The Standard 8

The first rule of the standard 8 is no one talks about the standard 8.

This is how it often feels about this mysterious group. So to shed some light on them I ask the pertinent questions.

What is the Standard 8?
The Standard 8 are a group of surprise major methods that are generally rang together, they are:
Cambridge
Yorkshire
Lincolnshire
Superlative
Pudsey
Rutland
London
Bristol

They are often grouped into the Cambridge-like ones:
Cambridge (unsurprisingly), Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Superlative

The 'difficult' ones:
Bristol and London

and the other two:
Rutland and Pudsey

Why are they the Standard 8?
Principally, they are the standard 8 because that is what people learn to ring and ring together with other ringers, the 2011 peal analysis shows that the number of each type of peal:
Cambridge - 120 (6%)
Yorkshire - 187 (9%)
Lincolnshire - 50 (2%)
Superlative - 59 (3%)
Pudsey - 19 (1%)
Rutland - 48 (2%)
London - 64 (3%)
Bristol - 220 (11%)

Could they change?
Certainly they could, indeed there was a movement to have an alternative group of 8 methods to include less Cambridge like methods, these became known as the Nottingham 8 and had:
Cambridge
Superlative
London
Bristol
Lessness
Cornwall
Cassiobury
Glasgow

Visiting (Like A Pro!)

One of the first thing that gets asked to ringers when visiting is "What do you ring?". On the face of this it is an obvious question with a similarly obvious answer, since we all know what we can and can't ring.
But this is quite a minefield and it seems to get worse the better you are. A person who can ring rounds and call changes is would say quite easily that they ring rounds and call changes, similar with Plain Hunt, Plain Bob and Grandsire. But is is beyond this that it starts to get a bit tricky as different things are rung dependant on your tower and normally resorts to the phrase "the usual".
Quite often in 8 (or more) bell towers the progress is from Plain Bob Doubles to Minor then Kent, Oxford Treble Bobs, Cambridge Surprise Minor, Cambridge Surprise Major rest of the Standard 8. But if you visiting a 6 bell tower they may ring all sorts of surprise minor, or doubles and variations, which are hardly the "usual" as far you are concerned.
Similarly, if you announce that you ring Surprise Maximus in a tower that has not even heard of surprise let alone 12 bell methods you end up sounding a little arrogant indeed.
The next important thing I would suggest is to mind your manners. I have been to a practice as a visitor and been thanked for "not shouting at us". This astounded me.

Minding ones manners

For the most part this is common sense, I will keep quiet in teh band I am ringing in unless I am specifically asked to call something, then I will of course conduct it, and I know the band that I ring with so can make comment on someone's striking as I know consistently what they are like.
Imagine you are at a practice and you shout at the person leading that they are leading too slowly, while that may be perfectly true, what you as a visitor do not know is what that person ringing usually does. If they always lead too slowly, then yes fair enough, though realistically it should come from within the band, but if they teacher of the person leading has just managed to get them to slow down, their foray into leading slower would be a negative one.
The other thing to consider is how this is taken, from a member of the band they know what their person in need of correction is like, and know how to talk to the person and correct them without putting them off.

Something a "little" different part 2

Previously, I mentioned about ringing little methods as something slightly different.

Well here are some more, but this time the treble hunts to 3rds and back each time.

Stanwell
This is quite similar to Stedman Doubles but going in slow each time but without the frontwork.

So its:
3rds -> Double Dodge 4/5 Up -> Lie -> Double Dodge 4/5 Down -> 3rds -> Lead ->2nds -> Lead

This has a "grandsire" start, so 2 hunts in, 3 makes a place and in and 4/5 dodge.

Clewer
Like Stanwell but instead of double dodges there are places at the back.

Hampton
Again this is like Stanwell sort of. The place in 3rd are now places in 3/4 with a 4/5 dodge and long 5ths.

Ashford
Ashford is identical to Hampton but the 3/4 places are replaced with a 3/4 dodge instead.

Littleton
While Littleton looks very different from the Stanwell-type ones above.
Order of work
4 blow lead -> 4/5 up -> 2nds from the back -> 4/5 down

The strange thing or different thing is the 2nds from the back, this is where the bell at the back having lay in 5ths place hunts all the way down to 2nds place, rings twice there(over the bell doing the long lead) and hunts back out. It is similar to a single in bob minor there the bell about to do 3/4 down makes 3rds and heads out to the back, so this could give some experience of turning round without getting to the front.

Lathbury
Lathbury is littleton only with the 4/5 dodge replaced with a 4/5 place. This has the effect that there is two blows in 4ths followed by 3 in 5ths.

And for something slightly different...
Laleham
Looking at it, the first thing that strikes me is that it is not symmetrical. Being a little lazy with most methods I realise that they are symmetrical, take Plain Bob Doubles, if you split it in half while making 2nds it is a mirror image of itself, similarly if you were to split it in the middle of long 5ths. This one is different. In a lot of ways this is quite simple you have the plain hunt section and the other bit. So plain hunt till you get to the back, if you took the treble from the lead make the crankshaft (5ths-4ths-5ths places) and hunt in, if the treble takes you then just plain hunt.

Learning it by where you and the treble are will help with ropesight.

Something a "Little" Different (part 1)

Sometimes there is a need to ring something slightly different but the band is not experienced enough to make a significant change to the repertoire, after all the change from ringing Bob Minor to Kent Minor is a significant step and might not be all that achievable.

