Ringing Forums

There are lot of assertions being thrown around in this thread, but is there solid data to back any of it up?

Do the majority of ringers want to improve their ringing?
What is improved ringing, is it ringing what you can with greater accuracy, or ringing more complicated methods (obviously not in Devon and Cornwall), or a combination of both?
Given this is all voluntary, who is going to want to be a Tower Captain if the burden is as heavy as some are suggesting?
Are the problem of ringing solvable by a glorious one size fits all solution, a restructuring that most are not interested in or don't care about, or is it more nuanced than that?

I agree that a national structure that can bring the 'disjointed' elements together is an absolute necessity, but in seeking to replace existing structures, is there a danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater?

Hi Vicki, I realise that it’s been a really busy time for all ringers recently, but your mention of the Coronation made me think about recruiting ringers whose immediate goal would be to ring for that event.

If the coronation is in the spring, the recruitment campaign would seem to be needed in the not too distant future. Does any pre-planning exist for this please?

Somewhat surprised to find that the president doesn’t seem to find the death of Queen Elizabeth and the ringing surrounding it as a subject worth mentioning other than in passing as a possible disruption.

Unfortunate.

I’m not convinced there are degrees of democracy. The CCCBR is a representative body which can be held accountable by its members if they choose to do so.

It sounds as though you value your home tower and would like to see it rise from the ashes.

Good luck in your efforts :smile:

If you try to impose a top down structure on a bottom up activity, I foresee a whole new set of problems.

Like any voluntary pastime, you can't dictate, just lead and guide.

The Charmborough ring was put to good use on the course and participants were also supportive of the concept of the new Mobile Belfry. I went to see it last week as the structure has been completed and the first bell had been hung for ringing. I will go to Loughborough again this week as progress is quick now. A few donations have come in from towers, with the tower name to go on the donors plaque.

Surely most towers have funds that could cover a £25 donation to get your band's name on the belfry?

iKnow Church is a software package to ease administration for those who have that responsibility.

I have launched a Crowdfunding website to enable individual donations to the new Mobile Belfry project. Enough ringers have expressed willingness to chip in for it to be worth orchestrating this fundraising campaign to complete the funding. This is specifically about having a very transportable and realistic belfry (in terms of ringability) that we can get into schools and shows. All information is on the crowdfunder website here – many thanks to Alex Runting for piecing together my different videos, pictures and voiceovers.

School teachers will be used to the mild panic that seems to arise from the arrival of OFSTED inspectors. Cathedrals have been going through something similar over the last few years, with SCIE, the Social Care Institute for Excellence, carrying out safeguarding audits (a complete list of completed audits can be found here ). The comprehensive audits also cover bellringing, and so far, cathedral ringing arrangements have fared well. — Simon Linford

Not using 'here' and having descriptive links is no more work.

In the first example "is on the crowdfunder website here" deleting 'here' and using 'crowdfunder website' as the link will do the job.

The second example "(a complete list of completed audits can be found here )" with a minor rewrite could be "(here is the complete list of completed audits)" with 'completed audits' as the link description.

This isn't a comment on the content of the blogs (which is excellent), it's an observation on accessibility.

Very interesting blog, I especially enjoyed

I was allowed to hold one of the oldest books in the library, the 1668 Tintinnalogia, or the Art of Ringing, for 17 seconds before Alan started to get nervous and put it back in its fireproof case. — Simon Linford

Could I request, for good accessibility practice, that links described as 'here', be replaced in future with an actual description of where the link is going? I understand that speech browsers have a facility to list just links on a page, so repeated 'here' is not that useful.

Comment from Surrey Association Facebook page:

"Is there not a central library that would be willing to house the CCCBR library as a special collection? It would meet many categorisation criteria - social, religious, scientific, engineering, architectural, etc - in much the same way that certain records from sadly defunct foundries can be...."
Mike Shelley

I think I was paid £15 for my first wedding, for which I felt I was over charging, so donated it to the tower :wink:

It might be a case of a balance between asking for what the market will bear, and being charitable on a (hopefully) happy occasion. I've heard £20 a rope being mentioned as the going rate.

The Surrey Association has transferred to an online membership service to simplify administration and provide direct membership communication via configurable email lists.

The association Facebook page provides a means of getting news out beyond the membership and as a means of feedback. To be honest, there isn't much feedback :).

The web site provides association level information and guidance as a reference resource.

Communicating with younger members isn't considered separately as far as I know, but is an interesting point that should be investigated.

I guess ringers have just got out of a lot of habits during the pandemic.

As a 'developing' ringer I find district/association practices quite intimidating. I have to admit to enjoying a 'beginners' outing where, outside the selfless and generous helpers, the ringers were all around a standard I could relate to.

Perhaps a new thread per blog?

Continuing this way the latest blog is getting further and further down the page.

I appreciate that CCCBR wants to stay away from politics, but I feel offering no support to the people of Ukraine is unfortunate.

As someone who hasn't been ringing long enough to lapse (other than for covid), I can only speak from personal experience that instruction, support, encouragement and patience (with a dash of cajoling) is always way more effective than criticism, disapproval and impatience.

As Simon has hinted, if you don't feel welcome, why bother.

I like the idea of an international festival of bells, but why are we as change-ringers so inward looking

Comes of ringing in circles I guess :)

I hope Nick that you're not suggesting bell ringing isn't 'glamorous'? ;-)

My experience of the Air Cadets was watching 20 or so oiks stretching what was essentially a giant elastic band to power a light glider piloted by the senior NCO on a flight over a cricket pitch. Not the height of glamour, especially if you were one of the oiks!

On the poster it's rather too full of negatives rather than positives for my liking.

I can't remember when it was suggested to me that Sunday ringing was an expectation, but as I'm essentially using the bells for 'free' for an activity I enjoy, that didn't seem too high a demand to me.

Obviously young people might not be in a position for various reasons to ring every Sunday, but I don't think an expectation to ring at least some Sundays is unreasonable.

As we came out of lock down, I started a bell ringers Facebook page to try to raise the local profile. As well as sharing to the church FB page, I selectively share onto the larger local groups.

However, it's a long slow process to start from scratch.

At the risk of a bit of self promotion: Caterham Valley bell ringers