauna. On the contrary, there was a constant cool draft coming into the ringing chamber, presumably from Air Conditioning for the Telecoms Equipment? Who knows! I wasn’t complaining though, as I naturally warmed up on the 7th to a pleasant room temperature. Five Thousand and Fifty-Six changes of Bristol Surprise Major were rung in 3 Hours and 11 Minutes, with Jimmy turning the 24cwt tenor in, gracefully as ever. I was overjoyed to score it, as it was my first peal of Bristol Major as Conductor and Jimmy’s 100th peal for the Society! After some quite detailed maths took place, to ensure the correct peal fee and steeplage was paid, we made our way across the square mile to The Crosse Keys for Pre-Curry drinks. All Afternoon Peal Bands were present, all of whom had scored their respective peals! They were: Bristol Surprise Major was rung at Garlickhythe, Stedman Caters at Hackney, Yorkshire Surprise Royal at Limehouse, plus our Bristol at Jewry. A successful afternoon of ringing! Also present in The Crosse Keys were those not peal ringing: members who had come for the best part, the scoffing!

Once the clock hit 19:00 (or closer to 19:30 for the more hardcore drinkers), we all made our way underground to the Bangalore Express City. This Curry House must enjoy hosting us as they keep agreeing to us coming again. We certainly enjoy eating there, probably because the food is always delicious! At the Practice Night Pub session, we the Youngest Members typically hijack a table together. This was reflected in the Curry House, however the average age of the table rose just a tad when our friends Doug and JJ joined us, we are all young at heart! At the 2024 NTDD, I was the Youngest Member of the Society, and hence the Youngest Member at The Curry. Since then, we’ve had an influx of younger blood. This year, my crown now belongs to (I think) Dexter Deackes, or as I say, the new DD! I’m getting old! Another attraction of the Bangalore for two members in particular, is ‘The Boot’. I was not tempted. Following our three courses, plus Tea/Coffee, all for the bargain price of £30 (excellent isn’t it!), the members still standing adjourned to The Crosse Keys for more booze, Coke and even Cranberry Juice until the scary Security Guards in Green kept ushering us to leave, despite the fact that the bar was open until literally closing time!

Sunday had arrived! As is tradition, Twelve members had planned to gather at Kingston Upon Thames for a pre-evensong peal attempt. Unfortunately, we met 11 and could not get hold of the remaining ringer. One of the band opted to go home, leaving 10 remaining. The consensus was that we went for Stedman Caters, so the same composition rung at Hackney was attempted. Unfortunately, it was stood up just before the 2 hour mark. When ringing a Sunday Evening peal at Kingston, you are de facto the band that rings for service until 18:00. Thankfully, with us stopping at 16:30, all we had to do was consume a beverage in the Druids Head, ring for Evensong, then go back to the Druids! The good news is, whilst us Southerners failed at conquering Cripplegate or Kingston, the Northern Powerhouse Members of the Society managed to score two simultaneous peals of Horton’s 4 at Brancepeth and Lanchester. Yet another example of the Society dominating the North of England… And we all lived happily ever after! Who knows what the ‘Society Dinner which isn’t actually the Society Dinner’ Day brings in 2027. Will the new DD still possess Youngest Member Crown? Let’s find out!

Peals rung for Not The Dinner Day

Peals on Bellboard

7 peals have been rung for the Society, Not The Dinner Day.