If you’ve understood everything so far, and managed to ring it successfully and confidently, then you shouldn’t have much trouble ringing any bell you like to a 60 of Grandsire Doubles. If you want to be sure of not being the observation bell, then just get hold off the 2nd or the 4th.

We could try learning a lot of rules along the lines of ‘I was going to do this, but there’s a bob so I must do that instead’, but we’re going to try a different approach.

Let’s remind ourselves how Grandsire Doubles works.

Everybody plain hunts apart from when the treble is at the front.

At a plain lead: a bell makes 3rds as the treble leaves the front, and the two bells at the back do a 4-5 dodge with each other.

At a bobbed lead: a bell makes 3rds just before the treble leads, and another bell then makes 3rds immediately after (just like a plain lead). The two bells at the back do a double 4-5 dodge with each other.

That’s pretty much all you need to know. Here are some tips:

• Check how your bell starts. Remember that, in Grandsire, the 4th and 5th start with a handstroke dodge, while the 3rd makes 3rds.
• If you turn the treble from lead (like the 2nd does at the very beginning), then you are the hunt bell, and you keep hunting until there’s a bob or a single. You’ll find that you come out of the hunt with a double 4-5 down dodge at a bob or single. If you look back at the previous post, you’ll find a diagram there that shows you exactly what the 2nd does as it comes out of the hunt with a bob at the first lead end. You haven’t done this before, so it’s worth having a close look at this bit.
• The bell making the first lot of 3rds at a bob becomes the new hunt bell. You should notice that you’re the new hunt bell when this happens, because you turn the treble from lead (see the bullet point above).
• Remember that when you go into the hunt, you stay in the hunt until there’s another call. No dodging or place-making until then, so take a rest!
• The bell making the second lot of 3rds at a bob would have done it anyway. It’s unaffected by the bob.
• Remember that all the extra things that happen at a bob happen at the handstroke after the conductor has called it. Decide if you’re near the front of the change or near the back at that point. If you’re in or below 3rds place, make 3rds. If you’re above 3rds place, double dodge.

Good luck!

If that doesn’t work, here are the rules I said I wouldn’t bother you with: