Bellringers end two-and-a-half-year strike

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/22/bellringers-end-two-and-a-half-year-strike

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Bellringers at a village church have ended a two-and-a-half year strike after a compromise was agreed over service times.

The bells fell silent at St Mary’s in Bramshott, Hampshire, in June 2013 when the church moved its service from 11.15am to 9.15am.

The bellringers feared that the earlier start time, which would have meant the bells ringing from 8.45am, would have disturbed local residents.

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The church announced that an agreement has been reached resulting in a new start time of 9.30am and that it will be holding a special service on 3 January.

A message posted on the church’s website states: “From 3 January 2016 the main service at St Mary’s will start at 9.30am rather than 9.15.

“This change means that the bellringers will be able to ring before the service again. We will mark the occasion with a special communion service, at which the Reverend Jenny Gaffin (chaplain to the Bishop of Portsmouth) will be preaching.”

The church bells were a gift from the widow of Boris Karloff, the actor who was most famous for playing Frankenstein’s monster, who lived in the village until his death in 1969 at the age of 81.