Egg Shackling - Shrove Tuesday 2009
As is the custom in Shepton each child brought an egg to school this morning for our traditional “Shackling Eggs”. No one seems to know quite when this custom started, it certainly goes back more than a hundred years in our village and also in Stoke St Gregory. Eggs were used up before the start of lent on Ash Wednesday, but why they should be shackled in a sieve to find which one lasts the longest, without being cracked remains a mystery. A small prize given to the owner of the winning egg from each class, as usual donated by the Robins Trust. Wikipedia Article on Egg Tapping
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Bell Ringing Experience
If you wondered what was happening with the church bells chiming rather than ringing in the normal way on Wednesday 5th November it was the children pulling on the ropes. Tower captain Jeff Knipe and friends organised a “Bell Experience” for the children of Shepton School. The experience included ringing hand bells and climbing the tower to chime the church bells.
A tower bell simulator was erected in the church to enable all the children to safely have the experience of actually pulling on a bell rope. Under the direction of Jeff in the pulpit the children practiced ringing a tune on Hand Bells, Jeff and Lesley have kindly offered to continue the experience with the training of a School hand bell ringing team.