This time I shall present a number of little methods for doubles to shake up the Bob Doubles/Grandsire Doubles lassitude.

Little methods are methods where the treble does not hunt all the way to 5ths place.

Bistow Little Bob - (Hunt to 2nds)

The treble hunts to 2nds place, so can be done by a competent "Mexican-waver" but isn't confident enough to hunt all the way to 5ths. This method helps the treble ringer to develop ropesight as they are able to look for their new bell each time.
The rest ring all the work of Plain Bob Doubles but without the hunting and the 2nds, the other big difference is that the "work" is done at the start of the lead (like Grandsire) and not the end (like Plain Bob Doubles.

Churchyard Bob (Plain Hunt with a Grandsire Start)

Churchyard Bob (aside from a Warwickshire Beer) is a "method" that can be used to teach Plain Hunt and covering.

The premise is simple it is plain hunt but with the bells making a Grandsire start.

Well what does that mean?

Treble Hunts to the back
2nd leads and hunts out
3rd makes a place in 3rd then hunts in
4th Dodges 4/5 down with the 5 and hunts in
5th Dodges 5/4 up with the 4 and lies behind

Then after that everyone continues to plain hunt.

It does also mean that it never comes back into rounds, the order at the backstroke of the trebles lead is 1 2 5 3 4

What does it look like?


Why Ring It?
It has the advantage that the treble passes each bell in order 2, 3, 4, 5 each time. This can help the learner see the order without explicitly being told it. It is easier to look one bell to the right each stroke then to the normal order. It also gives the learner clues when they are at the back or front as they have passed the 5th.
The tenor also covers over the bells in order, after the initial dodge, again this is a good introduction into ropesight.
When preparing to learn grandsire it can be useful to get ringers used to the work being done at the start of the lead rather than at the end as in plain bob.

Disadvantages?
Of course the biggest issue is that in never comes back into rounds, though a clear that's all will hopefully resolve this issue.
Also, the same effect can be achieved by calling the bells into the order 1 2 5 3 4 and going into plain hunt from there. Doing so will have all the advantages/disadvantages as if you ring Churchyard Bob.

Goal Setting

In work and school we are set goals that we must achieve and are assessed on how well we have done so, and yet in ringing this does not seem to happen.

So why set goals?

Simply in order to try and maintain progress. Sometimes it is easy to get to a point, say ringing plain bob doubles and think you have arrived and then not prgress any further.
Why are you ringing what you are ringing now and where do you want to get to? Without a specific goal we can sometimes wander along with a vague momentum pushing us along.

What sort of goals should be set?

Goal setting should be done SMART as George Doran would say. This is a mnemonic for goal settings.

S - Specific
The goal should be defined specifically, so "I will ring better" is not a specific goal, "I will improve my striking" is more specific but still not great, or "I will ring Plain Hunt from the 4th". This is what you are hoping to achieve.
M - Measurable
The specific goal should have some concrete way of determining when you have achieved it, this links to Specific, "I will ring better" is very hard to specifically measure, whereas "I will ring plain hunt" is measurable you can either do it or not.
A - Attainable
This is more specific in terms of ringing, with personal goals, whether or not it is attainable is purely down to you, in ringing though quite often it is the band which provides the limit. Afterall, there is no point in having a goal of ringing suprise if the band you ring with cannot ring it, or of ringing plain hunt 12 in a 5 bell tower. Similiarly, they also need to be within reach, picking that you want to ring plain bob when you are still learning to handle might not be the best of goals.
R - Relevant
This is more common sense, the goal needs to related to what you are doing. A goal of "I will bring cake to every 4th practise" while it will be popular with your commardes probably does have little to do with you improving your ringing.
T - Timed
When is this to be achieved by? Open ended goals tend to get pushed back but with a fixed date for completion. Again this should be tied into how attainable it is, if you have just started ringing a goal to ringing rounds unaccompanied within 6 months is perhaps realistic, a goal to ring splice surprise in that time frame is probably not.

What does a SMART goal look like?

For example a ringer who has mastered plain courses of bob doubles in a strong band might choose:
"I will be able to ring unaffected touches of bob doubles without needing to be put right within 3 months"

Or generally "I will be able to [ Goal ] within [Time]"

Summary

SMART goals help people focus on where they are and what they want to do. These do not need to be formally kept by the tower captain and such structure might not be a welcome addition to all, as for some the idea with the excercise is just to move along at a comfortable pace without feeling pressurised to attain. Also bear in mind some ringers have a niche, they get to where they can ringing what they want and do not see the need to go further.
When reviewing the sucess/failure of the goal remember to provide clear feedback and do not be put off giving the same goal again but with a different time scale or perhaps choose a different goal similiar to the stretch/consolidation excercises.

Progressive Plain Hunt

An alternative way of teaching plain hunt involves the learner ringing from the treble and progressively plain hunting further out.

E.g. they start making 2nds and.back, which is what they do starting on the treble for Mexican wave. (Also, this can be done for various methods where the treble hunts to 2nds and back).

Then thirds and back again this can be rung in a method like cloister.

Then fourths and back again this can be done to methods like penultimus.

Finally to fifths and back.

This has the advantage of teaching places and the feel of hunting to various positions.
Of course the big draw back is that they don't get the feel of hunting out slowly and in quickly until the very end, but does help show ropesight.

It is worth noting that for the kinaesthetic learner this is a great way to learn plain hunt, but for the more traditional oral/visual learner they will probably prefer to learn the traditional way.