Farewell to Revd Philip Oliver
Last Peal at Ixworth, Sunday 30th March 2008
When the Reverend Canon Philip Oliver retired on 30 March, after thirty years of ministry as Team Rector of the Blackbourne Ministry, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, it was appropriate that the occasion was marked with a peal at Ixworth Church. With the bells awaiting a major restoration project, and having had to work very hard to produce good ringing in the many quarter peals rung over the past few years, the prospect of a peal was something of a challenge. This was the first peal to be rung at Ixworth for six years, and only the fifth since 1957. However the band rose to the challenge and rang a wonderful peal in 2 hours 53 minutes, which was greatly appreciated by the local residents and the many people who gathered in the village for a special lunch in Philip Oliver’s honour. Very grateful thanks from everyone in Ixworth are extended to the members of the Suffolk Guild who rang. We now await the start of the restoration project in the next few weeks, and if all goes well, we should be ringing on 8 by the end of the year.
Ruth Suggett